Has the corner of your family or living room become your home office? Follow these tips to get your home office organized, no matter where it’s located.

Primarily, an office needs a clear work area. There should be enough space for all your computer hardware and peripheral equipment, as well as reference materials, files, office supplies and paper Select office furniture, whether your purchasing a bookcase or an oak filing cabinet,  that has ample space both for work and storage.

Establish Activity Centers
If an office is to be efficient, it should be zoned into different activity areas. Create a “work center” where you have a clear workspace and a place for your computer and frequently used office products. It’s also convenient to designate a “reference center”: a place where you can keep all your binders, manuals, dictionaries and professional books and materials. Last, you need a “supply center,” which contains all your office and paper supplies.

Situate your computer equipment by frequency of use. For example, if the printer is used daily, make sure it’s within easy reach. Most people only access the CPU for troubleshooting. If this is the case, then store it under or next to the desk. Seldom-used scanners and other equipment can be placed outside the work area. Consider access to drives, trays and cords when setting up your hardware. Finally, be sure not to block any drawers or take up leg room with tangled cords.

Establish a Paper-Processing Area
Are you always misplacing that important paperwork? Create a place within your work center for those papers that require immediate action. There should be an accessible place within your view where paperwork associated with clients or ongoing projects is stored. Set up a permanent file system for any paperwork you may infrequently reference.

Can’t figure out which cord is which? Try folding mailing labels back on themselves around each cord to label the wires. It’s helpful to not only label the cords to the electrical supply but also those cords that connect the different component to each other. A good way to cut down on cord clutter is to bundle like wires together. As an example, computer speaker wires and stereo speaker wires can be put together.

Take Care of Your Media and Computer Equipment
If you have delicate electronic equipment, be sure to use a surge protector. When purchasing one of these, check the back to make sure it’s UL listed and is a transient-voltage surge protector. In this case, you’re better off going with a more expensive model, which will be built with a replaceable fuse and will last much longer than a cheaper version.

For the perfect lint- and static-free rag to clean your CDs and DVDs, find a used fabric softener sheet.

CDs should only be handled on the rim, which helps cut down on fingerprints. What needs to be cleaned is the back of the CD where the information is stored. To correctly clean a CD, start at the center and stroke out to the edge. Don’t clean it in a circular motion.

It’s often necessary to stack your equipment in order to make the most efficient use of your office space. Take care not to stack any amps or other equipment with venting on the top, as they might get too warm. When stacking this type of equipment, use chair-leg protectors or some other kind of small plastic cup.

Use a lint-free cloth, such as an old T-shirt to regularly clean your computer screen. Be sure not to spray the screen directly. Rather, spray the cloth with water and wipe clean. Abrasive substances should never be used to clean a computer screen. Window cleaners should also be avoided. A lint-free cloth and water is the way to go for a clean screen. Your monitor’s manual should indicate the proper way to clean the screen.