Carving Out a Workspace in Your Home

So you want to start working from home, whether with your old job, or with your very own business. You look around your house or apartment and think "This will never work. There's no room here!" My advice to you? Don't give up! There is always room for a small office; it just may take some creativity on your part to find your office where you don't have an "office."

The first thing you need to do is think about a location. Even if you don't have a separate room, choose an area of your home that has a door that you can shut to keep distractions (like your kids, dog, or in my case, my husband.) It needs to have good lighting, quiet, and not a lot of foot traffic from family members. (My first office was actually a storage closet with a single bulb hanging from the ceiling. Not very glamorous, let me tell you.)

You might need to look with new eyes at your home. It might be just a corner or wall of your bedroom that you can put a desk in. Try sketching it out on paper, to see if you can move furniture around to make room for your office furniture.

You might even need to go smaller in regards to your office equipment. Desktop computers are very bulky, even if you have a flat screen monitor. Also, they can't leave the area that you have set up. Instead, consider a laptop, which takes up much less space than a desktop. Also, use a machine that can print, fax, and copy, instead of having three separate machines. This can save a lot of space. If you don't need those items for your job, then don't get them. There is nothing worse than growing resentment towards a piece of equipment that takes up unnecessary space in your home. Just get rid of it.

Files are very important in businesses. Fine a two-drawer filing cabinet that can be wheeled under a desk and out of the way when not in use. You could even wheel it out and place your laptop on it, as a pseudo-desk. If you have long-term files that you don't use but can't toss, place them in containers that will repel bugs, and place them in the garage. Also, be smart with your files. Color code, use separate files for different accounts...whatever helps you best to keep track of everything.

One last tip, that a lot of people fall prey too, is to keep your business paperwork in your office, away from the living areas of your house. Don't leave work out on the kitchen counter or dining room table. It will end up staying there, or even migrating to other areas of your house. (Believe me, I speak from experience!) Eventually, when you need to host Thanksgiving dinner, you will have to put it away and will probably end up losing an important piece of paper. Just say no! to working in living spaces of your home.

So, even if you have a little or no space, there's always a creative way to carve out an office in your home. Remember, it doesn't have to be in a room solely dedicated to your job. Just keep these tips in mind, and soon your office will be up and running.