De-Clutter Your Home Office

Do you need to create a workspace in your family or living room? Follow these tips to get your home office organized, no matter where it’s located.

Invest in Adequate Furniture
Most importantly, your office will need a clear work area, and that means creating adequate space, not only for your computer hardware and peripheral equipment, but also for all reference materials, files, paper and other office supplies. When purchasing office furniture, your priority should be making sure it has ample space for work and storage.

Establish Activity Centers
If an office is to be efficient, it should be zoned into different activity areas. First you need a “work center,’ with a clear workspace and room for the computer and frequently used office supplies. It’s also convenient to designate a “reference center”: a place where you can keep all your binders, manuals, dictionaries and professional books and materials. Last, you need a “supply center,” which contains all your office and paper supplies.

Properly Place Your Hardware and Peripherals
Locate your equipment according to what you most often use. Printers that are used daily should be easily accessible. For those of you who only access the CPU for troubleshooting, store it under or next to the desk. Seldom-used scanners and other equipment can be placed outside the work area. Consider access to drives, trays and cords when setting up your hardware. Finally, keep those tangled cords away from drawers and out of your leg room.

Establish a Paper-Processing Area
There should be a place within your work center for those papers that need immediate action. Find a place that is both accessible and in sight to store any paperwork associated with clients or ongoing projects. Set up a permanent file system for any paperwork you may infrequently reference.

Contain Unruly Wires
Label your wires by folding a mailing label back on itself around each cord. It’s helpful to not only label the cords to the electrical supply but also those cords that connect the different component to each other. A good way to cut down on cord clutter is to bundle like wires together. So consider keeping computer speaker wires and stereo speaker wires together.

Take Care of Your Media and Computer Equipment
If you have delicate electronic equipment, be sure to use a surge protector. It’s important to be sure that your surge protector is a transient-voltage surge protector and is UL listed. In this case, you’re better off going with a more expensive model, which will be built with a replaceable fuse and will last much longer than a cheaper version. A used fabric softener sheet is the ideal lint- and static-free rag for cleaning your CDs and DVDs. Cut down on fingerprints by handling CDs by the rim. Clean the backside of the CD, as that’s where the information is stored. To correctly clean a CD, start at the center and stroke out to the edge. Don’t clean it in a circular motion.

It’s often necessary to stack your equipment in order to make the most efficient use of your office space. Take care not to stack any amps or other equipment with venting on the top, as they might get too warm. Rather, simply use small plastic cups, or chair-leg protectors, as spacers when stacking.

Keep your computer screen clean with a lint-free cloth, such as an old T-shirt. Be sure not to spray the screen directly. Rather, spray the cloth with water and wipe clean. Abrasive substances should never be used to clean a computer screen. Window cleaners should also be avoided. A lint-free cloth and water is the way to go for a clean screen. If if doubt, consult your monitor’s manual for proper cleaning instructions.