Are stacks of paper threatening to create an avalanche on your desk?

Are your computer cords a tangled, cobweb-collecting mess?

Is your keyboard covered in sandwich crumbs, dirt and dust?

Office slobs, take heart. Just because you’re busy doesn’t mean you don’t have time to create a tidy, attractive home office. And if you have a serene space to work in, rather than a messy, disorganized one … you just might get some work done.

Paper clutter is the number one problem professional organizer Beryl Westby sees in home offices.

“People get busy, and they just let the paperwork pile up over time, until they’re just not sure what do with it all,” she said.

Westby, owner of No More Chaos organizing service, said that taming that clutter can be accomplished by putting simple systems in place — both tangible systems for filing papers and time-management systems for not letting it pile up to begin with.

She said that filing systems will vary depending on each person’s needs. An office used just for home finances and scheduling might need only a few categories, while one that also functions as a business might need more. Just find a simple filing system that works for you. And simple is the key word here.

“A lot of people try to create some system that’s so color-coordinated and complicated, no one can find anything.” Westby said. “It needs to be simple enough so that anybody can find something.”

Once you’ve found something, stick to it. “I can come in and make your office look fabulous, but if you don’t keep up with it, it’s worthless,” she said.

Westby said every office needs a shredder, and it should be in constant use. She suggested standing next to it while you open your mail. Offers for credit cards you don’t need? Shred them immediately, instead of stacking them on your desk to deal with later. Bills that need to be paid? Put them in your file instead of letting them get lost in a pile of unopened mail.

Westby suggests setting up regular times to deal with paperwork, whether it’s 20 minutes every day or three hours once a week. “I tell people you need to make an appointment with yourself to take care of it,” she said.

With the paperwork out of the way, you can actually see what’s underneath: a computer and other office machines that are probably in need of some cleaning.

Steven Westby, Beryl Westby’s husband, is owner of At Your Service Computer Repair. He said that the best way to get rid of all those smudges and fingerprints on your monitor is with a simple kit designed especially for computers. They usually include a soft microfiber cloth and a liquid similar to what’s used for cleaning eyeglasses, and are available at any office supply or electronics store, he said.

Keyboards are one of the worst locations for office germs and grime. Steven Westby said that a soft toothbrush and a bottle of canned air can do the trick. The hose attachment on a small vacuum cleaner can also suck up much of the debris that accumulates on a keyboard.

The inside of your computer tower can also attract dust and dirt. If you’re fairly confident with computers, you can disconnect all the cables in the back, carefully unscrew the cover on your computer tower, then use canned air or a small vacuum to blow out all the dust and debris. “You just have to be careful and keep on eye where everything gets plugged in at, so you can put them all back in the right spot,” Westby said.

Keeping the physical aspects of your computer system clean is important, but so is maintaining the electronic files.

If your computer seems to be running more slowly than normal, you might need to defragment your hard drive. Westby said most computers need it every 3-6 months, though that can vary depending on what operating system you use and how many files you have stored on your hard drive. Your computer’s operating manual can tell you how to run the defragmenting program.

Another periodic maintenance task: backing up your data. No computer system is completely immune to crashes, so if you want to make sure your information is safe, make sure you regularly save your files somewhere other than your hard drive.

“You can do it on an external hard drive, or a CD,” Westby said. “A lot of people use those little flash drives — prices on them have come way down.”

Steven Westby also suggests scanning your computer regularly for viruses. If you have anti-virus software, you can set it to scan automatically.

The best way to keep your office and electronic components running smoothly? Don’t keep anything you don’t need. If you buy a software package, don’t keep the entire box in your desk drawer. Throw away any extra packaging and keep only CDs that contain the information you need. CDs can all be stored together in small jewel cases or in a CD storage folder.

“These days, a lot of software user’s manuals and that kind of thing are available electronically, to be downloaded and just saved on your computer,” Beryl Westby said. “That can be a real space-saver.”