Home office organisation

[JuniorMint]

We are soon to move from a two bedroom house to a four bedroom house, and as there are currently only three of us (DH and I plus 18mo DD) we will be able to have a spare room and a home office.

I am very excited by this as our current filing system involves two overstuffed box files on the living room shelf with everything "important" from bank statements and pay slips to passports and DD's nursery invoices and even theatre tickets for future events etc etc, leading us to madly rifle through whenever something is needed.

Do you have an organised filing system at home? We will have a desk but it's a rather small antique-y type one. I am wondering about a filing cabinet or some kind of unit with drawers. Any recommendation welcome!

I am a teacher and I look forward to being able to sit down at the desk to do my planning, rather than balancing the laptop on my knee in the living room or having to clear a space at the kitchen table. I think I'd like to have a radio in there. How about a bulletin board or wall planner?

Tell me all about your home office! TIA

We have a fold up single bed (IKEA Lyksele) and a desk that is a table top on trestles. The desk can be dismantled to accommodate another visitor on the bed. I have a pin board and there is a set of metal drawers for storage of papers, etc which can be wheeled around. That was about £10, again from IKEA. Shelves are useful and TK Maxx has a lot of quite attractive storage boxes in at the moment for keeping things tidy.

Dh and I have our own filing "system" in drop files. We then have the same for the joint stuff. All kept in one desk. Then a box file which gets filled with stuff waiting to be filed. Goes back five years at the moment ('til when we moved into this house), but needs to be culled. Everything up to then is in folders grouped into dh, me and joint and in separate crates in the attic. Dc each have a crate in the attic with all their school stuff in.
FWIW we have a separate "homework" station with a wireless printer, paper and various stationary that we need all in one place. Guess you've got a few years until you need that but the principle is really practical. Ds and dd's current school stuff is kept here too along with their musical instruments.

I will have to have a look at IKEA and Tk Maxx, also have a Dunelm near by. I think for an extra visitor in that room it would just be an air bed (for my single 23 yo sister!). Unfortunately the attic in the new house isn't fully boarded out (until we get round to sorting it), and we have LOADS of stuff in our attic here! Obviously hoping for a big cull when we move but still...

We have quite a minimal filing system, a concertina file for the current year tabbed for elec/gas, water, contracts, hmrc, council tax, etc. Then a plastic envelope file each for bank statements and wage slips (colour coded). That's it. At the end of each tax year (usually several months after the year is ended in reality) the folders are emptied into a labeled box file. Home insurance policy is kept separate as well as any other important documents that may need to be kept at hand more than the current tax year eg our tenancy agreement.

Thr concertina file is extremely easy we used to be fluffing around for hours to find a certain letter etc now it takes minutes.

Yes, we have a locked fireproof box with hanging filed. Everything goes in there and I clear it out every year or so.

Oh yes to a potted plant, good idea. Also love to idea of having an arm chair in there to sit and read etc even if it's when related or whatever but just an alternative to sitting at the desk. The current owners that we are buying the house from have a desk and also a keyboard on a stand with a stool, however I think we are going to have a piano downstairs instead.

Good point on fireproof box for very important documents. What sort of size do you have?