Home-Office Organization with Farnoosh Torabi

I feel like January is a great time for New Years Resolutions – get in shape, eat healthy, stay on-top of your finances, etc. but we all know that those generally fall by the wayside once February rolls around.  For me, the gym seems like a hassle to go to, fast food is tempting when I’m pressed for time and finances can be a headache when they start to build up.

However, I love that the new year is a time for a fresh start!  Its a time to start thinking about what is important in your life and what you need to declutter from your life.  Now that February is here and the holidays have died down, its a good opportunity to look around your office space and think about what you need to organize. Whether its tidying up your desk or purchasing new items to help you organize, you have to make the effort to declutter your office space.  I feel very strongly that an organized office space increases your efficiency and makes you look more professional.

I tend to day dream about the perfect home-office setting and mine would look something like this:
Image courtesy of www.potterybarn.com
Photo is from www.potterybarn.com
I’d love to be the proud owner of that office space, but sadly, my home-office looks more cluttered than I would like to admit.  Time gets the best of me during busy season and its hard to keep everything in its place.  I am a huge fan of office supplies though and could spend hours in a store deciding what decor I want to use for my desk, which file folders are going to best for all my bills, etc.  At a time like this, I need to a professional opinion on what I should and should not have on or at my desk, so I consulted a personal finance expert, Farnoosh Torabi, for her help with organizing my home-office.
If you are not familiar with Farnoosh, I would urge you to seek her out.  She has an awesome website and is a well known for her books called Psych Yourself Rich and You’re So Money.  She has been generous enough to help me with tips for organizing my home-office space and I would love to share those tips with you as well!
In addition, to ensure that we all are organized this year, one lucky reader will win a $25 gift card to Office Depot, redeemable through in-store or online purchases.  Hopefully, you will use the gift card to organize your home-office space with some of the great suggestions that Farnoosh shared with us!  In order to enter the contest, please leave a comment and share a tip that you have used that has helped you with keeping your home-office organized. I will randomly choose a winner on Friday, February 25th at 12pm EST and contact you via email (which will not show up on the comment section).  I’d like to thank Office Depot and Farnoosh Torabi for their sponsorship of this gift card!

11 Responses to “Home-Office Organization with Farnoosh Torabi”

  1. ed, on February 18th, 2011 at 4:29 PM Said:

    I like to encourage my messy girlfriend to keep her workplace clean. When her things start to spread to other areas of the house I gather it all up and make a tower with it in the center of her desk.

  2. The Financialite, on February 21st, 2011 at 7:59 PM Said:

    Interesting Ed, does this approach really work? You should try helping her organize her things in order to get her on the right path to staying organized! Thanks for entering!

  3. Katie, on February 21st, 2011 at 9:07 PM Said:

    The accordion folder is my life saver. Makes organizing things really easy. also, I try to go paperless with all my bills so I don’t make the paper clutter in the first place. And it’s good for the environment. :)

  4. Dustin, on February 22nd, 2011 at 9:41 AM Said:

    I keep everything filed in a 2 story filing cabinet. I also do a yearly purge and get rid of any unnecessary documents.

  5. Meaghan, on February 22nd, 2011 at 11:04 AM Said:

    I have to admit, I am really bad about throwing away receipts! I always think “but what if I need it one day?”. I keep them nice and neat in envelopes, but then I end up with stacks and stacks of envelopes in drawers and on shelves. I am definitely going to look into the “neat receipt” gadget that Farnoosh mentioned!

  6. CPA in progress, on February 22nd, 2011 at 2:12 PM Said:

    I have something I call my “big girl box” (laugh it up). It’s a simple plastic box full of hanging file folders, but it gives me a place too keep all the papers/statements/receipts etc. that would otherwise be accumulating on my desk and at risk of being erroneously thrown out.

    Admittedly, I get lazy and sometimes just pile things on top of said box, but I do try to go through it monthly and throw out anything I really don’t need and properly file/organize what I do. :)

  7. Your Insurance Guy, on February 23rd, 2011 at 10:56 AM Said:

    Best thing that’s helped me stay organized is my document scanner. That way, I just scan any bills or files I want keep for the long run and toss the paper copy – leads to less clutter and makes each document more accessible. Just name it and store it on your external hard drive and you’re good to go!

    Great blog!

  8. Liz, on February 24th, 2011 at 1:47 PM Said:

    I always had this problem with organizing all the little things like paper clips, thumbtacks, rubber bands etc and then I got these small stackable boxes that really make it easy to keep all of it organized on top of my desk. I also find that having a crate with hanging file folders help me to keep all my random mail/bills/receipts organized. :)

  9. Lisa M., on February 24th, 2011 at 3:25 PM Said:

    Hanging file folders are the best way for me to keep bills and important receipts organized. I tried using binders for a while but it felt like I was confined to doing some sort of horrible scrapbooking experiment, only without funny photos or captions. Maybe if someone invented scrapbooks for your bills? Like, you a sticker that says “Exercised My Excise Tax!” with a gold, glittery border or something? “High Five for Paying Your Honda Off!” I’ll stop now…

  10. Ali, on February 24th, 2011 at 4:19 PM Said:

    Love this website! This article was so helpful and Farnoosh shared great tips while also presenting Office Depot equipment to help achieve organizational goals.

    I live by the quote, “Procrastination breeds clutter,” so I always have my planner for the day that is organized in hour and half-increments so I know what I should be doing for the day. For unexpected “to-do’s” that come up I write it on a post-it/notepad so I don’t forget.

    For home/office inspiration, definitely check out one of my favorite websites: This is Glamorous.

    http://citified.blogspot.com/2011/01/office-inspiration-light-bright.html

  11. The Financialite, on February 25th, 2011 at 12:09 PM Said:

    Drum roll please… and the winner of the $25 gift card to Office Depot is Ali! Thank you all for entering the contest and I hope that you enjoyed all the tips that were provided in the post.

    (FYI – I randomly put all your names on slips of paper and picked one out of the bunch – I am very technical over here!)

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