Bible Money Matters

Christian personal finance

Menu
    • About
    • Archives
    • Contact
    • Close
  • Making Money
      • Popular Articles

        • 50 Ways To Make Money: Maximizing, Creating And Increasing Your Income
        • 10 Weird And Unconventional Ways To Make Money
        • Making Money With A Blog (e-Book)
        • 10 Places To Sell Or Trade Your Unused (Or Broken) Electronics
        • Ways To Make Extra Money Series: 20 More Income Generating Ideas From Our Readers
        • Making Side Income Can Help Blunt The Impact Of Becoming A One Income Family
        • Earn Cash Back With Discover it® Credit Card
      • Recent Articles – Making Money

        • Best Sites Like Fiverr To Make Money As A Freelancer
        • 13 Of The Best Independent Contractor Jobs
        • 25 Of The Best Gig Economy Jobs
        • How To Make Money Blogging: Turn A Blog Into A Business
      • Categories

        • Making Money
        • Investing
        • Retirement
        • Jobs & Work LIfe
        • Money
        • Income
    • Close
  • Saving Money
      • Popular Articles

        • 50 Easy Ways To Save Money Every Month
        • 10 Weird And Unconventional Ways To Save Money
        • 10 Practical Ways To Save Money And Increase Your Net Worth
        • How To Save Money On Just About All Of Your Regular Monthly Bills
        • Ways To Watch TV Without Paying An Arm And A Leg For Cable TV
        • Save Money On Your Hospital Bill - Just By Asking
      • Recent Articles – Saving Money

        • How To Save $100k In 7 Practical Steps
        • Stairs App Review: Save And Invest To Earn 4-6% Interest
        • Honey Review: Save Money Automatically When You Shop Online
        • 9 Convincing Reasons Why You Need An Emergency Fund
      • Categories

        • Saving Money
        • Frugality
        • Planning
        • Finance
        • Saving For Retirement
        • Savings Accounts
    • Close
  • Banking
      • Best Rates For 2019

        • Best Credit Cards
        • Best Savings Accounts
        • Best Mortgage Rates
        • Best CD Rates
        • Best Brokerages
        • Free Credit Scores
      • Recent Reviews

        • TradeStation Review: Commission Free Stock And ETF Trades
        • Firstrade Review: Commission Free Trades on Stocks, Crypto, And Options
        • Cadre Real Estate Investing Review: Commercial Real Estate Investing
        • Axos Self Directed Trading Review: Invest, Trade Stocks For Free
      • Categories

        • Bank & Software Reviews
        • Investing
        • Credit
        • Banking
        • Mortgage
        • Insurance
        • Family Budget
    • Close
  • Recommended
  • Video
    • Close

How To Put Together A More Functional And Organized Home Office

By Peter Anderson 4 Comments - The content of this website often contains affiliate links and I may be compensated if you buy through those links (at no cost to you!). Learn more about how we make money. Last edited November 21, 2018.

Share61
Pin112
Tweet41
Share9
223 Shares

A short while after I started this blog I wrote a post that gave a brief tour of my home office space.  At the time quite a few bloggers were sharing photos of their workspace so their readers could see what kind of an environment they were working in.

Some folks had amazing mountain views at their desk, while others had extremely functional and organized spaces. Others had a messy disaster.

My home office space wasn’t much to speak of at the time. It was just a corner in a large open room in our basement where we were able to fit a desk and filing cabinet.

It wasn’t the ideal workspace, but it got the job done.  Today I thought I’d take  a look at the process we went through in putting together a new home office at our new house.

Quick Navigation

  • Keeping Things Minimal
  • Our New Home Office Space
  • 11 Tips For A Better Home Office
  • Give The Office Your Personal Touch

Keeping Things Minimal

When we were building our new home this past summer one thing that we knew we’d like to have at the house was a dedicated home office. Since I have a side business as a blogger, I spend a lot of time on the computer.  Having that dedicated space would be much more conducive to getting things done.

When we were planning out our home office, here are some of the things we were hoping to have in that new space.

