Need A Clean Sweep in Your Home Office? Grab Your Broom and Read On!

If your work-from-home household is anything like mine, spring fever has taken hold. And that means the urge to clean and re-arrange – well, everything! =) Before you get carried off in the general frenzy, have you looked at your workspace? Our quick guide to spring-cleaning your home office can help you get the chaos sorted.

First, though, if you’re overwhelmed by old coffee cups and lunch dishes, kid toys and craft supplies, maybe even baby furniture, bills, or a litter box for your office cat, you’re not alone.

Don’t believe me? Read some of these accounts of Redditors’ WFH office cleanup routines.

So, while you’re surveying the tangled terrain before you, take a deep breath and let go of any guilt and shame. They won’t help, anyway. Instead, grab hold of that spring energy. You can use it to make a clean sweep, and make your home office work for you.

And along the way, you can build some habits to keep things tidy through the rest of the year, too!

Step 1: Clearing Out the Clutter

Are you staring down a mountain of clutter that doesn’t belong in your office? Is there a thicket of office supplies – papers, supplies, books, and gadgets?

That’s okay. It’s why we created this quick guide – spring-cleaning your home office doesn’t have to be a nightmare!

We’ve got this. Here’s your first steps.

• Sort items into things that should be in your office, and those that get in your way.
• Move what doesn’t belong out of your workspace (if you haven’t used it in months, it might not need to live in your office).
• Sort things into keep, donate, and dispose piles.
• Put away the things you’re keeping.
• Donate what someone else can use.
• Dispose of the trash (and wash any dishes you pulled out of the office, too.)

Step 2: Taking Care of (Non) Business Clutter

If you’re reading here, you’ve probably got kids living in your house. You might also have a partner, pets, and a need to eat and drink on occasion. =)

So, unless you’re just naturally tidy (congratulations!), chances are your office can become a dumping ground for random items. Toys, dishes, and non-office supplies might have snuck their way into your workspace and started to multiply.

One of the steps above was to get things that don’t belong in your home office out of your workspace. But if you just dump them somewhere else, you’ll create another problem.

So, when you’ve rounded these home-office, invaders up, take some time to put them back where they belong. I know – you want to get the office done. But making this a part of your office-tidying sweep each day, you can avoid a repeat.

And you’ll be free to focus on cleaning your office when you’re done.

Need a quick pep talk on putting things back?

Step 3: Giving Your Office a Spa Day

Once all the clutter has been tamed, you’ll probably feel lighter and freer. So, it’s a great time to give your office some TLC.

I know that might sound weird, but a sparkling clean office doesn’t just look good. It can help help you avoid allergies and improve your mood while you’re working, too.

Here’s how to spruce things up on your work surfaces:

• Dust every surface in your office.
• Wash windows and window treatments to catch dust and let in natural light.
• Wipe  down your desktop and chair with disinfectant, especially if you or family members eat in that space.
• Clean your keyboard and monitor with compressed air. Focus on the nooks and crannies where crumbs and dust like to hide.
• Finish up with a subtle air freshener or a small plant to delight your senses.

Not sure how to safely clean your laptop? Here’s a video guide to help!

Step 4: Getting Your Files Organized

Hopefully, you’ve already decluttered your space and reduced the number of physical files taking over your space, too. And you’ve cleaned up your workspace and your laptop. Maybe you’ve even prettied up your home office and added inspiring elements.

You can invest in file folders, storage boxes, or a filing cabinet to keep your physical documents in order, and digitize what you can to cut down on paper.

So now you’re done, right?

Not quite.

No guide to cleaning your home office would be complete if we didn’t look at the files you store inside your computer, too.

Here’s a quick list on how to get things sorted:

• Delete the files you don’t need
• Organize everything else into clearly labeled folders
• Just like with hanging folders, you can use subfolders to further organize
• Pin or make shortcuts to the items you know you’ll use the most

Step 5: Keeping Up With Cleaning Up Your Home Office

Once you have everything the way you want it, you can keep things from sliding back into chaos.

Really.

You can.

Even if you have a partner, children, and pets. Even if the rest of your house is still cluttered.

But you’ll need to form some new habits and give them time to solidify.

Need some ideas on what habits to build?

• Spend 10 minutes tidying up at the end of your workday.
• Always file any papers and put away supplies.
• Remove everything that doesn’t belong in your home office.
• Wipe down your desk and empty your waste basket every week.
• Schedule a monthly session to do a more in-depth cleaning, so you can catch any slippage before it gets out of hand.
• Reward yourself for following through.

Now that you’ve optimized your home office, keeping up with maintaining will help you be more efficient in your workspace. And, even better, you’ll be able to enjoy your time there, even if it’s just a tiny cubby of tidiness in a messy life!

Conclusion: A Clean Home Office Is Within Your Reach

When it comes to spring-cleaning your home office, small steps like the ones in this quick guide can make a big difference in your productivity and your mood. So can creating sustainable habits that keep things under control. If you commit to taking these steps, you’ll create a space that helps you thrive in your work-from-home life.