The following is a guest post by Lloyd Burrell.
It can be very difficult to keep a home business running in tip top shape especially when the room in which it is ran becomes unorganized and extremely cluttered. However, if you’ve ever dreamed of having an office where everything is within an arm’s length, then you should know that you can make that dream come true.
It’s going to take time to do but if you make some plans, write out what you need and sketch out how you would like the room to look, you can organize your office space the way you want and keep it that way. First thing you need to consider is if you’re going to use a laptop or desktop. Laptops are great to have but to get anything done, you need to stay in your office; any little distraction can cause you to stop working for quite a bit of time. If you want to be productive and profitable, then staying within that well-organized room is a necessity.
Be Practical and Start Organizing Your Office By Dealing With The Furniture First
Now you may wonder how you can get organized in your home office. Actually, the first thing you need to deal with is the furniture you have in the office currently. Do things actually fit the room and your personality or is it all thrown in together? Your desk is particularly important especially if you have clients who come to your visit or if you webcam with them.
If you’ve got a desk you just threw in there, consider purchasing some Dmi office furniture, buy a desk that actually fits. Remember, you don’t want anything too small, as it won’t hold everything you need it to; you don’t want anything too long since it could leave you with little room to maneuver.
So when you’re shopping, think practical. You need a desk that allows you to be organized but you need it to be only wide enough for you to work and walk around in the room. This can be a bit tricky but it can be done. If you know your room isn’t very big for a full-service desk, consider getting smaller pieces of furniture such as a rolling table or rolling filing cabinet. Why rolling? If you go with furniture that rolls, it allows you to use the piece of furniture temporarily next to your desk and move it back to its spot when you no longer need it.
Practicality and organization doesn’t end with your desk, filing cabinets and other little pieces of furniture; you still need to think practical when it comes to the seating in your office. Before you go grabbing the dining room chairs, think about how long you’ll be sitting in that spot. Comfort is going to be your best friend here. Make sure to budget yourself accordingly and choose a chair that’s stylish, blends in with the rest of the furniture, is comfortable and on wheels.
Utilize Your Space Well – Dealing With Wires, Walls and Lighting
How To Deal With Equipment Wires
Your office is going to be riddled with electronic equipment as you’ll have your computer, printer, fax machine, lamps and possibly a radio. Thus, you’re going to have wires to contend with. You don’t want to worry with tripping over your wires and accidentally knocking yourself offline or yourself out. Make sure to hide your wires… you can do this by having your furniture directly next to the outlets, running the wires under the rug or along the wall.
You may think that going wireless is the best thing for you but you need to remember that even wireless products still have things that need to be plugged into the outlets. You’ll still need to plug in the modem to your computer so you’ll have cords for that. Make sure to use high quality surge protectors to keep your electronics in working order.
What Kind Of Light To Use
Most home offices have an overhead light but it’s not always the best thing to work by. Instead, use a desk lamp as this will keep eyestrain down to a minimum. If you don’t have a lot of room on your desk, you can invest in a floor lamp; just make sure to bring it close to the desk so that you do not always need to get up and down to turn it on or off. You can also mount lamps on the wall near your desk.
If you’re trying to go green and be eco-friendly, use the window in your room to bring in your natural light. Bear in mind that you may have a problem with a glare; if you do, you can angle the blinds/shades down and still get the sunlight you need to work by.
Make Room On Your OfficeWall
Your office space doesn’t just consist of floor and desktops; it also consists of your walls. If your walls are just plain with nothing real substantial on them and your room is cluttered with books you need, there is a way to utilize your walls and use your books without bringing in tall, lanky bookshelves. How?
Consider purchasing pieces of wood and install them onto your wall, placing the books or printer paper up there. You don’t have to reside yourself to just one of these either, as you can have as many as you want. If you need a map, poster board or a to-do calendar, you can also use the wall space for these things. Make sure not to make a mess of your wall since it’ll defeat the purpose of trying to de-clutter the room. On a side note: if you have a flat screen monitor, you can place this on your wall as well, which will help to de-clutter your desk.
Protecting Every Bit Of Your Work Space
Some office home business owners make the assumption that their homeowners insurance will automatically cover their workspace in case of a catastrophic event. That’s not necessarily true so the wisest decision you can do for your business is to call your insurance agent and discuss whether or not your policy covers your at home business. If it doesn’t, you may want to attach a rider’s policy to protect all your belongings. Your agent should know if clients will be visiting your home business and how much replacement value you’ll get for the furniture and equipment among other things.
It’s always wise to back up all your data including financial records. Make sure to do both online and external storage backups regularly. If you have documents you know will be difficult to replace, consider using a fireproof safe/filing cabinet to protect your belongings.
Restricting Outside Access To Your Home Office
Sometimes it’s hard to keep your home life and office life separate especially if you share the space with kids. However, this is the time to lay down ground rules about your space that even you should follow. If you find yourself still being overrun with household projects and materials, you need to setup a separate area in your home that allows those types of things to happen. You don’t want clutter from other parts of the home to get into your workspace and you certainly don’t want to keep your personality out of it either. Be sure to personalize the office while keeping with the office theme.
Home organization doesn’t have to be a nightmare when you work at home. With some organizing of the room and a talk with the other family members, your dreams of having a worthwhile, money-making space in the home can become a reality.
Author Info: 
Author Lloyd Burrell has learned the value of home office organization. As an auditor, Lloyd traveled from business to business. During that time and in the development and success of his business, he has learned the secrets to keeping a home office organized. Here, he helps to share this success for others who are looking to keep their home office organized, from the purchase of a Dmi computer desk or Techni Mobili computer desk, to bookshelves and installing wall shelves. Lloyd has become a successful editor to the Internet’s leading desk review site. Lloyd lives in the Charente Maritime, France with his wife and two children.