How I Achieved Success by Keeping My Office Space Clutter-Free

People often say that a clean desk is a sign of a tidy mind. While I’m not sure that’s always the case, I definitely agree that a tidy and clutter-free office is essential for success. What makes me think this? I have personal experience that suggests it. This is how I achieved success after reducing clutter in my office.

Reaching Crisis Point

It all started when my first daughter was born. I was a busy working mother, and I had set up an office space so that I could continue to work from home. We added an extension to the back of the house in anticipation of our daughter’s birth and I set myself up with a desk, chair, and computer.

Before long, that wasn’t all I had in there. I had stacks of files and papers, which ended up gravitating from the desk to the floor, and then to any available surface. I had boxes of projects that I occasionally had to dig through, upsetting everything. I had my daughter’s toys scattered around the room, and empty glasses, and half-eaten snacks.

The clutter was getting so unbearable. Without noticing it creeping up on me, suddenly I was feeling tense and stressed whenever I went into my office space. It took an age to find anything I wanted and I started to get lazy as a result, doing anything that would get me out of hunting down that one piece of paper that was sure to be at the bottom of the pile. Then I reached a crisis point where I just didn’t want to go into the office at all, and that’s when I knew things had to change.

De-Cluttering for Good

I made that change in one big day, but I was still clearing up and perfecting things weeks later. The first step was categorising. I went through everything and made neat piles. I put things I still needed in one area; things I was done with but needed to keep for legal purposes in another; and things that could go went right in the bin.

A big part of this was also recognising that the addition of another member of the family meant we didn’t quite have all the room that we thought we did. Something had to go. I didn’t want to throw out items with sentimental value, but there was little point in having them around the house, so I rented a cheap storage area for those. You can find similar community storage options on sites like Spacer.

Once the sentimental clutter was gone, my daughter’s toys were stored away in the rest of the house, and the office was a place for work only. I cleaned up everything and got it all sparkling again. The last step was investing in furniture storage. I got a new filing cabinet and bookcase to set everything out on. The archives I no longer need to work from also went right into my rented storage where I could get them if I needed to.

It took reaching a big problem point to get me to do it, but uncluttering my office was one of the best steps I have ever taken. Now, when I go to work, I am more productive, and I feel like I have more energy. I don’t have to worry about cleaning up, and I always know where to find files, which helps me work faster. That’s probably why I was handed a promotion six months after cleaning up! It’s amazing what a difference it makes.