3 Tips for Organizing Your Home Office
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Can you believe we are passing the midpoint of the year already? This is the PERFECT time to work on organizing your home office or workspace. Use this time to get ready for the selling season to start picking up again in the fall!
Clearing out the excess junk is both physically and metaphorically cleansing. There are few things quite as inspiring as having a space that welcomes and has room for creativity.
Disclosure: some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.
Some quick tips for where to start:
1) Garbage
Sounds like a no-brainer, and that’s because it is. You’ll be shocked at how much of that clutter laying around in your workspace is actually garbage (or recycling). Start there, be ruthless, and chuck the excess.
“Level up” challenge: get rid of allll of that broken junk. The stuff you planned to (but didn’t) fix. The stuff you planned to (but didn’t) repurpose. And, the stuff you plan to (but won’t) take apart or rework. If it’s been sitting there for longer than 3 months, chances are that those ‘fixes’ won’t happen. You are just feeling guilty and overwhelmed when you see them. Toss them!
2) “Put aways”
These are the useful, valuable things you’re working that just need to be put away. Start small: a corner, a shelf, one side of the table, and just start putting those things where they belong.
“Level up” challenge: it’s nice to look at nice, neat, organized supplies, right? Being a handmade business owner means that you get to work with some pretty cool stuff. If it’s in the budget, splurge on some new containers or print out some cute labels for your storage bins.
3) “Give aways”
These are the things that you have been hanging onto for a while that you just aren’t going to use. Rule of thumb: if you bought it more than a year ago (or, if it was so long ago you can’t remember), it goes. If you aren’t ready for it to be gone forever, put it in a labeled box in your garage or basement. Then, set a calendar reminder for 3 months from now.
If that calendar alarm goes off and you haven’t accessed the box in all that time, it goes out the door. Donate it, post it on eBay, whatever you need to do to get it gone.
“Level up” challenge: Scope out your local FSOT (For Sale or Trade) or “Cashless” groups on Facebook to quickly move out your excess stuff. Your goodies will be getting a great new home, and you will have the satisfaction (and good juju) of helping out a fellow creative!
Once the excess is handled and the things are put away, you can start to move into your plan for fall making (it’s never too early to start thinking about Christmas and the holiday season – you know how crazy life gets after the summer is over!)
Read more about creating a year-round craft business:
Turn Seasonal Products into a year Round Handmade Business
What Kind of Clutterbug Are You?
If organizing your home office is just not your ‘thing’, I highly recommend checking out Cas Aarssen. Cas is a certified organization expert and the mastermind behind the Clutterbug method. She has designed a system that sorts people into 4 different types of “Clutterbugs” with a super cute (and weirdly accurate) quiz.
Take a few minutes to take the Clutterbug Quiz, which asks you a series of questions about your preferences. At the end of the quiz, you get your “Bug Style”, complete with a description and a video that gives you organizational ideas tailored to your type.
3 Tips for Organizing Your Home Office
As an entrepreneur, you need to be able to focus on the areas of your business that “move the needle”: the things that bring in and nurture your customers and the things that bring in revenue.
Working from an organized space allows you the physical and mental freedom to work on the things that are going to help your business grow. Even a small cleanup will bring your energy and excitement!
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