Garbage here, random papers there, junk zone over here – sound familiar? No doubt this can happen everywhere in your home, but today we are focusing on how not to let this happen in your office space. Side note, if you’re a pro at hiding your junk and are here for my office space, start at the final room reveal of the one-room challenge. However, if you have a bunch of junk in your office space you no longer want to look at, please know you’re not alone. Just last week, I had to do a reset in my office space too. Every surface became a dumping ground for papers, books, gadgets, tools, and everything else you could think of. My office was a hot mess causing my brain to feel cluttered which in turn polluted my creativity. I needed to make some changes and put some processes in place to easily conceal unsightly items in my office. None of these ideas result in eliminating the unsightly items all together. These items are a necessary evil to how I need to function, but they also do not need to be front and centre, causing brain chaos. They can be nicely tucked away in a very easily accessible location. Let’s learn how.
Hiding Paperwork in Your Office
Come on now, we are in 2022, and many of us spent the better part of a year working from home. Be honest, during that year, how much paper did you need?! If the answer was zero, then you technically should be able to eliminate this one altogether. However, if you’re someone who writes in notepads, on sticky notes, needs a notebook, or still does have paper that they need easy access to then you need a little basket or decorative box to store your paper items. When looking for your basket, the less that you can see through it, the better. Unless you’re going to take the time and neatly stack your items.
What’s that?
You’re definitely not.
Me neither so minimize what can be seen, but keep it right on your desk so you can access it whenever you need it. Just like you did before, but you have one added step: pile it up and pop it into your basket. You can do it. I swear.
If you have more paper than that, get organizers – file folders, or magazine holders and tuck them away in the cupboard or closet, no chance do you need it ALL to be super accessible. Your paperwork is not an accomplishment. Don’t display it. Hide it.
Hiding Gizmos and Gadgets in Your Office
This one is tricky because I feel like everyone is going to have different items that they need to conceal in their offices. Mine includes packing tape – I don’t know why it’s up here but whatever, I’ve hidden it – a gimbal for shooting content, extra chargers, gum, vitamins, remote controls, and more. It’s basically a junk drawer that I need. I had three options here: one – put it in the closet never to be found again, two – put it in the cabinets to be utilized by Sloane (nope), three – get more gigantic baskets that will serve as a little junk drawer type situation, where I have easy access to everything but it’s all hidden. You’d never know how much crap I have in there unless you’re snooping.
To be honest, I’ve also hidden this kind of stuff in my vases that I keep empty. So there’s another great idea for you. Office clutter be gone!
Books
I might be getting controversial here but I hate displaying any of my (non-coffee table-esque) books. I have boxes of them hidden in my house and that is just fine for me. I rarely refer back to them but the ones I do, I have strategically placed with the pages facing out and the binding facing the back. Why? Because it’s highly unlikely that my favourite books all have a binding that matches my colour scheme. But you know what does match?! Neutral colour pages. I find that too many books make me feel claustrophobic and can make the space feel cluttered. Layer that in with eighty million different colours and you’re basically writing me up a death wish. That was a bit dramatic I know – and if colourful books are your jam, don’t take this advice. I know in my heart, an abundance of colourful books makes my head hurt and my brain distracted. So books are not welcome binding out in this house.
There you have it: three ways to conceal too much clutter in your office. Think backwards books, baskets, vases, and boxes, and don’t forget to utilize your hidden storage areas (cabinets, closets, all of the things). Don’t get rid of what you need, just work with it and find ways to make it pretty. Happy de-cluttering and beautifying your offices!
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