How many times have you been hard at work at the dining room table and you get distracted, either by the kids, your partner or even pets? It’s the worst, especially when you can’t get back into the zone!
You’re not alone. In the Homelight Q3 survey, 7% of real estate agents shared that they have clients who want one or more home offices so they can work (or learn, if you have children doing distance learning) and 1% stated even said their clients want to have a room they can dedicate solely for homeschooling – or use as a classroom if they are teachers.
While agents would love to snap their fingers and find homes with those spaces, it’s not always possible. So, it’s up to the homeowner or buyer to be creative and find a way to create an office with what they have.
If you find yourself in this situation, fear not because we have a few tips that’ll help you declutter your home so that everyone has their own little space to get work done – distraction free.
1. Have a game plan for the space’s use
Okay, this may seem a bit obvious, but hear us out. Yes, the space is going to be used as a home office, but does it need to serve another purpose? For example, does it have to be a guest room, as well? Or maybe you have cleared out a small corner in the living room and you need to make sure the living room is still functional.
2. Clear out a room or another unused space
If you have a spare room, a little nook somewhere, or even a corner in the living room, you can create a home office. The first thing you have to do is clear the space of everything. We mean everything. This means removing all furniture, nicknacks, books, papers, toys… You get the idea.
Tip: Clean as you go – it’ll make life a whole lot easier so you don’t have to clean as you put stuff back in the room. Plus, anything you want to get rid of, it’ll be clean and ready to be donated.
3. Declutter, declutter, declutter
As you’re clearing out the room and cleaning stuff, go through items and get rid of the stuff you don’t want or need anymore. Create three piles or bins – keep, donate, and throw away. Be objective and really consider the items you’re going to keep. Ask yourself what purpose will they serve in the office or can they be used elsewhere?
4. Storage and organizational bins are important
Once you’ve gone through everything and you’re ready to put the furniture back in the room, don’t just put stuff anywhere. Use organizational and storage bins for books, old files, and so on. If your children are going to be using the office as well, put all of their school supplies in labeled bins so they can find their supplies quickly and easily.
5. Keep items that are used together, together
Storage bins are an important part of organizing, but you can go one step further by grouping items that are normally used together in the same bin. For example, keep your children’s workbooks with the corresponding text book and folder. You can also lump art supplies together and even separate the markers, crayons, colored pencils in their own container inside a bin with construction paper, scissors, glue sticks and so on.
Creating an office space in your home may feel like an impossible task, especially if it will be used by everyone in the household. However, with careful planning and organization, any space can be turned into a functional home office!