By Tricia Weil

When just starting out, you don’t always have the luxury of having 500 square feet of office space to work with. When choosing to rent office space, many chose location and affordability over size. Being organized in any size work space will make you  happier, make your visiting clients feel more at ease and you will be more prepared. Hours and money can be wasted by having an unorganized workspace. Here are some easy tips to organize a small work space:
1. Schedule a time to get organized. Sounds crazy, but everything is on our smart phone calendars these days. So why wouldn’t you schedule time in your day to get organized? As the owner or high-level employee of a small business, you’re the executive and this is your executive suite. Make the time to ensure that when last minute pop-ins by client occur, you look the part. Schedule the time, because, if it’s not on the calendar, it probably won’t happen. Organizing your office may take a few afternoons, but if you make the time, it’s more likely to get organized and to stay organized.
2. “The Year Test”. The Small Business Administration estimates that 80% of what we keep we never use. Therefore, if you haven’t used something in your work space in a year then get rid of it. Use document scanning software to scan important documents onto your computer and keep those important documents off-site or store them out of your work space area.
3. Hide your printer. Some desk drawers are large enough for a printer to fit in. This is a great hiding place for your printer and cuts down on surface space being taken up by bulky objects.
4. Think Vertically. More than not, you can’t expand your floor space. Shelves are a smart addition to your work space. You can store files, office supplies and boxes on them without taking up floor or surface space. Adding magazine holders to on the shelves may be a great inexpensive alternative to filing cabinets.
5. No more sticky notes. Yes, they help us remember what we need to do and are convenient, but they take up space on your desk, wall, phone, computer screen or anywhere else you can put them. A better way to stay organized is hanging up a white board or be trendy with a chalk board on your wall. Several of our tenants here in our St. Louis office space love these adhesive chalk boards from Amazon. They provide space for creative brainstorming and are easily moved or taken down when the need arises.
6. Daily needs on desk. Do you need the extra large size rubber bands on a daily basis or that label-maker immediately? If not, put it in a drawer and only keep supplies on your desk that you use daily or that you need immediately.
7. Clean-up time. Go all the way back to grade school when you spend the last 15 or 20 minutes of the day cleaning up your toys. Use that structure with your work space. Take the last 10 or 15 minutes of the day to clean off your desk and tidy up your work space. This will make you more productive and an effective way to stay organized after all the work you just did organizing.
You can organize all different size work spaces. If you are looking for an office suite to clutter and then organize, we have spaces ranging from 110 to 225 square feet. If you just need a work space to keep you organized for a day, we have that too! Schedule a tour or book your space by contacting us today!