A Fall Reset for Your Home Office

The fall equinox occurred about two weeks ago and it’s a wonderful time to share an easy to follow five-step process for you to get your home office reset for the fall season and up and running with renewed clarity and momentum. The season of fall is nature’s time for releasing detritus, decay, and entering towards dormancy before regeneration and renewal. This season’s changes are a necessary part of the life-cycle in nature and we can carry the same concepts into our homes and working spaces.

Clutter tends to accumulate in the home office, often resulting in an environment that feels burdensome and overwhelming. Whether it is papers and bills, journals and planners, or the little piles of projects and ideas not yet completed, the home office can easily be consumed by such clutter. Before the space can be reorganized and design upgrades identified, the decluttering process must happen first. Decluttering can be challenging for some of us and easy for others, so it is important to give yourself time and space to move through this work.

Step 1: Sort and Declutter

Start by sorting like items with like items – so if your cluttered mess is not already a series of “organized piles” you will begin to reorder the clutter into categories. While you are sorting similar types of items, you need to decide whether you are keeping or discarding each item. I prefer to follow the Marie Kondo method when decluttering as it allows me to be more rigorous and release many more items than I retain. Specifically, her co-authored book with Scott Sonenshein “Joy at Work: Organizing Your Professional Life” is an excellent approach to decluttering your home office. If you follow the Kondo method, you will let go of items by thanking them for serving you for the time you had them and gracing them for another life (with someone else or in some other form upon recycling). Office supplies may be one area that needs some attention – so, look through your desk drawers and storage and be sure to eliminate redundancies of things like staplers as well as toss out pens and pencils that no longer write. Be thorough with the decluttering and allow yourself some time to process after clearing out things that no longer serve you – it is best to take a break or wait until the following day to proceed with the next steps.

Step 2: Discard and Donate Unused Items

Next, let us assess the larger items such as furnishings, equipment, and décor that remain in your space. If you are certain that some items no longer serve you, especially items with severe wear or breakage, you can discard these. There may be some items that are in perfectly decent shape, but you are not sure the aesthetic suits your style or overall office space. It is also possible that you have acquired furnishings over time from prior residences and your current home office space does not cleanly accommodate the size or shape of certain items. One thing to note here is that it is better to open your space as much as possible to allow for more clarity in your work. If there are bulky or awkward pieces that overfill the space, consider removing them from the current setup. These items can be set aside for the time being, as the intention for your overall home office design will be addressed in a later step.

Step 3: Deep Clean for a Fresh Start

Prepare the space for a deep clean by moving remaining furniture items away from walls to allow for thorough cleaning of baseboards and edge details of the room. When cleaning any space, be sure to start from top and work your way to the bottom. So, begin with cleaning out any ceiling light fixtures first, then address the dusting of ceilings and crown moldings (if any) using a microfiber duster arm. Next, clean any windows and dust windowsills, moldings, and blinds. Be sure to remove draperies for separate laundering. Wipe down walls with a damp microfiber cloth and depending on the finish of the wall surface consider alternative cleaning methods. Run a microfiber duster along any baseboard moldings to dust the edges of the entire space. Next, clean the furniture items in a sequence of material type – so all wood furniture first, then metal, then plastic, etc. This allows for efficiency in the type of cleaning solution you are using at the time. Finally, clean the floors and any throw rugs by vacuum first, and then provide a proper mopping solution and wipe-down for hard flooring materials (wood, ceramic, etc.) and consider steam-cleaning rugs and throws for a solid refresh.

Step 4: Reorganize with Intention

Now that your space and furnishings are entirely clean be sure to take a break to relax and reflect. Consider the conditions of your designated office space for any potential reorganization of the furniture and layout for improved functionality and flow. You can read more about apace selection and setup in my prior blog posts on Creating a Healthy Home Workspace Environment and Space Selection for Your Home Office. If your work from home includes video calls or content creation, you may also want to check out this masterclass on how to Design Your Home Office to Enhance Your Video Presence. I love to consider the quality of natural light first and foremost, which can help to inform your desk orientation. And, as mentioned earlier, consider reducing the quantity of items and furnishings to create an open and airy feeling in your home office. Once your major furniture items are newly arranged in the space, you can make a clear decision on anything to recycle or dispose of. This is also a fun time to consider a change out of textiles for the fall season. Properly store summer textiles (throw blankets and throw rugs) and replace them with seasonally appropriate materials that will carry into winter.

Step 5: Identify Potential Improvements

Now that you have a basic new order for your home office setup, reflect on any elements or features that might help to support your workflow and efficiency. Begin with addressing ergonomic needs – such as improved office chair with proper back support, adjustable height laptop stand, etc. Then consider environmental improvements, such as lighting conditions, air quality, and thermal aspects. Next, think about the aesthetics of the space and how to better coordinate materials and colors and bring out qualities that will improve your mood and workday effectiveness. And, finally, consider whether there are any design updates that will support your workday and workweek rituals. This could include better storage solutions,  If you want to go deeper into this process for design improvements to your home office space, get a copy of the Healthy Home Workspace Guide.  

When you have completed these five steps, you are basically in a great place for the fall and forthcoming winter seasons. Personally, I like to enhance my space with beautiful fall elements from nature – such as branches arranged in a tall ceramic vase and some seasonal aromatherapy oils such as cinnamon and bergamot. I also like to consider the sounds that will help the workday focus, such as the quiet rustling of leaves or the hooting of owls. Just remember to keep things minimal, eliminate too many elements above eye level, keep storage and shelving low to the ground, and open the space to allow your mind to be free to focus. Your best work will occur when your space supports clarity of mind and creativity. Fall is a hot season for accomplishing deep work – so make it your best experience with a beautiful work environment!

If you are interested in optimizing the design of your home workspace, reach out to AIDA, LLC today for a consultation. You can always find more information and healthy home resources at Aletheia Ida Design and Architecture, LLC (AIDA, LLC) at  www.aletheiaida.com.