  • Plenty of connectivity: We were hoping to have plenty of outlets for plugging in all of our electronics, as well as enough network ports to hard wire all of our network devices.
  • Less stuff: At our old home office we had far too many power cords, USB cables and other accessories floating around everywhere.  We also had a ton of miscellaneous things sitting on the desks, from scanners and printers to speakers, Wacom tablets and more. In the new office we wanted to have less stuff just sitting around making everything feel busy and disorganized.
  • Better organized and less clutter: We were also hoping to get rid of a ton of paperwork, manuals, other miscellaneous clutter we no longer needed.  Along with that we wanted to have a better system for organizing paperwork and other odds and ends that we do have.
  • Enough space for 2 desks:  My wife and I both wanted to have our own desk space.
  • A door:  This may seem silly, but for me it was needed. At our old house our desk area was out in a large open room that also doubled as our entertainment room.  At times my wife would be watching TV while I was working and it could be very distracting. Having a dedicated space with a door that can be closed was much better for working.

Our New Home Office Space

After thinking very carefully about what we wanted for our new home office, the photo below shows what we came up with.

Putting together the ideal home office

We still haven’t put much up on the walls in terms of artwork, and we’ve since added blinds, but the rest of the space is basically done.  Let’s take a look at what we’ve got in the office.

Items In Our Home Office

  • 2 L shaped desks:  We did our research and my wife and I each chose a desk that fit our needs.  For me I just wanted a desk plenty of space on the desktop for dual monitors, and a matching filing cabinet for all of our important paperwork and documents we needed to keep. My wife got a desk and hutch that was a bit more stylish, and had even more counter and storage space for her scrapbooking and other projects. Make sure to shop around to find the best deal, otherwise a desk can be extremely expensive!
  • Bookcase: We got a bookcase with concealed storage to match my wife’s desk so that we would have a nice place to hide all of our networking gear including the DSL modem, the Wi-Fi router, and an 8 port hub. It also acts as storage for my laptop, and houses our Ooma Telo device that gives us free home phone service.
  • Connectivity: We have a ton of connectivity built into the house. This office has 16 power outlets, as well as multiple network outlets. We won’t be running out of outlets anytime soon.
  • functional and organized home officeDual monitor setup with Dell XPS 2710 All-in-one computer: Our old computer was getting a bit slow, so we decided to upgrade to something that would save space, but still be powerful enough for processing video, photos and other intensive tasks. We found this powerful Dell XPS all-in-one computer that had everything you needed in the monitor/pc combo, there was no bulky computer box sitting under the desk or multiple wires hanging down behind the desk. The mouse and keyboard are both wireless as well, so the only cords we have plugged in are for a couple of backup drives sitting behind the monitors and a network cable.
  • Laptop: My wife has a laptop on her desk that she can easily put away when she needs more space on her desk. Again, few cords or wires hanging around.
  • Wi-Fi printer/scanner/fax: In our journey to rid ourselves of as many cords as possible, we also bought a wireless printer/scanner/fax that we could put wherever we wanted and still print without being connected to the computer via USB. Just plug  it into the wall and then all the computers in the house can print to it or scan on it.
  • Ooma Telo home phone system: We wanted to have a home phone in the office, and last year we switched to using the Ooma service for our home phones. We went from paying $45/month for phone service to about $4.50/month for taxes only.  If you have a small business you can even add a dedicated second line for your business with their premier service ($9.99/month)! Again, no phone cords
  • Charging station: Charging station for my FreedomPop cell phone, Nexus 7 tablet, bluetooth headphones and other portable devices.
  • Bluetooth headphones: I bought a pair of bluetooth headphones that can pair up with our computer, my tablet or my phone. They sound great, and once again, no cords to get tangled up on the desktop.
  • Comfy office chairs: If you spend a lot of time in the office, a comfortable chair is a must. We bought 2 new ones for our new office.
  • A door: Having that door is great because I don’t have to contend with all the noise in the rest of the house from the TV, to my son playing with his Thomas the train set. When the door is closed, daddy is working!

11 Tips For A Better Home Office

Here are a few things that I believe should be considered when putting your office together.

