Declutter Your Workspace Part 1

Guest Article by Sara William

Part 1 of 3

5 Minimalist Tricks for a Stress-Free Home Office

Working from home has a lot of perks, no commute, the freedom to wear your comfiest clothes, and the ability to make coffee exactly the way you like without worrying if someone will complain about the smell. But there’s one downside that sneaks up on a lot of people: the home office clutter monster. You know the one, it starts small, with a few papers here, a random coffee mug there, a tangle of charging cables that you promise you’ll sort out “tomorrow,” and before you know it, your once neat workspace looks like it’s been through a hurricane made entirely of post-it notes, receipts, and mystery cords. The good news is you’re not alone, and there’s a way out. Minimalism might sound like a lifestyle for people who live in Instagram-perfect apartments, but in reality, it’s one of the easiest ways to bring order to your space, boost your productivity, and give your brain some breathing room.

Today, we’re going to talk about five super-practical, totally doable minimalist tricks you can start using right now to declutter your home office and turn it into a stress-free haven. And the best part? You don’t have to go full “everything must be white and made of Scandinavian wood” to make it work, you just need to make a few intentional changes. Let’s dive in.

Start With the “Everything Out” Method

One of the biggest mistakes people make when they try to declutter is they go into it with the idea of “I’ll just tidy this one shelf” or “I’ll clear this one drawer,” but the problem with that approach is it doesn’t let you see the bigger picture. If you’ve ever reorganized a drawer only to discover later that you still have duplicates of the same supplies scattered across the room, you know what I mean. That’s why the “everything out” method is such a game-changer.

Here’s how it works: pick a section of your home office, your desk, a shelving unit, your filing cabinet and remove every single item from it. Yes, every pen, every piece of paper, even the weird stress ball your old coworker gave you five years ago. Lay it all out on a surface where you can see it clearly. The reason this works is because you can’t make smart decisions about what to keep if you don’t see the full extent of what you own. When everything’s out in the open, you’re forced to confront just how much stuff has been living in your space rent-free.

Once you’ve got it all laid out, start grouping items by category: stationery, tech gear, files, decorative items, and so on. This step is important because it highlights duplicates and lets you spot the things you never actually use. Be ruthless here, if you haven’t used it in the last year and it’s not essential for emergencies or a special project, it’s time to let it go. Donate it, recycle it, or toss it if it’s beyond saving. You’ll be amazed at how freeing it feels to physically remove things you don’t need.

Pro tip: when you put things back, try to give every item its own “home.” If your stapler lives on the left corner of your desk, it should always live there. It might sound silly, but having designated spots for everything makes it so much easier to keep things tidy in the long run. It’s like training your brain to put things back where they belong without even thinking about it.

Hide the Visual Noise

Even if your home office is technically organized, visual clutter can still trick your brain into feeling stressed. That’s because your eyes are constantly processing the things around you, and every brightly colored folder, tangled cord, or random sticky note is competing for your attention. The result? Your focus gets scattered, and it feels like you’ve got fifty tiny to-do lists floating around you at all times.

To tackle this, think about how you can “hide” the things you need without making them harder to access. Storage boxes, file organizers, and cable management tools are your best friends here. For example, if you’ve got a bunch of charging cables dangling off the side of your desk, invest in a cable sleeve or a set of clips that keeps them tucked neatly out of sight. If your shelves are overflowing with books and supplies, use opaque storage bins or baskets so you’re not constantly seeing a jumble of spines and labels every time you glance over.

This is also a great time to think about your cleaning habits, when you’re making your office more minimal, you want to be able to keep it fresh without much effort. Things like Air Duct Cleaning might not seem directly related to clutter, but they make a huge difference in how your workspace feels. Dust, allergens, and that faint stale smell you can’t quite place can all build up in the air, especially if your home office is in a smaller room. Keeping your air ducts clean means your space will literally feel lighter and more pleasant, which makes you more likely to keep it tidy.

And here’s the fun part: hiding visual noise doesn’t mean stripping your workspace of personality. You can still display a plant, a framed photo, or a couple of items that inspire you, just keep it intentional. The trick is to make sure every visible item has a purpose, whether that’s functional, emotional, or aesthetic. When everything on display is there for a reason, it stops being “clutter” and becomes part of your environment’s design.

