If you work from home, you have the wonderful advantage of decorating and renovating your home office in anyway you please.  If that sounds daunting, there are some small things you can do to get started.  With just a few small changes, and on a budget you can swallow, your home office will call to you instead of repel you.

Put up some art.
Take a piece from another area in your home, search a flea market or treat yourself to a new piece.  Make it something that inspires you when you look at it.  Keep the positive vibes going with a great piece of art.

Remember your wins.
My website, The Home Office Organizer, recently won an award for “Best Web Presence“.  I was so excited and humbled.  The award meant so much to me (it was given to me by my peers), so I put it in my line of site sitting at my desk.  Now, when I’m sitting down working, I occasionally see it out of the corner of my eye.  It makes me smile.
Have you won an award, earned a degree, got a big fat check or received a great letter of thanks?  Hang it on the wall, make a shadow box or put it on a memo board.  Keep it in front of you!

Rearrange & Redesign.
Feeling cramped or like your office isn’t working out for you?  If you have a small budget for changing up your office, consider rearranging your furniture & redesigning the space with what you already own.  If you’re not sure where to start, the book, “Use What You Have Decorating” is a great resource.

Organize.
You knew I had to mention this, right?  Organizing your office so you can find most anything you need in about 5 minutes is the best way to make your office a place you love.  Cut your frustration by purging your paperwork and getting your office in order.  If you’re not sure where to start, begin with what is bothering you the most, like a cluttered desktop.

Hang some window treatments.
The home office is often an afterthought when it comes to decorating.  A simple thing like hanging window treatments can make a room feel more complete.  A soft, beautiful fabric can make all the difference.

Sparkplugging is starting a new tradition called ‘Spark an Idea Thursday’. Each week we’ll be sharing some great ideas for a topic of interest to our readers. We invite you to grab our image and carry the tradition through to your own blog! If you do, please link back to this post so we know where you were inspired!

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Ok, confession, I’ve been on vacation for about 3 weeks.  I’ve been ignoring my home office, because we’ve been having a great time.  But now, it’s time to get back to the normal routine.  My workspace needs some love, STAT!

Have you ever been there?  Your workspace is uh, er, not looking it’s best.  There are a lot of small things you can do, but the first thing you can do to improve your workspace is…

Organize it.

If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, I’m all about this.  Some would even say I’m a little obsessed, and I honestly couldn’t really disagree.  It changed my life a while back – seriously.   An organized workspace helps you work better, feel better and gosh darn it, just makes you like where you work.  People often wonder where they start.  Here’s a few quick tips to whip your workspace into shape.  (If you need even more help, you can get help with that too. )

Start with your desktop.

You’re looking at the mess, and it’s driving you crazy!  So take a few minutes and deal with it.  Put things away, recycle the junk mail and get on top of it.  There’s that saying that a clear desk = a clear mind, I agree to a point, but it just makes you feel better.  Right?  Ok, then.

Is your workspace really working for you?

Is it too loud?  Too cold?  Too hot?  Too dark?  Take that one little thing and improve on it. Don’t discount this, you’d be surprised how much of a difference these little things make!

Get some systems in place.

Don’t be scared. It only means to have routines and things that help you stay on track, like a checklist that helps you stay on top of things.  Need to file?  Set aside a day of the week to do it.  Need to update client records?  Set aside a day of the week to do that too.   Make it easy on yourself so things get done.  This will help you with that nasty paper tiger problem as well – which just gets out of control way too easily!

Love where you work.

If you hate your workspace, you’re going to be miserable, and it will show.  Improving your workspace doesn’t have to be expensive, but make it a place you love to be.  Use what you have.  Shop a garage sale.  Cruise the clearance racks at an office supply store.  Recognize the value it brings, the income it produces and the satisfaction that comes from a job well done.  Your workspace is where that takes place, so take care of it and it will take care of you.

What can you do to improve your workspace?

Is there an improvement you want to make in your home office?

