5 Tips to Declutter Space for an Office for the Whole Family

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There’s nothing worse than being engrossed in your work and when something distracts you and you can’t get back in the zone. That frustration can be compounded even more when you’re working from home and your kids (who are doing distance learning due to COVID) come to you for one reason or another. 

According to the Homelight Q3 survey, 7% of real estate agents said their clients want multiple home offices and 1% stated their clients want a dedicated room for homeschooling! Wouldn’t it be amazing if everyone had their own private space to get their work done, distraction free? Of course it would! But, not all homes have the space to create a true home office, let alone multiple!

If you find yourself in this situation, fear not because we have a few tips that’ll help you declutter your home so that everyone has their own little space to get work done – distraction free. 

1. Choose a room and empty it completely

The very first step to decluttering a space is to remove everything (and we mean everything!) out of the space. This means any books, furniture, shoes, backpacks… everything. This will give you a clean slate and help you visualize how you want the space to look and function. 

Also, use this time to clean the room and furniture you take out of there. 

2. Determine the purpose of the room

We already know that we want the space to serve as a place where the kids can do their school work and you could work from home. But ask yourself, “Does this room need to serve another purpose?” Will this room serve as an office only, or will it be a guest room too. 

Once you have a clear idea of what the room will be used for, then you’ll have a better idea of what to keep or put back in the room (see next step). 

3. Sort through the clutter

Now that everything is out of the room, it’s clean, and you know what the space will be used for, now’s the time you’ll want to go through everything and see what you do and don’t need or want. The name of the game is to create an office setting that’ll help you and your children stay focused, organized, and productive!

4. Utilize organizational and storage bins

To help keep the room clutter free and organized, use storage bins, baskets, bookshelves and other organizational items. You can use file holders to organize your notebooks, reports, and other important documents. Use jars to keep paper clips, rubber bands, and other small items neat on the desk.

For your children, store their books, art supplies, folders and other school items on a shelf just for them (each child gets their own shelf). If you like to take them out for a “field trip,” store their backpacks in a coat rack so it’s not on the floor but still easily accessible.

5. Store items that go together, together

Along with storage bins, make sure the bins are designated for specific things. For example, keep markers in their own bin, pencils in another, and so on. Also, you will want to keep all materials for a specific subject together. For example, for math class, have a bin with the necessary workbooks, calculators and text books.

Now, don’t worry if you don’t have a spare room you could use as a dedicated home office! You can still use these tips to carve out a work space in another area of the home. Just make sure that after every work or school day, the space is picked up and ready to go for the next day. It’ll make your day so much easier!