Do you have a home office – if the answer is yes, then it might be the case that everything in your office is immediately locatable and whenever you need to find an essential piece of paper you can put your hand on it straight away…
That’s not the case? A neat and tidy home office saves a lot of time in the long run. It might be a little tedious to tidy it up in the first place but here at Budget Maids we reckon you’ll reap the benefits long term.
Here are our tops tips for tidying your home office.
- If you keep all your important papers in one drawer or file, then they are impossible to find quickly. Take the time to sort out papers into relevant classes – say, tax info, receipts, utility bills, health insurance, banking etc – then give them a drawer or box file all of their own and label it clearly.
- A fireproof, four-drawer filing cabinet is a good investment. This will make life easier for when you are looking for those essential documents.
- Can you reduce paperwork? Some services (such as utilities) provide bonuses or discounts for going online. Do this wherever possible.
- Set up an inbox which will keep all your “to do” items – but remember that once you have dealt with that item, then it must be filed.
- We recommend a clean desk policy for the end of each day. When you finish working in your office, clear the desk and any other office surfaces. Coming into a clean office is more uplifting than entering chaos!
- Take time regularly to throw out what you don’t need or use – old pens, stray paper clips, and any unnecessary paperwork, old magazines and broken equipment. Remember, a lot of this stuff can be recycled).
- How long should you keep papers? Here’s a quick guide: tax returns and supporting paperwork (seven years, or forever if you have the space); pay stubs (one year); investment statements (one year, or until you get your year-end statements; bank statements (one year); medical bills (one year); and credit card statements (one month – check them for accuracy).
Here at Budget Maids we provide cleaning services in Arlington, a maid service in Oakton or cleaning services in Columbia and surrounds, and more. Why not give us a call today and let us help you ensure that home office is perfectly neat and tidy?
