As we begin our journey into making extra money online, I am starting to think about things that get in the way of dedicating time to building an after-hours business.   One of the biggest impediments to starting and running a home business is not being well organized.  Organization as they say is key – I suggest using a product like Microsoft’s OneNote – it allows you to group your ideas.  For example – you will need to group your business ideas, your accounts – web, etc,  receipts for tax purposes, to-do lists, etc.

In addition, a clean well-organized space to run your business will facilitate clear thinking, allow easy access to what you are looking for and it also just makes you feel good.   So clean out the space around your computer.  If you haven’t touched something in that area for over a year – THROW IT OUT, or donate it, or sell it on eBay or Craigslist.  Purchase some inexpensive organizers – example: stacking trays, accordion file folders.  Spend sometime at the beginning organizing yourself and you will then be able to start focusing on some of your extra income opportunities.

When cleaning up and organizing put aside anything you don’t use anymore. Remember a good rule of thumb is.. if you haven’t used something, worn something, etc . in one years time – you should get rid of it. We will explore some options for turning some of these items into money in the next post.

Below is a great video that I found on YouTube for organizing your home office: