As small business owners, we tend to have home offices. But, some of us actually have a shop or workplace to go to as well. Creating a mini office in a small space is easy if you do some planning first. A home office doesn’t have to be too large, it just needs to be functional for your purposes. I have included lots of great ideas that will help you get your mini office organized and hopeful help keep it that way. Let’s begin.
First, you need to find a place to have this small office. This task is usually the most difficult part of the process. Here are some ideas:
- Look at unused closets, under steps, in basements or attics that are partly finished. These places will give you some unique inspiration to create your new office.
- To protect others seeing your client’s private data, make sure this space has room for a locked cabinet to help you stay organized but also keep their stuff private when you are finished for the day.
- Use part of your guest room close to a corner works nicely. These are great suggestions from Amazon(affiliate).
- If you have a long living room, move the sofa away from the wall and place the desk on the other side of the sofa. Divide the room with the bookcase. Images below are from Amazon (affiliate).
- Have a wall that is not being used? Hang a folding desk like this one. Click on these below to buy on Amazon (affiliate).
- Use your sofa as the chair with a
pop up table coffee table. See the images below from Amazon as an example. (affiliate links)
After you decide where you are going to place your small home office, here are some organizing tips that will help you make your space more organized.
- Use items that have more than one use. A table could be used for storage as well as a surface place for stuff. A chair can be used for storage as well as being a chair. Get creative with multipurpose items.
- Items should be stored away when not in use. Some filing cabinets can be used as an ottoman as well. To keep clutter at bay, paper items should only be out when in use. They should all have a home hidden behind something else.
- Store most frequently used items arm’s reach away. Have a small filing cabinet with most frequently used items near you. They can be in a decorative box or storage bin so people can tell what is inside.
- Have an in bin and a to-do bin near your desk. Minimize your in bins to 1 or 2. Any more bins out so everyone can
se will become an eyesore. - If many client projects with customized papers that are just for those clients, you may want to try a cubby bin system for paper management like the ones I found on Amazon. (affiliate)
I hope these tips inspire you to make a wonderful mini office in your small space. Over the years, my home office is pretty small but I have refined the space and the processes that they are now very functional. It is possible, don’t give up! You will be able to make an office in your small space.
Where do you have your mini home office in your home? Do you have any tips that will help others make their home office more efficient? Please leave a comment below.
I’m lucky enough to have a separate room for my home office, but I LOVE the idea of tucking a desk behind the couch – I never would have thought of doing that!