How To Organize Your Office In 5 Easy Steps

April 12, 2017 / By Rachel Ritlop

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Thank you to Samsill for sponsoring this post. All thoughts & opinions are my own. This post may also include affiliate links*

ICYMI, this year my guiding word is “organized”. I DIY'ed and created a custom planner for all my needs, I've been purging my stuff non-stop since the move, and now I am tackling my desk and office clutter!

My desk was an awesome find from Homegoods, it could also work as a console table or kitchen table, but I needed it as a desk at the time and haven't gotten a new one. It doesn't have any drawers and is basically just a hub for collecting junk.

Do you know how frustrating it is to not have a single drawer to put your hole punch or scissors in?!? Legit, this is what a chaotic mess my desk looks like on the reg:

But NO MORE! I am putting an end to it and using Samsill's pop up document boxes!

Legit these things are so cool! They come folded up, and you just “pop” them open and lay the base to keep the structure. They are much sturdier than I thought they would be and come in a bunch of colors. Since I am not positive what direction my new home office is going in yet, I stuck with white.

how to organize your office space to get more done with samsill

These boxes are intended for storing documents, but I am using them for storage too as part of my organization efforts!

Here are 5 steps to organize your home office:

Step 1: Purge.

Legit toss everything that you can. Recycle old paper, shred outdated documents, donate things, throw out broken or no longer useful items. Really dump everything you no longer need.

Step 2: Create piles of like items.

Create a pile for mail, one for loose papers, one for writing utensils, one for traditional office supplies like tape and paper clips, and whatever else you may have going on. I like to make sure that everything is off my desk or shelves and organized into piles on the floor. Something about visually seeing it all laid out really helps me figure out where it will fit when finding it a home (future step).

Step 3: Dust and wipe!

Now that everything is finally off the shelves and desk, make sure you use this opportunity to dust everything and wipe it all down (from your desk to the items on the floor! Seriously ask yourself when was the last time you wipes your hole punch clean?)

Step 4: Get your papers in check.

I don't know about you, but paper is the biggest culprit of clutter in my office. Organize your papers by usefulness. For instance, if it's something you need to hold onto for 7-10 years in case you get audited, file those away either in a traditional filing cabinet or e-filer. If it's receipts you need to keep track of get an envelope or use a small document box. Personally, I am using small document boxes for filing incoming mail that's piled up (and credit cards/gift cards – basically financial related items) and one for receipts since I already have legal stuff organized in my binder filing system.

Step 5: Find things a home.

Now that things are organized by likeness and the paper is put away, you need to find each of the remaining items a home. Since I don't have drawers, I am using the medium document box from Samsill for my “office supplies” like my tape, hole punch, post its, and so on:

In my closet I have a big bin of photo props and back drops. The key here is to put things in a logical place (rather than throw it around haphazardly). If you were looking for a scissor, you may also look for tape so you want them next to each other. I know that may sound kind of obvious, but I have a tendency to put the tape in the fridge and my cell phone in the laundry basket #SMH.