Putting together the ideal home office

  • Choose the right space. A dedicated space, or part of another room?: If you’re running a small business from your home, you may need to set aside a dedicated space for business purposes, for tax reasons.  If so you may need to set aside an actual room that gets used only for business. Otherwise, find a space that gives you adequate space, lighting, and that is comfortable temperature wise.  Try out a couple of spaces in your home and figure out which one feels right.
  • Consider what types of electronics and accessories you’ll need: Think carefully about what kinds of electronics you’ll want and need in your office. For us it meant a couple of computers with a printer, a home phone as well as some networking equipment. When you figure out what items are needed in your office you’ll be able to plan out other important items like furniture placement and power and networking needs.
  • Think about what types of furniture you’ll need in your space:  Once you’ve decided on what electronics and other accessories you’ll want in the space, you’ll want to figure out what furniture you’ll want in your space. At our home we needed to have two desks, a filing cabinet for bills and other important paperwork, and then a hutch for our phone, networking gear and other items we wanted to hide away.
  • Figure out placement and layout of your space before you move in: Try several different layouts for your office space before you move in.  Use a site like Floorplanner.com to come up with some different placement ideas for the furniture and furnishings in your space. If you have a window, putting your desk as close to it as possible can give you better light.  Make sure things you need on a regular basis are within easy reach.
  • Plan your power, networking and phone needs:  While you’re planning your office layout make sure you’re aware of what your power, networking and phone needs are.  Does furniture need to be placed close to the outlets, or will you need to put in new outlets to accomodate your setup?
  • Get a decent chair:  At our old house we had an awful wooden chair with a seating pad that had seen better days. It wasn’t a chair you’d want to spend much time in. We got rid of that chair and we each got nice padded office chairs that we can sit in for hours and still be comfortable.  There’s nothing worse than an uncomfortable chair to ruin your workday.
  • Cut down on the clutter:  Organize your cables, have a place for paperwork, have a spot for everything.  Try to clean up your desk on a nightly basis, and put things away.  Get rid of things in your office that you don’t need.
  • Putting together an organized home officeHave plenty of storage and organization accessories: Have plenty of storage available for the things that you do need to keep in  your office. Have filing cabinets for paperwork, drawers for office supplies, trays and caddies for pens, paper clips and other essentials. Hide electronics in a hutch to keep things looking tidy. Have a place for everything (and that doesn’t mean a pile on the floor or desk).
  • Good lighting: Make sure you have plenty of lighting for your space, ideally an overhead light and a task light on your desk.  Position your desk near the window if you have one.
  • Keep clear pathways: Keep clear pathways in your office so that you can just walk into the room and walk right up to your desk.  If you don’t have clear pathways the room can start to feel claustrophobic.
  • Give yourself a focal point and a pleasing design: Put a focal point on your wall. It could be anything from a corkboard or whiteboard, to a favorite movie poster or painting.  I still need to find something on my main wall, but I’ve got my favorite Maori war club on the wall by my window. Make the room interesting, but not distracting.

Give The Office Your Personal Touch

When it comes down to it your home office is going to be a space that is tailored to your individual needs.  The layout, function and design are going to be setup for your specific needs.

While your options may be limited by the available space, or by your budget, your imagination will mean the sky is the limit.

Have your own tips for putting together the ideal home office?  Tell us about your home office – or leave a link to photos of your own in the comments!

Related Posts

  • Photos Of My Home Office: Where The Magic Happens

    I was reading the blogs in my reader this morning when I came upon two similar posts.  The original one by My Two Dollars talked…

  • 3 Home Improvements That Can Help You Save Money

    Here are three home improvements that you can do in order to save money in the long run.

  • Things You Do That Could Cost You Money When Buying A Home

    The last few years have been tough ones for the real estate market, and especially for the banks who have watched as thousands of their…

Share61
Pin112
Tweet41
Share9
223 Shares
Last Edited: 21st November 2018 The content of biblemoneymatters.com is for general information purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Visitors to biblemoneymatters.com should not act upon the content or information without first seeking appropriate professional advice. In accordance with the latest FTC guidelines, we declare that we have a financial relationship with every company mentioned on this site.

