Spring Cleaning Your Home Office

Last year I worked with Linda Sellers from Short Pump Preppy to host our Got Clutter Challenge. The idea behind it was to clean out our clutter and offer a prize to a fellow blogger that completed the challenge successfully. Since we were in the process of moving it was a little easier for me. I decided to focus on our home office because it’s a magnet to junk, mail and even a couple of lost toys. Just imagine running a household and three businesses in the same space! It’s utter chaos.

I had everything organized for awhile but it didn’t last long, so now it’s time for some home office spring cleaning.

So we are going to start spring off with a fresh, organized and clean office and here is my plan. Spring cleaning usually starts with cleaning windows and computer equipment but we are going to do things a little different to make space.

1. Collect three boxes and label them trash, important and maybe.
2. Toss out old magazines, calendars, post-it notes or other out of date reminders. Especially if they are from last year.
3. File business cards you’ve collected, or better yet, scan them and create a virtual business card file.
4. Organize important bills and mail by date and to save for the next tax season. You may want to consider scanning all documents so you can element paper storage.
5. Collect all of your office supplies and create a "supply area". Check stock levels; do you need more pens, post it notes, etc.?
6. Do a refill/replace audit – check your printers ink supply and refill paper as needed. Refill your stapler and labeler.
7. Clean your workspace. Remove everything and dust or wash your desk and workspace. Clean and dust your computer equipment.
8. Clean windows and floors.
9. Clean out your email in-box. I usually do this annually but as I am receiving more email daily it makes since to do this quarterly. Be sure to set up subfolders and rules so you can ensure you are seeing the most important emails.
10. Backup your computer and schedule regular backups.
11. Update your vision board – setting new goals and removing already achieved goals.
12. Re-arrange furniture ergonomically. Experts recommended you place your computer at a 90 degree angle to your desk.

Sometimes it’s hard to determine how long you need to keep important documents. Lifeorganizers.com recommends the following rules of thumb.

Things to Keep

Birth or death certificates, health records, insurance policy (current year), mortgage loan (3 years after pay-off), passport, deed, warranty receipts, stock/bond certificates, tax records, will, citizenship papers and investment statements (keep monthly and discard after yearly statement arrives).

Things to Toss

Receipts for bills (toss after a month unless needed for warranty), ATM records (safe to discard after monthly statement is posted), bank/credit card statements (toss after a year)
Keep in mind you can eliminate paper clutter by opting into paperless statements and records via your bank and credit card companies.