Making your home office a priority and dedicating time to get it organized is one of the best gifts you can give yourself. Everyone is busy; you need to "make" the time to do this for you.

Here are some starting points:

• Decide what purpose your home office will serve. The clearer you are on the purpose, the easier it will be to reach your desired outcome.
  
  
• Remove anything from the office that no longer serves a purpose.
  
  
• Determine if your office is configured so you can perform the actions you've intended. If the answer is no, look at reconfiguring the space.
  
  
• A coat of paint in a color you love is an inexpensive way to make a fresh new change. It can even inspire you to want to be in your office more.
  
  
• Clear off your work surface or desk, putting back only those things you use regularly or projects you're working on. The rest needs to be relocated. A desk does not need to be free of paperwork, but the more that is on your work area, the more distracting it will be.

It's practically impossible to organize an office without the purchase of at least a few organizing products to help control the clutter. Here are some of my favorite products ideas that you can use in your office.

Filing box - Create a Daily Action Center with the help of a stylish filing box or portable tote with hanging files and tabs. The action center is the place to keep papers and information you need access to on a daily basis, but don't want to leave piled on your desk or the kitchen counter. Some categories of information you may want to store here: to do or needs action, pending or follow-up, coupons, menus, events (directions, invitations, tickets), bills to pay, directories, children's schedules, current projects.

Magazine files - These can be used for much more than storing magazines. Use them in your kitchen to store small phone directories, say from church or your child's school. Use them in your office to store extra supplies, such as file folders, computer labels, computer photo paper packages, large envelopes, sheet protectors, etc. Storing these items vertically instead of horizontally allows quicker, easier access.

Wall sorter - A great tool for getting the piles off your desk, but still having your projects visible.

Storage for instruction manuals and warranties - If you suddenly needed the instruction manual to your dryer that is not drying your clothes, would you know where to find it? Store all of these documents in one location, such as in a filing cabinet, portable filing tote box, three-ring binder with sheet protectors or even a box.

Just one notebook - Try using one notepad or journal book instead of multiple books for the notes you must always have close at hand. It can be helpful to break your notepad or journal book into sections -- calls to make, things to do, kid stuff, projects, shopping lists, etc.

Cord control - Are the cords in your office out of control? Take control with cord clips or cord storage devices that affix to the top, side or back of your desk to keep the cords in place.

Copyright Eliminate Chaos, reprinted with permission