Get Your Work Space Organized for a Successful Home Business

Organization is essential to any successful business. Good organizational skills can save you time, money, and space – and a lot of headaches.

When you’re starting your home-based business, it’s a good idea to have an organization strategy in place right from the start. This will help you to build good habits into your daily operations, and maximize the hours you devote to your business. After all, sifting through piles of scrap paper to locate a missing invoice is not a productive use of your time! Also, a neat and organized environment is easier on the senses, and can make work a lot less stressful.


Here are five tips to help you get your home office organized.

1. Find a home for every item. When you assign every item a “home,” you know exactly where to look when you need that item. When you finish using something, return it to its place. Also, a neat and clean home office helps you feel like you’re starting fresh every day. Always try to keep your desktop clear of clutter.

2. Choose functional furniture: Desks with numerous drawers, nooks, and crannies provide lots of potential “homes” for small items. Desks or credenzas with file drawers are a natural choice – but if your desk has minimal drawer space, look for shelving units you can set up within easy reach of your workspace. Chair(s) should be comfortable but mobile. Natural light or soft white bulbs are easier on the eyes than fluorescents – although the new energy-saver bulbs are a great choice if you’re “going green.”

3. Gather your organizational tools: File folders, labels, envelopes, pens, notepads, an inbox and outbox, baskets, storage bins, file boxes, blank CDs, and USB drives are all tools to help you get organized and stay organized. Make your tools decorative as well as utilitarian, so that you actually enjoy using them.

4. File away! Maybe you like to use accordion folders instead of a traditional filing cabinet system. Perhaps you prefer to organize by date instead of alphabetically. It doesn’t really matter what your personal filing system is, as long as you stick to it – and ask anyone who’s helping you to stick to it too. Try to do your filing at least once a week, so you don’t end up buried under a mountain of paperwork. If you’re trying to go paperless, back up to a portable hard drive at least once a week – and if you store files on CDs, be sure to label them clearly and store them properly to prevent damage.

5. Develop a system to deal with your mail. The number one paperwork problem for many people is mail. Read and sort your mail every day. Separate unpaid bills from the rest; a basket or bin for “accounts payable” is a great way to make sure you don’t misplace your statements. Once bills are paid, they can be filed away. As for other mail, file according to your system, and always shred credit card offers and other junk mail that might have your personal information on it.

Running a home business should be a pleasure, not a pain. The biggest benefit of an organized home office is that you’ll always be able to find what you need when you need it, and you’ll have more time to spend doing what you love!