One of the easiest ways you can organise your work space is by separating your documents & accessories into categories and utilising storage spaces. No matter how big or small your space is, there is always a way!

Below are some of my favourite tips & tricks to achieving this in a stylish yet functional manner...

MAKE IT WORK FOR YOU: 

Creating your own systems for filing and organising your documents is a very personal thing, make sure you take the time to create a system & strategy that suits you and your career and then... commit to it!

• Build a routine around your filing to keep on top of things, for example every Friday I file away all my paper work and have a big de-clutter ready to start Monday morning fresh. 
• On the first day of every month make a note to start any new folders or files that you need.
• If you are a fast paced person invest in a tray system with 3 sections - Urgent, Need to Do and To File

GET CREATIVE:

As many of you know, my North Bondi apartment is T I N Y!!! Lucky for me, most of my important documents & files are stored on my laptop (& backed up on Dropbox & a hard drive of course!) so I don't need a lot of physical storage space. However below are a couple of ways I make my space work for me storage wise:

• FOLDERS: I currently have x1 Folder on my desk for all my important documents that I need to access easily. This sits perfectly under my desk on my trestle table leg! If you lack space in & around your desk then get creative & utilise any little areas you can. 
• DESK ACCESSORIES: One thing I love at the moment is how many creative desk accessories are popping up. If you have the flexibility to hang things to your wall, I love the idea of these amazing leather wall straps that are perfect for holding your favourite magazines, notebooks or documents. 
• BOXES: I have invested in x2 black boxes that compliment my work space & sit nicely amongst my fashion books & magazines - One holds my bills that need to be paid that week, and one holds my accessories & An Organised Life samples e.g ribbon & paper stock samples etc.

NB: One thing I love about boxes is that you can stack them easily in small spaces - when I need more space on my desk I stack the x2 boxes neatly above my wardrobe.

LABELS ARE YOUR BEST FRIEND:

No matter if you have x1 folder at your workspace or 50, labels are your best friend! Make sure you create a clear strategy & system to your labelling that works for you. Personally I am a big fan of alphabetical or numeric labelling. Below are some suggestions:

• If you use a lot of dates for invoices or receipts - label your folders clearly with the year first, followed by the month then date - e.g 20160101 - 20160229, if the numbers get too confusing split them up with symbols e.g 2016/01/01 - 2016/02/29
• If you have a lot of clients that you work with utilise an alphabetical system with your folders or in some cases have a folder per client. 

COLOUR CODE:

If you one of the lucky ones that have a beautiful big space to work in I would highly suggest utilising a colour coding system for your folders. Even if its just Black, White & Grey to keep your space monochrome.

For example in my dream work space I would use my black folders for accounts & important documents, white folders for creative quotes, invoices & stockists info and the grey folders for sampling & test prints.  

Below is an amazing reference of the black & white folders that make everything visually more accessible. NB: You would still need to label the folders further with your numeric or alphabetical system! 

CREATE AN INSPIRING SPACE: 

Above all, make sure your workspace is inspiring and motivating. Most people spend a large percentage of their working week at their desks and its important to feel inspired. Take the time to shop around & invest in storage solutions that compliment your style & space. 

Imagery from: www.beeldsteil.com, www.thewhitecompany.com, elisabethheier.no