Home Sweet Home Office

I am back at my desk with my stuff close by. The printer, scanner and desktop are within arms length. My cell phone charger, my Bluetooth headset charger and laptop charger are lying within sight. Strange how out of place one can feel at someone else’s desk.

Over the weekend I started work on the end of the week, the end of the month and the end of the quarter paperwork. Most of the report information is in digital form on my laptop but there are some papers that I have to keep at close at hand.

Account numbers, addresses and even meter readings are cluttering my desktop but I will do what I always do. I work through each task one after another. It will be a happy day when all of this paper is completed, scanned and mailed away. Thank goodness for the reports and payments that can be made online.

This rambling does have a purpose.

We all have times that our desks are cluttered with paper and who knows what else. It can make sitting down in front of it all a dreaded thing. Don’t let it get you down – just pick up one piece at a time – do what you have to do – and move onto the next piece. Once the clutter is cleared you can charge your electronics and start all over again.

Have you noticed that computer desks in store displays never have computer cables showing? Is this deliberate or would it just be too cumbersome and dangerous to have several cords and cables hanging from the desktop?

Of course the store wants to display the computer desks in the best light. No one wants to see the cords but we all know that there is little that can be done to hide them. My argument is – show them. Homebuyers need to imagine their furniture in the prospective home so desk buyers need to see the reality of cables draping across and hanging from the prospective desk.

Sure there are cable tamers out there but I have a problem with most of them. Every time I tie my cables together I need to move one of them. As a mobile gadget junkie my cables do not stay put for long periods of time.

So what am I to do? I admit that usually my cables lay wild all over my desk. I have taken the extra length of some cables and curled them into a small circle. Bread ties or hook and loop strips work well – two on each circle. The cables look tidy and I can still grab them and go whenever the need arises.

How do you deal with cables and cords that plaque your desk? I’m looking for some new and creative advice.

Home office space is truly a personalized space. My husband and I have traded spaces for the last few days and it has been a challenge.

If you have been following my saga for the last few days you know that I have a Dell desktop computer waiting (impatiently) for a tech support person to make it whole again.

Weekends are my time to catch up on paperwork and to pay employees. It is unbelievable to see how much I have to spread out to accomplish these tasks. I’ve always known that but it has really become apparent this weekend.

I work on a laptop so I am able to move around without much effort. It is the printer, scanner and files that make this situation uncomfortable.

Writing is another story. I tried working in the living room recliner but the heat from my laptop makes me uncomfortable. I need my desktop to do internet research but my husband is using it for now.

This interruption has taught me a few things.

• I need to set up my WiFi printer
• I need a netbook with an SSD (solid state drive) for less heat and faster boot up
• A roll around adjustable laptop desk would work great for times like these.

None of these things are prohibitive to do. Cost for the netbook would be approximately $600 or less and the portable laptop desk would be approximately $200 or less. I already have the WiFi printer. It would be a good thing to get that box out of my living room.

It is clear now – I need more than one work space and I need to take advantage of all wireless solutions available to me.

How do you deal with mail? You know those piles of magazines, flyers and credit card applications that flood into your post office box everyday.

Tuesdays seem to be my junk mail day. The junk mail at least doubles from what it is during the rest of the week. However, the amount of mail does not matter. Mail should be handled the same no matter what day it is.

TIP: Pick up mail the same time each day.

TIP: Carry a bag to gather your mail so that you don’t drop or misplace any pieces.

TIP: Always open the mail in the same place – preferably on your desk in your home office.

TIP: Sort mail into two piles. One pile is for keepers, one pile is for shredding and the rest should be tossed into a trash can.

TIP: Sort the keeper pile further – separate anything needing action such as bills and file the rest.

Following these tips will keep your mail under control. Your desk will not be overtaken and hopefully you will not miss the stress of searching for lost mail.

Distraction has followed me throughout this day. I started my day at my day job. I came home to work in my home office to finish up a few accounting tasks. During this same time I have waited for the call from my Dell tech person. As of now I have not received the call.

I am working at my husband’s desk and he is working at mine. I know that this sounds odd but I have his old computer set up as my desktop. I use it for my internet research. He needs files that are on my desktop since his new desktop is in pieces on the floor. Hence, we have traded spaces.

Stacks of papers are ready to be shredded. Hopefully this weekend will be a productive one. I need to play catch-up. If I weren’t organized this home office would be in total chaos. I am organized and I follow my own rules to stay that way. If you need some organizing help in your home office you can find information in several of my previous posts.

What condition is your home office in? How is it working for you?

While organizing a home office you should take the placement of a desktop computer into consideration. Can you easily get to the back and sides of your CPU if need be?

This morning I had an experience with Dell tech support. The call went great but that was only part of the story. My desk has a CPU tray that dangles from underneath the glass desktop. The Dell XPS (monster) CPU barely fits. Only a problem when it needs to be removed.

