How do you organise your office / study?

The KonMari method is all about decluttering by category not location, so this is not only those with a separate room in their house they call the office! In fact, with COVID, many of us have had to create a makeshift working space in our homes where there is no office, which was why I wanted to approach office so soon into the LYS Declutterthon.

VISION

Whether it’s an office or your dining table for part of the day, it’s important to define your vision for the space where you work. It might be a space for paying the bills, completing an ‘office job’, doing admin; whatever your working space, think about what it needs to have or how it needs to work to make you LOVE it. You might have a preference for paper

or be an addict for electrics but no doubt it will include being organised. For me, the key things I want are:

- Accessibility: to always have the basics to hand in my workspace

- Portability: to be able to pack everything away and move it – be that clearing the table at the end of the day or taking it to work e.g. in a café.

Have a think about what you want from things that fit this category and how you build them into a space; be that permanent or temporary!

DIVISION

As ‘office’ is a category and not a location, this might apply to a bunch of items that you have in various places throughout the house. Here’s a quick look at sub-categories that the category ‘office’ can be subdivided into:

o Stationary, which can be subdivided again into:

o ‘Tools’ – pens, scissors, stapler, hole punch, ruler…

o Papers – printing paper, notebooks, memo pads, envelopes…

o Electronic chords; extension cable, earphones, chargers

o Electronic items; computer, digital camera, portable games

o Other electronic items: memory cards, USB, ink cartridge batteries

o Valuables; passports, certificates

As always, gather items into one place and then begin to divide; keep vs discard. There might be fewer items that you LOVE (unless you have love for stationary), but you’re also checking it works - and we love utility, too! If you have a desk; you can gather all the items inside as it should contain things of this category, but also have a think of office category items that are in other locations around the house. As you sort your items, you might find yourself subdividing some items that fall into other categories; CDs/DVDs (home items), photos (sentimental), bills (paperwork). It’s best to gather these and put them aside ready for when you tackle THAT category and come back to focusing on office items.

For some items, you’ll want to ask yourself if it works, but also if you use it and therefore really want to keep it. If you have 20 USBs, don’t keep them all because they work; you probably want the information on them and then have some for the occasions you want to share files using them (which is less and less these days!). The same applies to pens – of the ones that work, do you really want all of them or might you find a give them away (a pen amnesty at work or a nursery wanting supplies)?

Once you know what you’re keeping, divide into the subcategories and then you can think about POSITION – how to put things back.

POSITION

As with every category, you want to put the things you use most in the places easiest to access, which can be the top drawer of the desk or the front of a drawer. Many of the items will be things like cables and small items such as USBs, so this category benefits from small pots or drawer dividers - and cable ties!

Whilst you store items of the same sub-category together, you might – like me – want to have a small selection of items to hand. This is the inevitable exception to the rule, meaning you can pull things from some of the subcategories into one place, with further supplies in the drawer. Think your favourite pens in a beautiful pen holder!

I also wanted to touch on position, especially in light of many of us working from home. It might be the case that our working tools (including notebooks and laptops) become satellites in our home, but also that there is less and less distinction between when the home is for relaxing and when it’s for working. The way I have dealt with this is to designate a clear space that allows me to pack everything away quickly and easily – including a screen. If it’s the case that you need to set up and pack away each working day, I recommend using a plastic tray that you can pack away into a drawer/cupboard – this can help you carry things but also is a ‘start’ and ‘stop’ moment, creating a boundary that is very important when working from home.

LOVE

Once you have things back in place, you can now enjoy the space with items easier to find and quicker to access. With more space in your working area, you might be able to add some favourite photos or upgrade some drawer dividers.

AFTER THE DECLUTTER

Once you’ve decluttered, don’t forget to get the decluttered items out of the house. For electricals – it’s important to do this responsibly! Many electronic stores take back small appliances and cables so check online where you can and how to do it. In Belgium, Recupel (https://www.recupel.be/en/) provides what you need to know. Don’t forget to check (and wipe) memory cards and USBs that you’re not keeping. This applies to all items that work, but you don’t LOVE.