How to Get an Organized Home Office for Cheap

Everyone wants an organized home office and home filing systems. But lots of us don’t know how to get them! Is this you? Here are a couple good tips on using recycled items to get organization in your space.

Your Small Stuff:

Don’t sweat the small stuff works, unless the small stuff are office supplies and they are taking over your space! If your desk is overrun with paperclips, post-its, pins, pens, highlighters, stickers, and other small essentials you need to get a system in place to keep them both separated and contained. The good news is there are a couple fast DIY containers you can put in place.
*Magnetic spice jars: A magnetic board mounted in a convenient spot can hold a varying number of magnetic tins, designed originally for spices. These can be purchased at a number of locations or online and are very handy for those small items that end up scattered all over your desk drawers.
*Egg cartons: Are you a recycler? Give this a try. Remove the top of an egg carton and use the bottom half in your desk drawers to keep little things separated and easily accessible.
*Glass jars: Another great way to recycle! Collect a number of glass jars and their covers. Mount their covers to the underside of a cabinet or shelf, fill your jar with small office supplies, and screw the jar onto the cover! Storage up off your desktop! Saves you drawer and shelf space!

Four Open Walls:
Utilizes all of your space, that means your walls too! Chalkboard paint isn’t just for your kid’s room. Magnetic chalkboard paint is a great way to create a message/reminder area in your office. Want to dress it up? Find a great frame at a thrift or antique store to hang on your wall. You won’t need the back or glass so you can get a great deal on a piece! Use your frame to dress up your square of chalkboard and give your home office some character.

Looking for a place to sort mail, bulletins, and other papers and don’t want to go the traditional cork board route? Raid the garage for old shutters. A fresh coat of paint and unused window shutters can turn into a great wall organizer.

Office Cabinets:

Office furniture is another great place to give something old new life! Just because you need a home filing system, it does not mean you need a metal or melamine file drawer cabinet. Many pieces of furniture can be retrofit to hold files.

A few important tips when you are picking out furniture to hold files:

*Measure, measure, measure! Pull out a tape measure and add up how much room you will need to hold your files. Whether you are storing your files front to back or side to side you want to get an idea of how many feet of space your home filing system will need. You don’t want to fall in love with a piece of furniture that will only allow you 4 feet of filing space if your current needs are already at 10!

*Check out your file folder size. Files are typically one of two sizes letter or legal. Depending on the size of your file your space needs will change. Make sure you are taking the size of your file into account.

Remember a functional home filing system is even more important that the great piece of furniture you store it in.
If your office and home filing system needs to be freshened up these are great ways to get organized and still add some character into your space.