Maybe you want a new floor, a new desk or a new laptop.  But, even the small changes can make a big difference.  Here’s some easy improvements you can do in one day on a small budget:

• an inspiring piece of art
• frame and hang your accomplishments
• hang some new fresh summery window treatments
• move your desk to a new wall, or float it in the middle of the room
• paint one office wall in a bright color like red
• clear off your desk and rethink your desktop
• put a slipcover on your chair

What small change can you make in your home office?

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Like this article?  Did you know I dole out all kinds of home office tidbits on a regular basis.  Interested?  Signup right here:

“Week Nine: Organizing Paper”: An editor at The Washington Post shares her journey of organizing.  I like this article, as it has some great tips on organizing paper.

Home Warriors: An Economist article on the challenges of working from home from an employer and employee standpoint.

Moleskine Hack: Jessica of JessicaKnows.com shows how she is using her newly acquired Moleskin.  (I’m a fan myself!)

9 Thrifty Home Office Ideas: Great article on Better Homes & Gardens, about thrify ideas for setting up and decorating a home office.

I met my dream desk.

Last summer I went to a meeting at a local office furniture vendor, specializing in ergonomics. Colleen Harris and her team at Harris WorkSystems have a great array of ergonomically correct chairs, desks and desktop tools. One of my favorites was an executive desk on hyraulics, so it raises to standing height of the user. Oh, that is se.xy.

Here’s a pic of the desk before it’s raised:

Here’s a pic when it’s raised to my height:

Oooooh yeah.

So, why the standing desk? There are a lot of health benefits to a standing desk. It increases your level of activity throughout the day, which helps with overall heart and body health and wellness.

As an example: I occasionally wear a pedometer, and one time clocked a 3 hour stretch of standing while working. I had almost 50% more steps clocked in that three hours than I did in an entire day of regular activity (morning till bedtime). Get my drift?

So, why don’t I have this desk in my home office? Um, because it costs in the 5 figures USD. *sigh* So, until Oprah calls, I’ll be using my current setup:

So what if you want some of the benefits of a standing desk for less than a new car?

Raise your desk. I used some risers I found at my local Storables. They would have worked for some, but I’m 5′8″ so it wasn’t lifted quite enough to be the height I needed to be beneficial ergo-wise.

Work at an island. If you work from home, consider using your kitchen island and a monitor stand. Again, depending on your height, this could be an option.

Move more. I wrote a while back about using home office distractions to your advantage. Getting up to do some small chores can do wonders for your health and your sanity. (And I’m thinking of taking advantage of the sunshine outside right now…) ChiefHomeOfficer likes to move around the home in spurts, and has some great tips on how to do that.

Do a little research. I found this great discussion about the standing desk topic here at 37 Signals. There are some lower priced options (Harris WorkSystems has them too) that would be great for the home office!

There’s lots you can do to improve your health in the home office, and it doesn’t have to cost a lot. Standing desks appeal to me, what do you think?

Do you have (or had) a standing desk?

1. Establish boundaries: You have separate email addresses, you need your own work space. It doesn’t have to be separate rooms, but at least have different desks or work surfaces. Clear boundaries will alleviate the “what about my stuff” argument. Corporations have clear boundaries for desk space for very good reasons – like keeping the peace.
2. Communication is key: If you have a conference call, make sure your “office mate” knows. Set up an agreement around meeting and phone call protocol . Better to do this before the fact, avoiding argument awkwardness during an important conference call!
3. Separate files: Keep your paperwork separate, in whatever system you choose. Make sure you can find what you need when you need it.
4. PC means “Personal Computer”, not “Please-Move-It-So-I-Can-Use-The Computer”: If you budget allows, have your own computer. Laptops are so affordable, and portable – just in case you need a breather at your favorite free wifi java spot.
5. Have some understanding: Working together can be a lot of fun, and if you are prepared, it will be even better for everyone. With a little compassion and understanding, everyone will be happier in the long run!