(BPT) - You have a lot to do as the end of the year approaches, including getting ready for 2016 at home and in the office. If holiday tasks have diverted your attention from staying organized at work, getting back on track and decluttering your workspace can help ensure a smoother start in the New Year. Try these seven tips to re-organize your desk, cubicle and office: * Upgrade your organizational accessories. Is your document box so beat up it can barely stand, let alone look like anything you want to use? Are you still using that Popsicle stick and soup can pencil holder your teenager made for you in preschool? Even if your accessories are still usable, are they so utilitarian they affect your motivation? Treat yourself to new accessories in fun, fashionable patterns and colors. Staples offers an exclusive line of office products from fashion designer Cynthia Rowley and London stationary brand, Paperchase, as part of its Style at Staples collection. In bright colors, floral and geometric patterns that compliment every office style and personal taste, the Style at Staples collection can help your functional workspace achieve a chic and fun look. * Get your files in order. While a paperless office sounds nice, in reality, most people are still wrangling paper. If you have stacks of unfiled papers, take 10 minutes to go through them. Discard what you no longer need. Sort the things you must keep into stacks by category - receipts, reports, pending projects, etc. - and then file the stacks accordingly. * Create a special spot for work in progress. This could be hanging files in an easily accessible drawer, a document box on top of the desk, or a simple 'inbox' tray. Clip project documents together with color-coded binder clips or large paper clips to help you see at a glance which documents go with each project. Cynthia Rowley offers file folders and document boxes in gold and black floral. * Get printers and scanners off your desk. Add a printer stand or a shelf and relocate the printer/scanner there. Wireless printers make it easy to move printing, copying and scanning out of your immediate work area - and regain much-needed real estate on your desk. * Unload and organize your 'junk drawer.' Just as every kitchen has a drawer where you stash stuff you don't know what else to do with, most offices have one too. Empty yours and trash the things you clearly don't need. When you know what you want to keep, return it to the drawer in a more organized fashion by using a desk drawer organizer. Staples carries a wide variety of organizers in numerous sizes, shapes, colors and styles. * Tackle digital clutter. Hundreds of emails can arrive in your inbox each day. Some will be junk, but many will be things you need. Use your email software's organizational tools to set up a filing system that mirrors your paper one. Create email folders by client, project, task, etc. and establish receipt rules that send incoming emails to the appropriate folder. * Take stock of the personal items on your desk. A few family pictures can be uplifting to look at during the day, but too much personal stuff just encroaches on your workspace. Update old family photos with more recent images and keep them in a specific 'zone' on your desk, bookshelves or filing cabinets. Paperchase offers beautiful frames in gold, silver or patterned styles. Heading into 2016 with an organized workspace accented by attractive accessories can be the holiday gift you give yourself - and it will keep on giving throughout the work year ahead.
