If you have a home office, it is probably the place where you pay bills, make schedules, do research, etc. With so much going on here it is no wonder it becomes strewn with paper, coffee cups, pictures, magazines, what have you. The mess created can cause confusion and discontent and often overwhelm us. By cleaning and organizing your home office you will find yourself feeling more relaxed and therefore, more productive. So if your messy desk is causing chaos in your mind, take a good hard look to see what is overwhelming you the most.

Mail is probably the biggest contributing factor to our messy desktops. You should make it a daily practice to deal with your mail. Toss what you can, place those things that need to be shredded into a shredding bin and shred them once per week, and file the rest away properly. This might also be the time to update your filing system and make folders for current years or months.

Another culprit of office clutter is computer storage media such as CDs, DVDs and floppy disks. Take the time to ensure each is properly labeled and placed in a protective file or case. Categorize and alphabetize them for easy access.

If you have an office area that is commonly used by all family members, it can easily become cluttered with glasses, coffee cups, food wrappers and dirty dishes. If your office area is small, a no food and beverage rule should be established to prevent damage to your computer in case of spills. This would help to eliminate some of the clutter as well. If you are working in your home office for several hours a day and you have the space, you should try to have a separate area, away from your computer and work space, where you can set your food and beverage without fear of spilling on electronic equipment.

When using a bulletin board, make sure you keep it current. Any items that are not current should be filed or thrown away. Your calendar should always be set at the current month so you can check all your scheduled activities or appointments at a glance.

Office supplies have a way of easily cluttering up our workspace as well. Taking time out to clean and organize desk drawers in order to have a place to keep your office supplies will eliminate some clutter off the top of your desk.

By thinking, planning and using discipline, your home office can become a productive, efficient and serene place to work.