Over the past few years as we’ve collectively worked from home more than ever before, it’s made us fairly immune to distractions—a spouse or kid on a Zoom call in the same room, street and construction noises, piled-up laundry that’s perpetually tempting to toss in the washer. But an ongoing one is home-office clutter. Not only is the visual of the mess a productivity blocker, but our experts also note that if we devote the time to make our setups work better for us, we will save so much time on the back end.

The main purpose of an office is to get things done, so “we waste time and money not knowing where things are,” says New York City-based professional organizer Andrew Mellen, author of “ Unstuff Your Life! Kick the Clutter Habit and Completely Organize Your Life for Good.” Beyond that, clutter can drag you down emotionally. When you’re disorganized and it’s tough to find things or accomplish tasks, “it’s likely to bring up feelings that aren’t happy, and if you aren’t feeling good, you’re typically less engaged or focused,” says Mellen. “Things can seem bigger and scarier than they actually are.”

Where do we go wrong when it comes to keeping our home offices neat? According to New York City-based organizer Lisa Zaslow, founder of Gotham Organizers, a big factor is what we buy for our offices. “One of the most common things I see is people have products or furniture that don’t work for them: They’ll have a poorly designed file cabinet, folders with plastic tabs that keep falling off, or bookshelves with no sides so the books keep flopping over, and all of that makes it hard to be organized,” she says. You might not be paying much attention to these objects on a regular basis, but “any of these can be like the snowball effect. You see one thing that’s not working and it puts you in defeatist mode, like, ‘Ugh, I can’t even deal with my bookshelves.’” 

The key is to take note of what needs to be fixed up or swapped out and “switch your mindset to, ‘These are problems I can solve,’” she says. Even something as basic as your pen collection is a good start. “Upgrade your pens and put them in a cute little holder on your desk. I just use a pretty drinking glass,” Zaslow says. That’s the only place where pens go—and only good pens at that. Take a small step and see how it changes your daily experience. “ You don’t have to have 45 old crappy pens in your drawer anymore,” says Zaslow, and that progress can motivate you to take additional organizing steps.

A few of our pros suggest switching standard, utilitarian-looking holders and containers to acrylic ones. “It’s often ‘out of sight, out of mind’ for people, so I love that you can see what’s in there,” says professional organizer Rachel Rosenthal, founder of Rachel and Company in Bethesda, Md. “The stuff inside is the aesthetic. And it’s easy to wipe down if something gets spilled on it.”

Another common slip-up? “Everything is a mishmash,” says Mellen, who espouses corralling and compartmentalizing your items instead. “Name your desk drawers so they don’t become a free for all,” suggests Nikki Boyd, a professional organizer and founder of At Home With Nikki in Summerville, S.C. You can dedicate one or two to office supplies, for example, and another for a ‘‘Zoom kit’ with a comb, mirror and anything else for video calls and another for snacks, hand lotion and the other things you use regularly throughout the day,” says Boyd. “You know at a glance where everything goes and you can put it all back at the end of the day.”

That “closing-out routine” at the end of a work day is a sanity saver, Boyd adds. “When you take five minutes before you leave the room to reset your desk and other areas in the office, it changes the start of your next day—if you don’t, the clutter creeps back in.” This type of maintenance is the step that people are most prone to leave out, adds Zaslow. “They somehow forget that organizing is an ongoing habit,” she says. “In any home office, new stuff comes in and you need to attend to it. You don’t just work out with a trainer for a few months and expect the results to last forever.”

These containers made of recycled polyester come in gray or white, fold flat when not in use, and keep desk drawers from becoming a dumping ground. “It helps to keep like with like,” says Mellen. I don’t want to have to fight through the pens whenever I want a marker.”

Put one of these on your desk “to corral the little things, like pencils and paper clips, so you can grab them when you need them and they’re not sprawled all over,” says Boyd, who loves that you can expand or reconfigure this tray, or buy multiples to stack in a linen bin. “It makes it easier to do a reset at the end of the day.”

For big Post-it Note users, like Mellen, this desktop device that anchors a pack of sticky notes is a game changer. “This thing makes me very happy because it keeps them nice and tidy, and dispenses them one at a time,” he says. “It has a home on the base of my monitor. And whether there are 50 in the pack or just two left, it’s easy to interact with them.”

Have a desk without drawers? This acrylic add-on, which can sit on the desk surface and hold standard-size paper and smaller office items, is a favorite of Rosenthal’s. “It gives you space to put a notepad or anything in progress so it is waiting there for the next work day.”

Pro organizers advise taking advantage of vertical space and paper-filing is no exception, which is where these magazine holders come in. “Instead of taking up actual desk space, use one as your inbox,” suggests Boyd. “I love the linen look, and they’re very durable and easy to wipe clean.”

“I love a good file cabinet that fits under a desk,” says Zaslow. “This one is small, it’s on wheels, the drawers open all the way and it comes in different colors.” The steel cabinet is “not inexpensive because it’s good.”

Many pro organizers love utility carts. This one is Boyd’s go-to for its modern style and availability in several colors. “A lot of times working at home can get tedious so having something mobile is great,” says Boyd. “You can just roll it into another room and have a functional space right there.”  Zaslow recommends this sturdy mesh metal version. “You can put a desktop file box on it for your tools. It’s a place to store printer ink and paper. It’s like a little mobile office and when you don’t want it in the room, you can just roll it away.”

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From a compact smart printer to Zoom-friendly lighting, these are the wisest buys to help you zip through your workday