Reining in office chaos

In a dream world, a home office is command central, a place where order is created out of chaos. But in the real world, the home office can be the area most out of control.

Whether a desk in a corner or a room unto itself, an orderly office can keep a family, a home business or both on track, say local professional organizers.

Some of them offered ideas for making your home office a place where productive work can be done.

Whether yours is a space for paying bills or running a small business, the following ideas will help keep order in your life, they say.

A different to-do list

A very useful tool in bringing order to a home office is a visual to-do list, says Kristi Meyer of Mess With Us. The organizer says having a system for performing tasks efficiently is the key to controlling clutter in the office and in your mind.

Most people create to-do lists on a computer or write them on a piece of paper, Meyer says. Those methods don't work because when a homeowner isn't focused on the computer, or the list on paper is buried under other papers, tasks to be done are out of mind.

The solution is to get three boards and hang them in a row on the office wall, Meyer says. They can be cork, dry erase or magnetic boards, whatever matches the room's decor. Then get some sticky notes and write a task that needs to be done on each.

First, place all of the notes on the board to the left. Then, each day move notes with tasks you want to do and can do to the center board. At the end of the day, move notes with everything you accomplished to the third board. Give yourself a few minutes to enjoy the feeling of accomplishment.

If there are notes left on the center board, re-evaluate your priorities. Determine if those tasks are still among the most important to get done. If not, put other task notes ahead of them.

Paper pollution

When junk mail, including credit card offers arrive, shred them, says Bess Burkhardt of HowSmart Organizing.

Only keep coupons for stores you go to and for items you already buy. Only keep business receipts or receipts for things you need to take back.

Open bills as soon as the arrive and write the amount and due dates on the outside of the envelope, Burkhardt says. Set those apart from other paper by standing them up in a rack so that you can see them. Or, write bill due dates on your calendar.

Only use one calendar or one planner for everything.

"Don't scribble appointments on the back of envelopes or the back of your child's art or you won't remember where you wrote them," she says.

When people using one calendar need information in a hurry, they always know it's in that one notebook.

"Lastly, you have to find a place for everything or you will pick it up and not know where to put it," she says. "It makes your life easier. And if things get out of order, don't get down on yourself. Just say 'OK, I am going to try again.' "

E-mail, cords

E-mails may not pile up on your desk, but it's clutter and requires management, says Jennifer Truesdale of STR8N UP Professional Organizing Services.

There are practices for processing e-mail that help homeowners keep up with the barrage of electronic communication that just keeps on coming, she says.

When new e-mails arrive, delete those that are junk, unnecessary or spam and unsubscribe to those advertisements that tend to arrive daily, she says. If you only keep those e-mails requiring immediate attention, it's easier to respond quickly. Once they are answered, delete or file them.

Create e-mail folders with categories to fit your needs for filing, Truesdale says. Then, incoming e-mails that require action can be forwarded, handled immediately or filed to a folder for future action. Also, make folders for subjects to be filed for reference or followed up on later.

Those using a calendar with e-mail, such as Microsoft Outlook, should put contact information changes in right away and discard the related e-mails.

"The goal is to strive for an empty inbox every day."

Controlling cords can be tough, says Truesdale. One solution is to gather them with clips designed to help keep them organized. Another option is to slip them through covers that resemble vacuum cleaner hoses. Check for those at office supply stores.

In some cases, it's possible to tack cords to the wall and paint over them, Truesdale said.