The Making of a Home Office - Part 2

Part 1 is here.

When I moved out of my “real” office, in a “real” office building, I had to purge.  Fifteen years of pack-rat-ed-ness (because you never know when you’ll be asked for your expense report receipts from 1999!) got tossed.  Years and years worth of training documents - mostly obsolete - were thrown away.  Employee records that were duplicates of those that the Human Resources department had (for employees that had resigned 8 or 9 years ago) were shredded.  I needed to become a lean, mean, fighting paperless machine.

The picture below shows where my laptop sits - it’s on a metal filing cabinet next to my desk - in a docking station.  The docking station stays plugged into a full-size keyboard, a mouse, the power supply and the monitor.  The laptop recharges while it’s connected to the docking station.  The docking station is invaluable.

Since the cabinet is metal, it holds these magnetic baskets.  They’re great for my MP3 player and headphones - a highlighter - hand lotion samples - things that I want handy but don’t want the cats to knock off the desk get thrown in these baskets.

The white plastic roller-bins house additional office supplies.  Extra tape and staples.  Some stationery.  First aid supplies (yes, pain killers for headaches that invariably arise mid-meeting) and my European electricity converters are stored there.  (Mores the pity - I’d rather be USING those electrical converters than storing them away…)  I can use the top to keep my Blackberry charging and away from the phone.  It causes some pretty awful feedback during conference calls otherwise.

I’ll never be completely streamlined, but the things I need most are nearby.  For instance:

Notice the bottled water.  I’m okay drinking room temperature water.  In fact, I prefer it.  (And the fact that I have no extra sockets to put a mini-refrigerator in this room means I better continue to like it!  hee.)

Fifteen years of files that needed to be kept for legal purposes fit in three bins.  Two plastic ones where everything is properly labeled and organized.  One cardboard box that is my “must file someday”.  (I’m thinking of hiring the 16-year-old to file for me.  It has to be less painful to pay him than to do myself.)

The tall white roller bins next to the shelves are personal household things. It’s outside my “office” area.  Pay no attention to my darling husband’s winter socks.  You store where you can.

The next shelf up houses my printer and various books/magazines.  I changed all of my subscriptions over to my home address, so I’m not missing out on the most current news from the world of Information Technology.

My pashminas on the back of my chair keep me warm on chilly mornings.  They’re easy-on, easy-off.  And easily available.  Plus, when I’m wearing shorts and sitting on my pleather chair, keeping something fabric under my legs keeps me from screaming when I stand up and my thighs stick.

The next shelf up holds my pencil sharpener, tape dispenser and stapler.  No need to clutter up my desk when I can reach over quickly and grab what I need.

I keep little decorative boxes of paper clips, binder clips, and extra notepads on that shelf too.  Sorted by size, but hidden from being too cluttered (or carried off by the cats).

Some often used file folders are there, along with my current crochet project.  I try NOT to multi-task while I’m in meetings - at least as far as the usual “answering emails and/or reading blogs” kinds of multi-tasking, but having my hands busy helps me to stay focused on the call and not mentally wander off. Not too far anyway.

Up above that, my favorite family pictures sit with my pens and pencils and a plastic tray.  I keep my remote access security device in that tray (shhhh, don’t tell anyone!) as well as my wireless card.  Things I need to use EVERY DAY and I need to remember to put them back in the SAME SPOT.

Extra notebooks, printer ink, condensed air (for cleaning keyboards) and a gift from an ex-employee are on the shelf above.

And at the very top, the things that don’t need to be within easy reach, but are too big for my storage bins - mailing supplies and extra file folders.

I have a fully equipped office in a tiny space.  It’s taken some getting used to, of course. I have to ask myself the question, “Do I really need to print this?” a lot.

Since I never expected to work from home full-time, adequate office space was not a prerequisite when we bought this house.  You make do when you have to - and with what you have.

In the corporate world, you’re measured by your office space, like it or not.  In my world, I’d rather be measured by my efficiency.  And my little spot is pretty darned efficient.

My personal blog is My Life as a Hotfessional - if you’d like to hear about the rest of the craziness in my life, please come by for a visit.

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This entry was posted on Monday, July 21st, 2008 at 6:00 am and is filed under Working Moms.