It’s the New Year and time to face reality and get organized. My husband and I finally gave up our office away from home and I need to stop working out of my bedroom in favor of a more permanent home office setup. I don’t have a spare room, but I am lucky enough to have a roomy nook between my entryway and living room. Unfortunately, it has become a dumping ground for me and my family. This cozy nook with window currently houses all of our Christmas decorations, so I used the opportunity to go through and declutter all the decorations and organize them into a combination of plastic storage boxes with lids and meori totes and storage bins.
My future office nook does not have a door I can close but I have found that when I use my Airpods, it works wonders to keep me focused. The only other thing I needed to make sure of is that no one walks behind me during Zoom calls. This determined where I put my desk to ensure that it faces away from foot traffic.
Step One: Decide on a desk for your home office setup
I like to have the option of sitting and standing at my desk. I don’t know about you, but it hurts my back to sit for eight hours a day and occasionally standing keeps me more alert. So I looked for an adjustable height standing desk, something smallish to fit in the space in my nook that is anyway calling out for a desk. This led me to the adjustable height desk from Costco. It has a glass top, looks modern and sleek, and comes in white or black to match your decor. It’s also a good price at $329.99.
Step Two: Organize your home office desk essentials
Determine what you need to have on your desk or within arm’s reach. I need the following items for maximum productivity:
- Two large computer screens
- Note cards, scissors, pens, reading glasses, yellow sticky pads
- Airpods, mouse, keyboard, Iphone
- Notebook for to-do lists and taking notes during discussions
I find that it is also nice to have a little extra space for documents and note-taking so I need all of the above supplies to be corralled and organized. To do this, I use a meori Mini Box to hold the supplies that stay on my desk and the new meori Portable Desktop Organizer for things that I take with me for meetings or when I change my work location.
Step Three: Storage space ideas for home office supplies
Here is where you should take the extra two or three hours to go through all your office supplies and other stacks of things that may have piled up to declutter as much as possible. In my case, this meant going through samples of meori products and all my paper files stored in hanging file boxes and getting rid of samples and documents that are no longer relevant.
Once I had sorted out all of the items I no longer needed, I grabbed an IKEA Kallax shelf and used it to store all of my office supplies in meori Small Foldable Cubes and Hanging File Boxes. This shelf series from IKEA holds all of the meori small, medium and office sized storage cubes, creating a clean look in the color combination of your choice. You can even add labels to the handles of the boxes to help you easily identify and organize everything.
About a month ago, I found myself decluttering books (I love to buy and collect books) and then used the top of my IKEA shelf to display and store all the books I saved and want to read in 2023. I enjoy looking at them from my office chair when I am on the phone or in a meeting.
Step Four: Decorate it and make it look nice
Because I have a window in my office nook, I added a couple of plants. I bought the big one at Trader Joe’s for $5 two years ago and fed it lots of Miracle Grow. Look how big it has grown! I nice rug that you won’t trip over creates better acoustics and keeps it all cozier. And a second chair for when someone needs to sit down and meet with me. Since my husband and I work together and both work in the house, this happens a lot. I love the little barrel armchair from IKEA. It’s comfortable, comes in different colors and is very inexpensive.
I have already noticed my productivity going up. I’m ready to work at a moment’s notice, all my supplies are where they are supposed to be, and I find myself more motivated simply because my space is pleasant to sit in. Mission accomplished!
Get your life organized with meori.com! We create classy storage bags and bins to make your house a happy home. Check out the full meori blog , “Organize Life” including specific ideas on how to organize your home room by room.
