If clean, tidy surfaces help you feel calm and relaxed but your home office is a study in clutter, it’s time to give it a serenity-inducing spring clean. Here’s how…

1. Power through paperwork
Is your admin area covered in stacks of letters, papers and magazines? Then your first step is to roll up your sleeves and get stuck in. Sort your documents into relevant piles and file all your important paperwork. If you’re planning on discarding any old documents, be sure to shred them if they contain personal information. To prevent the clutter from piling up again, set up a simple inbox/outbox tray so you can deal with letters and papers as soon as they land on your desk. Speaking of which…

2. De-junk your desk
It’s not just paperwork that can make your space feel cluttered – it’s also the plethora of old pens, pencils, paper clips and more that tend to collect on your desk. So clear off anything you don’t need and store your stationary in an organiser or box. Clutter can also come in the form of loose cables and wires running from your phone, computer, monitor and printer. For a cheap, easy solution, tie them together with cable ties and run them neatly behind your desk.  

3. Out with old equipment
Do you have old or defective cellphones, computer mice, keyboards or other electronics gathering dust in a corner? Sort through them to see if there’s anything you can donate, and recycle the rest. There are many recycling centres that accept electronic waste (also known as e-waste) and dispose of it in an environmentally sound manner. Google which facility is nearest to you and drop off your electronics the next time you’re headed in that direction. Once you’ve cleared the clutter, give your surfaces a good wipe down.

Then grab a cup of tea or coffee and enjoy working in your clean, calm space.