This post is the first in a series of three articles written on organizing your home office by Brandie Kajino, The Home Office Organizer.

Paper, paper and more paper. When you work from home you can feel buried in it! You know what I’m saying, right? The mail, client materials, marketing collateral, mail needing to go out…. on and on it goes. The #1 request for help on the National Association of Professional Organizers website is for the home office. Can you guess the #1 reason people call me? Paper and how to manage it.

First, let’s talk about what “organized” means. Do you hate to file? Me too! So, first of all I’m going to put holes in an widely held organizing misconception: “Organized” does NOT mean perfectly labeled, color coded files, obsessively cleared desktops, or even neatness for that matter! (I’ll pause a moment so you can catch your breath.) So, if “organized” doesn’t mean your space looks like a magazine layout, what does it mean? It simply means you can find what you need in less than 5 minutes. How cool is that? Freeing, right?

So, how do you get your paperwork to fly in formation so you can find it in 5 minutes? First let’s talk about the three categories of paper in a home office:

1. Action Paper is associated with tasks you need to do. For example: calls to make, forms to fill out and submit, data entry or travel itineraries.

2. Projects are papers associated with a longer term project. Examples: client projects, association board position paperwork or planning exercises requiring tracking and associated documents or contracts. These are things you are currently working on, not past projects (which will go in the next category).

3. Reference Paper is needed for backup, legal or personal reasons. Examples: insurance policies, financial statements, retirement planning, taxes, education, lifestyle or hobby files.

Understanding the difference between the different paper categories is the first step in organizing your home office. Why is that? It’s important to know what you are dealing with a grander scale before assigning it all a home and getting it into a system. If you’re dealing with a backlog of paper, here’s three steps to get started:

1. Set Up your “Staging Area”. Organizing your papers means you’ve got to sort thru them first. So, get some banker boxes, some scrap paper and markers. Start by labeling three boxes: Action, Projects and Reference. You’ll also need a trash bin and box for recycling.

2. Sort & Edit. Gather your papers together, begin sorting through them and put them in appropriate boxes. Some questions to ask yourself: Do I use it? Do I need it? Is it necessary for legal reasons? (Check out the IRS website to find out)

This is a big picture exercise and can be done in 2-3 hours of focused time (depending on the size of your office and the amount of paper). Avoid distractions like the phone, email or family members. Resist the temptation to start reading, filling out forms or reminiscing. Each piece of paper should be in your hands for less than 15 seconds. Make decisions quickly and place in Action, Projects, Reference, trash or recycling.

3. Formulate your Plan. Once the sort & edit is done (phew!) you’re ready to think about where things will go. Assign a general area in your home office for each of your three buckets. Take into account the amount of paper in each category and add about 30% for a little room for growth for good measure.

It’s simple to get it all sorted, but it takes time so don’t get discouraged. If you can’t work and get thru it all at once, take it in 2 hour blocks. It will be done before you know it, and you’ll be ready to move forward.

Next time, I’ll give you some tips on “systems” you can use to manage your sorted categories. Hate to file? Don’t worry, there are lots of options which are less painful than you might think.

Now, go get sorting and leave a comment or question if you get stuck.

Wishing you continued success!

About the Author

Brandie Kajino, The Home Office Organizer, is a speaker, author and professional organizer. She is the author behind the Organize.Simplify.Transform Blog, where she gives tips on organizing and simplifying life. Her website, The Home Office Organizer offers resources, articles, services and teleclasses to help home-based professionals organize their home office and increase productivity.

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