The one room in my home that tends to get cluttered is my home office. Actually, it’s my desk that takes the biggest hit when I’m in super busy mode. It’s gotten a bit out of sorts lately, and in my quest to regain order, I discovered a few things in my office that I absolutely had to get rid of…along with a few that I definitely “must have.”
Well, it turns out that I have quite a few “must have” items. To start, I’ve listed four of them below…more to follow in a later post.
I keep all my important papers and sensitive information that clients give me (e.g., credit card numbers) in my safe. I love that I can use hanging files to separate specific categories and easily find what I’m looking for. Buy a Hanging File Safe
Paper piles and receipt mountains can quickly take over any office, including mine. Books don’t ever seem to be the problem as they sit nicely on a shelf, but paper, well, that’s a different story. The NeatDesk is very helpful at keeping the paper monster at bay, including the business card types. The NeatWorks software organizes the papers you scan and creates searchable pdf files. This will make your life easy, especially come tax time. Yes, it’s coming again…soon. Buy Neat Desk
What office would be complete without a way to back up electronic files? You never know when your PC or laptop will get temperamental or go on a permanent sabbatical, so having another way to access your files is critical. The model pictured on the left is the one most similar to the one I use, though you may want to check out the Western Digital 2 TB unit and SentrySafe HD that is fire safe and waterproof. Buy a Hard Drive
Alright, so Dropbox isn’t an actual thing in my office, but I definitely recommend it as a great way to access and share files from any PC. I used it this year to share docs my CPA needed to prepare my taxes. The added bonus: when you make changes to the shared files, all edits are updated for everyone (i.e., automatic sync). What’s even better? Each time you refer Dropbox to a friend who signs up, you get extra storage space free. Sign Up for Dropbox
What can’t you live without in your office?
