This weekend I finally moved my office out of the living room! This month will mark 11 years for OrganizeMe101.com; this is not the first move I have made in that time.
I’ve broken all of the “where to put your home office” rules, due mostly to the fact that it is a home office in a home without any empty rooms! First, I started off in the basement – and hated it! Too dark, too lonely, too…basement-y. I tried installing full spectrum lighting, facing out into the room – nothing worked. After two months when I ended up most days at the kitchen table, I moved up to the family room – too noisy! That didn’t last long.
Then technology changed; I purchased a laptop and realized I could use an antique writing desk as my office desk. (It was given to us as a wedding gift and was being underutilized as a beautiful photo-stand.)
So, I moved into the living room, where my husband/IT department fished phone wires from the basement, computer network wires from the upstairs family room, and I cobbled together a truly impressive assortment of cords to connect my various electronics. Then we went wireless – but I stayed in the living room. I loved the light coming over both shoulders from two windows. I loved being able to look out the front window and see who was at the door. I loved the proximity to the coffee pot and the chocolate jar.
What I didn’t love was the dog barking at the front door (pretty much right beside me) every time someone came within 50 feet our house (we live on a 30 foot wide lot) especially when I was on the phone. There was no door to close.
I really didn’t love having to scoop everything into my desk whenever company came over, or when people showed up at the front door and saw my admittedly messy work space when I was mid-project (more likely mid-many-projects) and did the “so you’re a professional organizer”? raised eyebrow look.
Then my teenage son moved into the basement for the summer, and decided he likes it down there. We transformed his bedroom into a guest/travel prep/ironing room.
The dog is getting older and can’t hear, so she barks all the time, just in case someone is near her house.
I am doing more work at home and less on-site client work, and need to be able to leave my stuff out – neatly! My daughter needed a new bed, so she got the double from the spare room, and her old single went into the spare (apology in advance to our guests!).
So, here I am in my new office (/spare room/travel prep /ironing room). There’s lots of space, it’s nice and bright, I’m connected, the phone works, the door closes, the furniture all matches! I think I’ve finally got it right!
