Sit down and relax! Making sure your work chair is comfortable will ensure when you have to sit for long periods of time, your back and shoulders do not get sore!

Think Vertical! When you can’t add to the floor space, add to your wall space with bulletin boards, wall pockets, blackboards, hooks to hold keys, headphones, etc. and of course, add shelving!

If you have frequent meetings, like for the PTO or a fundraising group, place all relevant paperwork together in one place so you can just grab it and go! Use different colors or patterns to differentiate the different activities.

If you have no room on your desk for a computer tower or printers/fax machines, consider investing in under desk mounts, or small carts to hold these peripherals and leave your desktop free for your workspace.

Start your day with a cleaned off desk. How? By taking just five minutes when you are done with your home office tasks, to clean off the desk and file!

If you don’t have much desk area, use wall pockets as storage and filing of things you need to reference often, like bills to be paid, important phone numbers, kids schedules, invitations, etc.

One way to store office supplies is to place like items together on an area. For example, store paper, labels, envelopes together as paper items, desk supplies in another area, electronics, such as discs, plugs, surge protectors in anther place.

Files seem to get packed very quickly. One way to avoid this is to pull out old items from you files, like paid bills, and if not needed for income taxes, shred them! Do this with one or two files a month and it will be manageable again.

Lighting is essential for good work habits. If your workspace is not well lit, invest in a small desk or bedside lamp. Choose one you like to look at and it will make the space feel welcoming.

Assess how you use your home office; if you find it’s the place the kids go to do their online homework, and you use the kitchen table for paying bills, then you need something more portable for you, and permanent for them.