Home Office Organization Ideas
When I was on Living Dayton over a year ago, I put up a picture of my home office. Shaun was shocked that I worked from a TV tray in my bedroom.
It got me to thinking… why do I do this? I have progressed through many home office organization ideas in the past 18 years.
I have worked from home since before we had kids. Originally, I had office furniture in a loft. Once my daughter was born and I had 2 kiddos under 2, I moved that furniture to the basement.
For 10 years, our whole basement was devoted to my scrapbooking business and we wrote off that portion of our home as a home office deduction.
I went back to teaching during the great recession and ended my direct sales career for a brief minute.
When I started blogging, opened my professional organization business and added direct sales back in… so much of my work was on the computer. I just don’t need the space for inventory, files and binders like I once did.
By now, my kiddos were over 10 and used every inch of our home. My only choice was to use part of my bedroom to have peace and quiet while I made coaching calls, wrote blog posts or made YouTube videos.
Yes, I could have done this in the basement or dining room, but I LOVE my bedroom. It is so cozy. My Tivo is there 🙂 and I just LOVE my bedroom.
Once I put all those tables away, I realized it was probably time to put a bigger “desk” in my room.
For a few weeks, we toyed with the idea of moving me into my son’s room and him to the basement, but he’s not ready. Or I’m not ready. WE’RE not ready 🙂
But it did get me thinking about having an office – a LOT!
And however you look at it, I spend at least 30 hours on my computer a week. I needed a more permanent space.
Since I am trying to live on cash, I decided I would not buy a desk, but use what I had to make do and decide what I liked.
I print LOTS of paper and make LOTS of lists. Writing things down helps cement them in my mind. So I needed more room for paper. In January, I got the idea to buy these stack-able scrapbook cubbies to divide out all my different jobs and paper piles.
WOW! Has this been A. MAZ. ING. for me. If you like piles of paper – you might like this, too. I used to use slash pockets, but I just have TOO many ideas for little folders.
So I made a HUGE elaborate plan to really put my office in the bedroom, complete with a large IKEA cube system and matching 31 cubes. I had it all planned out. When I floated the idea past hubby, he said, “Please don’t redneck up our bedroom.”
Bummer! I was Pinterest-deep in home office organization ideas and no where to put one.
So I stopped – something I rarely do – and thought. WHY do I need more space? WHY do I want 25 cubes? WHAT do I NEED?
Nothing, really. Many of the offices I see and hope to one day have are FILLED with stuff. Yes, it is beautiful and clean and color coordinated, but do I NEED it?
Nope.
SO I stepped back and thought the only thing I would WANT was a desk the same size in cherry wood.
Janet, my assistant, saw one at a consignment shop, so I checked it out. It was the perfect size and the perfect price!
I thought I could add one more tall book shelf to add more cubes, but the bookshelf I have isn’t sold anymore.
So I bought the desk and came home.
How could I make this look and function better? When I really looked at how I was using the bookshelf I had, it was holding a lot of projects and things I wouldn’t even get to until summer. They did not need to be stored in my bedroom.
And having the printer so far away from my desk was not that convenient. So, I emptied the shelves and wondered… could those white cubes fit inside the bookshelf?
YEP!! OHHH. I have an idea!
