Home Office – Client C

Date: February 2016

Space: Home Office

Client C shared this office space with her late husband. This space is cluttered on the desktops (three), the filing cabinet and all the drawers. Additional tables were also put up to contain the overflow. Client C had not been able to sit in her office desk for several years, instead using the space as storage.

We first went through and gathered all of the office supplies – papers, post-its, pens, paper clips…  Next we moved to electronics, then digital media and music, photos/memorabilia and finally paperwork. Because this was in anticipation of moving to a smaller home we were looking to drastically reduce the volume that would be relocated.

When decluttering a home office take into consideration:

• How hard/expensive would it be to replace an item?
• Do you see yourself needing these items in the next year, 2-3 years?
• Can an item serve multiple purposes?
• Do the memories associated with the items make you smile, laugh and feel good?
• Do you need to hold onto records for legal reasons: tax, real estate, and other documents

Lessons Learned: When dealing with a very cluttered space create a work area where you can drastically reduce the distractions and focus on a single decision at a time. With Client C, we set up at the dining table sorting and making decisions on each category before moving onto the next.