Home Offices are Not Just for Your Job

Command Centre Ideas for Everyone

Just because you have a desk, chair and computer at your workplace doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have a home office. Think of this VIP home space as “command centre” for your family. Don’t have the space in your home to dedicate to an entire room? Don’t worry, even the smallest rooms can have an office.

Our organizing experts have compiled a list of their favourite tips about organizing your home office.

1. Think outside the desk. With laptops and tablets becoming increasingly popular, you don’t need a huge desk and blotter to carve out an office. A sideboard in the kitchen, an empty nightstand in the guest room – anywhere that you can sit with your computer and have a drawer or two for writing utensils and files can be the hub of your office! These ideas give new meaning to the corner office.

2. Don’t worry about closed doors. If you have the space to have a quiet, closed space for an office, great. If not? Make the office the central hub for the family. Post the monthly calendar where everyone has their own colour, keep pencils and pens handy with writing paper, a basket for mail to be answered and a hanging file folder rack for bills that need to be paid. Check out our Pinterest board “Home Office Organization” for more great ideas.

3. Cute storage. If you don’t have a lot of space, but lots of small items to be stored on your desk, get creative. The silver tray your grandmother gave you is perfect for cups of pencils, your stapler, dishes of paperclips, and more. If you need to file paperwork but don’t have the space for a filing cabinet, consider using decorative stacking boxes or baskets.

4. Keep it in the cloud. If you have too much paperwork to keep at home that even creative storage solutions can’t solve, consider storing information “in the cloud.” You can upload documents to a secure server so that if your computer crashes you won’t lose anything important. You can also scan bills and keep them digitally if you’re worried about losing the hard copies. A Google Calendar works well for busy families on the go.

5. Don’t forget the ergonomics. Because we are often not in an office in the truest sense of the word, we often forget that posture and proper ergonomics are still vital.

6. Office On the Move. Forget the dining room table, these movable offices offer great working AND storage space – and then you can easily get your home back when you’re done working.