Go Digital Where You Can

Paper clutter is one of the most stubborn types of mess in a home office. It’s sneaky you think you’re just keeping one or two important documents, but then they multiply like rabbits, and suddenly you’ve got stacks of “I’ll deal with this later” taking over every flat surface. The minimalist approach to paper clutter is simple: if you can store it digitally, do it.

Start by going through your existing paper piles and scanning anything that doesn’t need to be kept in its original form. Contracts, receipts, notes There are tons of free and affordable scanning apps that let you save these as PDFs, which you can then organize into clearly labeled folders on your computer or cloud storage. This way, they’re easy to search for later, and you don’t have to dig through a physical filing cabinet like you’re in a 1990s office drama.

If you get a lot of physical mail for your work, set up a system where you deal with it immediately. That might mean sorting it as soon as it arrives, urgent items go into one folder, things to be scanned go into another, and anything that’s junk goes straight into recycling. The key here is to stop paper clutter before it even has a chance to settle in.

And while we’re talking about keeping things fresh, this is another area where air duct cleaning can play a surprising role. Paper attracts dust, and dust loves to settle in every corner of your workspace, especially in hard-to-reach areas like vents. When your air ducts are clean, you’re not circulating that dust back onto your shelves and paperwork, which makes your cleaning routine easier and your workspace healthier. It’s one of those behind-the-scenes things that supports your minimalist setup without you even realizing it.

The beauty of going digital isn’t just about saving space, it’s about reducing mental clutter too. When you know exactly where to find something (and you can do it in seconds), you’re freeing up brainpower for the actual work you want to be doing. Plus, it’s kind of satisfying to click through neatly organized folders instead of flipping through an avalanche of mismatched paper stacks.

Streamline Your Tools

One thing minimalists are great at is recognizing that you don’t need five versions of the same tool to get the job done. In a home office, this often shows up as duplicate or outdated tech, stacks of unused notebooks, or an army of pens that all mysteriously stop working at the same time. The trick here is to really evaluate what tools you actually use daily, and which ones are just taking up space because you might need them someday.

Take your tech gear, for example. If you’ve got an old printer that’s been out of ink for six months, ask yourself if you really need it or if you could get by with a smaller, more efficient model (or even by printing things occasionally at a local shop). The same goes for stationery, if you have ten highlighters but always reach for the same two, donate the rest.

This is also a good opportunity to invest in multifunctional tools. A desk lamp with a built-in wireless charger, for example, can replace both a lamp and a separate charging pad. A comfortable, adjustable office chair can replace that stack of extra cushions you’ve been using to get the height just right.

You’ll also want to create a small “essentials only” zone on your desk. This is the stuff you actually touch every day, your laptop, your favorite pen, maybe a notebook. Everything else can be stored away but still kept within reach. This way, your workspace feels open and clear, and you’re not constantly navigating around things you barely use.

And yes, even when you’ve streamlined your tools, keeping your space fresh is key. If you’re in a dusty environment or if your home office is part of a bigger room, Air Duct Cleaning can be an absolute game changer. The less dust and debris floating around, the longer your gear stays clean and the less often you have to wipe down every surface. It’s the kind of maintenance that supports your minimalist efforts without adding extra chores.

Commit to a Daily Reset

Here’s the truth: decluttering your home office isn’t a “one and done” project, it’s an ongoing habit. The easiest way to keep your space minimalist-friendly is to commit to a quick daily reset. This doesn’t have to be a big production; even five minutes at the end of your workday can make a huge difference.

During your reset, put away anything that’s out of place, toss any trash, and quickly wipe down your desk. If you’ve been eating at your desk (hey, it happens), make sure you clean up crumbs and spills right away so they don’t become a sticky science experiment. This is also the perfect time to file or scan any new papers before they start forming a pile.

A daily reset works because it keeps the clutter from building up to overwhelming levels. You’re essentially pressing the “reset button” on your workspace every day, so when you sit down the next morning, you’re starting fresh instead of facing yesterday’s mess.

For five additional decluttering tips, be sure to check back later. To ensure you don’t miss anything, please sign up below so you won’t miss a thing. You’ll also receive a 10% off coupon to use here or in my Etsy store.

About the Author

Sara William is a digital marketing consultant, writer, freelancer, WordPress enthusiast, and coffee lover.

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