This article is about: Jobs And Work Life, Making Money

About Peter Anderson

Peter Anderson is a Christian, husband to his beautiful wife Maria, and father to his 2 children. He loves reading and writing about personal finance, and also enjoys a good board game every now and again. You can find out more about him on the about page. Don't forget to say hi on Pinterest, Twitter or Facebook!

Comments

    Share Your Thoughts: Cancel reply

  1. Brian @ Luke1428 says

    Love the setup Peter! I hope to have a more functional office space at some point in the future. Right now, it’s a desk in our bedroom. That’s really no fun. And I’m wholeheartedly in favor of having a window. I love looking outside while I write.

    Reply
    • Peter Anderson says

      It is nice to have a window with a view in the office now, much better for taking a break from the writing. It’s also a much better view than at our last place where the view out the window was the recessed concrete window well. Of course when we first moved in there weren’t any blinds in the office, so the rising sun would shine right through the window, blinding you. Thankfully we now have blinds for those times of day when they’re needed.

      Reply
  2. Debi says

    I just have to say that I love your wife’s desk – probably because I have it! :) In choosing my desk, I just loved all its storage space. I’ve got my double monitor mounted on the open side and love having all that desk space.

    Reply
    • Peter Anderson says

      My wife loves the desk too, she bought it because of all the storage, and because she’s so into the whitewashed vintage look. It took me the good part of an entire afternoon to put it together, but I think it’ll be good for many years of use. All I know is that if we ever were to move and need to get that desk out of that room, I won’t be taking another afternoon to take it apart – I’ll be using a chainsaw. :)

      The only problem with our setup is that my better half also likes my large 27″ + 24″ dual monitor setup instead of her small laptop screen, so I often find her sitting at my desk. I may have to splurge and get her her own dual setup so I can actually use my desk!

      Reply
Previous Post: The Best Decision Doesn’t Always Make The Most Financial Sense
Next Post: 2014 Federal Income Tax Brackets: IRS Marginal Tax Rates
Discover Investment Platforms

Popular Posts

  • 21 Easy Ways To Earn Free Amazon Gift Cards
  • 10 Best Free Tax Filing Services And Software Online
  • 21 Apps That Pay You Real Money Fast
  • 17 TV Apps And Live TV Streaming Services To Watch TV Free
  • 30 Legit Online Jobs That Pay Well
  • 37 Easy Ways To Get Free Gift Cards
  • How To Get Free Stock
  • 40 Easy Ways To Get Free Money Fast
  • 21 Places To Read Free Books Online
  • 24 Legit Online Jobs
  • 17 Best Work From Home Jobs: A List Of Legit Online Jobs That Pay Well

Recent Posts

  • How To Save $100k In 7 Practical Steps
  • How to Save Money When Remodeling A Home
  • How To Hire A Contractor For Your Remodeling Project
  • Remembering 9/11 Years Later: Where Were You On That Fateful Day?
  • TradeStation Review: Commission Free Stock And ETF Trades
  • Firstrade Review: Commission Free Trades on Stocks, Crypto, And Options
  • Cadre Real Estate Investing Review: Commercial Real Estate Investing
  • Best Sites Like Fiverr To Make Money As A Freelancer
  • Axos Self Directed Trading Review: Invest, Trade Stocks For Free
  • 30 Quotes About Easter And Resurrection: He Is Risen!

Disclaimer

The information contained in BibleMoneyMatters.com is for general information or entertainment purposes only and does not constitute professional financial advice. Please contact an independent financial professional for advice regarding your specific situation.

In accordance with FTC guidelines, we state that we have a financial relationship with some of the companies mentioned in this website. This may include receiving access to free products and services for product and service reviews and giveaways.

Any references to third party products, rates, or websites are subject to change without notice. We do our best to maintain current information, but due to the rapidly changing environment, some information may have changed since it was published. Please do the appropriate research before participating in any third party offers.

Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.

We respect your privacy: Privacy Policy.

Thanks for visiting!

Bible Money Matters - Seen On These Sites and more..
Bible Money Matters is a personal finance, entrepreneurship and investing community. Give more, save more and live more.

Copyright © 2023 · Bible Money Matters | Sitemap | Advertise | Privacy Policy