My mother has a large computer cabinet. All of those shelves and compartments are great for her but not so much for anyone needing to access the CPU. There is no way to plug in cables while seeing what you are doing. It is dark under the desk and there are walls in all of the wrong places. I think that the designer took for granted that whoever would buy such a cabinet would know computer cables by touch.

My mother-in-law has a smaller cabinet but the design is much the same. In both cases the cabinet is placed against a wall. In both cases I have to crawl under the desk or around the desk to reach the CPU.

The moral of this story is that someday you will need to access the back of your CPU. If a component needs to be replaced you will need to remove part of the case. Unless you are a contortionist you will not enjoy the positions necessary to lift a heavy CPU out of a computer desk.

Home office color is still hanging me up. This is such a decision and I never expected to be so undecided. After this post I will mull it over a bit more and then when I make a final decision I’ll let you know. If you have suggestions I would love to hear them.

Orange is not my favorite color but I like it well enough to have some in the room. Creativity is said to be spurred by the color orange so as a writer I could benefit. I cannot see an entire wall of orange but an accent or two would be fine.

Yellow can cause an outbreak of “happy”. That would be good too but as with orange it is not my favorite color. Where I’d use yellow I am not sure – but something yellow can be included.

Green is a color that on its own does not grab me. It is however a color that can be blended with other colors successfully. That would be a way to add blue into the room without being too quieting. My home office is not a place I want to rest – I want to be wide awake and excited to reach my goals.

These colors (except for green) are not used anywhere else in my home. This could turn into a larger project than I anticipated.

I cannot find much information on my favorite colors that I mentioned in yesterday’s post. Silver and pearl are colors that make me feel that I am in a clean, minimalist and modern environment. My gut still goes there.

Home office and home library are different rooms as far as I am concerned. I probably should, but I do not read books very often. One of the most difficult items in my home office to store is books. If a book is stored away out of sight it is forgotten. If you forget you have it – why have it?

Once a book has been read do you have to keep it? That is a much debated question.

The few books that I have read from cover to cover are business books. My husband reads about history, wars and some fiction. We also have a few books written by favorite motivational speakers. I cannot remember when we last opened any of these books. They just sit there gathering dust. I hate to dust!

The reason I am thinking about books and how much space they require is that a new e-book has been announced. So far I have not been impressed by most e-books that are available but this one looks pretty good. Books are not the only files that can be downloaded to the iRex – Microsoft documents and PDF files are compatible as well. This truly sets the iRex apart and if that is not enough – the Office and PDF files can be edited on the touchscreen version.

Now you may understand where I am headed. The iRex could save so much space. It would look so much better lying on my desk than a stack of books and papers. The iRex would be very convenient to carry along on trips or to the local coffee shop. Did I mention that the iRex can connect at 3G speeds and has WiFi to boot?

The iRex would get me a little closer to that paperless office that I strive for. Well – at least on my side of the home office.

There are still no decisions on the wall color or treatment on my home office walls. I am leaning towards wide alternating stripes in a light silvery tone and metallic pearl. These colors would give me a lot of options for accessories.

I will put that decision aside for now. In the mean time I will search for the perfect shades of the colors I mentioned above.

The decision about my home office floor has already been made. I really like the bare concrete. It is smooth and cool to the touch. Amazingly it is not cold however. Last winter it stayed room temperature.

The bare concrete floor came to be because I could not make a decision. The carpet was old and ugly. The green shag was way past its prime. It was awful! No other carpet suited my tastes either. Carpet tiles a consideration but they are quite expensive.

Grey concrete is considered to be a cool color. It also symbolizes a sleek and classic look. Grey was once a dull and boring color choice but it has become modern and some even consider it the new white. Its cool neutral look works well in contrast to warmer colors such as earth-tones.

Redecorating my home office is going to be fun. I will keep you updated on my choices. If you have suggestions I would love to hear them.

My home office is in need of redecorating. If you read yesterday’s post I discussed paint color. There has not been a decision made – partially because now I am trying to decide on the paint treatment.

Faux-painting has been the rage for the last several years. Some I like and others are absolutely hideous. Sponging and ragging does not interest me at all. Combing looks too much like wall paper and I know I don’t want that look. I like stripes but not just any stripes.

If you watch HGTV you have probably seen the stripes that are wide and very subtle. I like the stripes to wrap around the room horizontally with the slightest color variance.

I have selves and metal baskets on one wall so I need to keep that in mind. Instead of stripes it may look good to paint a large color block that would highlight my shelves and baskets. That would make them look like they were highlighted and an intentional part of the home office.

Another consideration is the feeling that I want to have when I walk into my home office. Modern is my favorite look. Yes, comfortable but modern.

Paint colors that I am leaning towards are silver (sleek), gunmetal gray, copper, or chocolate brown (light brown implies reliability). These colors look like terrible choices written here but in my minds eye they are very interesting.