A Simple Way To Minimize Office Clutter

What most people do when they set out to clean a room is to re-order rather than to remove.

This is what I used to do too, stacking away all that I had in boxes, containers, or baskets, only to find that the mess would eventually come back again and again.

When I learned to toss out those items that no longer worked and kept only those items that did, however, cleaning became a snap, and organizing a more simplified process.

In this post, I’ll explain what things I removed from my home office to minimize the clutter and how you can apply the same strategies to get rid of the clutter in your home, too!

Simplify Before You Clean : Toss the Excess

As Joshua Becker, a blogger and author of The Minimalist Home writes:

 “Minimizing is always better than organizing.”

Although I agree with him, I think minimizing can be harder sometimes than organizing.

Figuring out which items can go and which items should stay is not an easy process–especially if you can’t tell which is which.

Letting Go Is Hard

Take these three items in my home office for instance:

1. Paper Tray
2. Drawer Inserts
3. Pencil Holder

These three items have always been a part of working in an office setting; I couldn’t imagine working in an office without them.

And yet, I knew that these items were no longer working for me anymore. Especially when I saw how much clutter they were attracting no matter how much I organized.

Take a look at this “before” photo of my drawers. Is this an indication that those drawer inserts were helping me to stay organized?

NOT!!

Also, even after I cleaned up my paper tray…

They’d almost always get cluttered back up again.

Here’s a closer look at my husband’s side of the desk to show you what I mean…

You see what I mean?

As I’ve said before in my post on How to Clutter Proof Our Home For The Last Time, clutter magnets like these always have a way of inviting the clutter back in–no matter how much you clean them out.

Toss the Paper Tray

So rather than do the same thing again and again (which according to Einstein is THE definition of insanity), these paper trays were the first thing I tossed out as I reorganized my home office.

I replaced them instead with a “his” and “her” “Tickler File” system for each of our file cabinets.

Here are a couple of sites that can help you set up one of your own if you’re interested.

• How (& Why) To Create A Tickler File System
• Back to Basics: The Tickler File System
• How to Create and Use The 43 File System

Mine is nowhere near as complex as the typical 43 calendar file system that David Allen, the guru of office organization details in his book, Getting Things Done.

My tickler files are much more streamlined with only three separate sections labeled: Daily, weekly and monthly (A more detailed explanation of this simplified tickler file system is in the works). This works well for me.

Also, by not having an easy access to just toss things on to look at later on, we’re both forced to take action on it right away either by filing it away, or taking care of what needs done right then and there.

Also, now that the mess is hidden from sight, I can enjoy this space so much better than before!

Doing away with one clutter magnet I had to manage daily was both liberating and gratifying.

Toss the Drawers Inserts

Another item I’d been thinking about getting rid of but had been reluctant to, was this drawer insert that I’d saved from my previous office.

I thought the various compartments would give me additional room and organize all the little stationary supplies I had lying around.

But as the years passed, I realized I could never find anything in there when I needed it. 

So out went this drawer insert and in came these media boxes I had up on my shelves but weren’t using.

Here, I stowed away my husband’s less frequently used items, like prescription pads, and extra charging cables.

Whatever stationary items I had left over, like my calculators, checkbooks, receipt file, as well as post-its, extra pens and stamps, I organized back into my drawers inside these box tops that I’d collected from past iPhone purchases or stationary cards.

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By having less tiny compartments in my drawers, I became more consistent about throwing out what I didn’t need as well as see better what I did need.

Toss the Pencil Holder

Another item that kept cluttering up our desk, but we were holding on to just because, were these two dysfunctional pencil holders.

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On the left, is my pretty pen holder I got at a bargain at Homegoods (only $2!) and on the right is my husband’s–my youngest son’s gift for Father’s Day.

Although one held sentimental value and the other aesthetic value, they were both failed as pen holders.

Every pen I put into my pen holder would either stick out or fall through those gaping holes. As for my husbands… well you can sort of see how it’s become an all purpose junk holder rather than a pen holder right?

So even though I still liked the way mine looked on my desk and my husband liked his for the sentimental value, I decided to replace them instead with these matching plain white ceramic planters.

They’re not as pretty or as sweet, but they work so much better at keeping the clutter at bay!

Why Having Less Can Help You Enjoy More

As I was clearing out my home office with all the superfluous stuff I had in there, I started to think how having less stuff, and not more, can help you enjoy everything you have all that much more.

Removing my paper tray for instance, made me become more intentional about when and how I needed to process all the incoming paper work. 

Having less stationary in my office drawers also made me more efficient and more aware of what I had so I ended up getting by with less.

Streamlining my office like this also significantly reduced the time I used to spend in putting things away like I used to.

Whenever you reduce the amount of stuff you have in your space this way, organizing gets that much easier.

So what about you? Which items will you minimize from your space to get it organized and keep it that way?

Let me know in the comments below or post a photo of it on Instagram with a tag #kahremoveclutter.

Happy de-cluttering everyone!

If you like this, you may also like:

How to Clutter Proof Your Home For the Last Time

How To De-Clutter Your Closet