AIBU to think you need some kind of functioning home office space to manage life admin?

[queenceleste]

I struggle as the spaces I do have are full of stuff and decluttering always ends up derailing into other priorities.

Every system I’ve tried fails - I’m sure because I have a range of reasons why I struggle. But other people’s solutions do inspire me particularly if they are simple ones.

How and where do you manage all your life admin? I would love to know.

If I can’t do it the minute it comes in I have a to do and a to file system eg if I’ve not dealt with the letter or the email it’s in one place; and those I’ve dealt with email wise get filed straight away or post in a file pile

Erm, on my phone. Everything is online so I do any life admin bits whenever and wherever and have email folders for any correspondence I need to keep.

I think you would just fill the office space with more clutter it is just another space to fill isn't it ? My Dh is messy and has piles of stuff everywhere his "office" is full of crap, my advice is to concentrate on 1 bit of your house deal with paperwork the same day. And yes email folders.

What sort of stuff? Very little comes in the post now, surely it's all online so you can do it on your phone?

Yep, I do pretty much everything online these days. There is very little that can't just be done on a phone?

Banking is all paperless as is all the insurance. I can't think of any life admin I do that would require an office space! The small amount of paperwork we have is in a folder on shelf in the spare room.

On my phone. Any actual paper correspondence goes in a particular drawer.

Almost all is electronic so hardly any paper to keep track of in my house. What I do have is in a folder

On line, on my sofa in the living room.

Do everything on my phone I have 1 file any essential documents are stored in. I dont really spend a lot of time on "life admin" though on a regular basis

We have a pin board in the kitchen beside the family calendar. School letters with info we need get pinned there in event date order. Otherwise most life admin is online.

If you give us an idea of what you are doing that requires a specific space we could maybe advise better.

I shove most paperwork in a drawer, absolutely hate it and find it hugely inefficient. Everything should be online.

I need a lap top for mine. Phone wouldn’t be big enough for spreadsheets or whatever. I do it about twice a week and set aside a few hours for it. Note the responses will vary as life admin will vary massively from family to family.

Obviously much is done on computer but I have a desk and it runs on old school pre digital office principles. In tray, out tray, to do lists and folders for paper documents. Tax returns and any tax paperwork I keep forgetting a few years. I also keep paper copies of important things like wills, house purchase LPA etc because it might be many years before they are needed.

My DH took a couple hours every Sunday to go through everything. He had an ex and two other kids and he paid for everything to do with them. He was the type of person who would go through all statements and match them to receipts. He was always in the lookout for better mortgage rates, insurance and utility deals and kept good records on everything (he was a lawyer so maybe part of his training)! Anyhoo I am not nearly as systematic but do most things on my phone as and when - usually putting things off til the last moment!
But you don’t really need a dedicated space to do it, though a filing cabinet or shelves for files somewhere is fairly essential for documents.

I have an A4 sized box in my kitchen like this that any outstanding admin goes in. I do a deeper clean of my kitchen once a week so check through it then.
https://www.dunelm.com/product/ribbed-storage-box-1000252295?defaultSkuId=31000067&size=6.8l&colour=Graphite+%28Grey%29
If I have any documents I need to keep hold of I have a kallax box at the top of my wardrobe.

My life admin is on my phone, carried out on the sofa.

Documents I need once in a blue moon, e.g birth certificates, are neatly filed away in a plastic filing box in my bedroom.

If you're struggling to make space how would a desk help, you'll just end up pilling more junk on it?

Everything is online so I just need somewhere I can sit with laptop/ipad/phone.

Most of mine is in a spreadsheet on my laptop. I have a drawer for any paperwork which I sort/shred periodically. I have a arch lever folder to store any paperwork like council tax notices, water bills, etc but more and more this is available online so I don't bother.

I find a dedicated space and a mini routine helps me get these tasks done. If I have loads of stuff I don't want to do I will set up my table with a green tea and a bowl of strawberries or something. Kind of romanticise the tasks and then crack on in half hour stints

What life admin are you thinking about that it needs a home office space?

My solution would be to look at what you are finding complicated. So, the next piece of "life admin" that you need to do think
-do I need to do it? If you don't then "remove" it - if it's random emails for example, then unsubscribe
-can I just do it straight away fairly quickly(in which case, do it)?
-is it something that's recurring, then think about a "system" to do it. So for example, we have reminders set up for key annual insurances home, car, travel etc. and we can then deal with them when the reminder fires, but don't otherwise have to worry.
-if it's something that will take some time, then assign that time like you would a work task "I will do it on Wednesday at 6pm".

We have an old wardrobe for all ‘office’ related stuff. It’s shelved out inside, and I cut a hole in back so printer could be plugged in inside.
Holds printer, laminater, pens, scissor and other office or craft stuff. folders with documents we need stored, any other important stuff. A tray of stuff that needs doing.
Gift wrap/ spare kids party gifts etc in there also.

Shut door and it’s all tidy.

I have a metal set of filing drawers, mine certainly isn't all on my phone, I have old paper share certificates that would a bit of an effort to get digitised, dividend info, tax stuff, paperwork from when my parents died. I mainly do admin stuff like this on a desktop computer, I couldn't be bothered fiddling on my phone.

We have a dresser in the dining room and I keep paperwork in folders in the dresser cupboard, stationery in the drawers and use the dining table to work on. If I open post that needs something doing with it, I leave it on the table until the weekend as we tend not to eat off that table during the week.

The only thing I have that isn’t online are things like passports, insurance documents, and I have power of attorney for both of my parents, for as and when that is needed in the future, house deeds etc. I have one filing cabinet for those. I have a home office, so everything is in there. If anything needs to be done I finish work, get a glass of wine or a drink and go back in for an hour.