How to Set Up a Home Office in a Pinch

You're looking to set up your home office-- where to begin?

Working for home is not easy, it has obstacles and challenges.  But, it also has many benefits and can be very rewarding.

The coronavirus pandemic sent many people home and in a pinch, and we all had to set up a home office quickly.

You might have already had one, but for those of us that didn't, it has been quite a change! I am currently located in the hallway where the washing machine used to live, in between the bedrooms and the garage.  

What is essential in setting up your home office.

First-- find where you're going to locate it.

Do you have a spare bedroom?  A little alcove in a room to place your computer and desk?  A basement or a garage?

You really should have just enough area to put a desk, a chair and allow enough room to stand up.

Here is a beautiful home office space, in fact, Senseandserendipityblog has many beautiful ideas and inspiration for setting up your home workspace.

Did you know there's even an app called Room Sketcher that will help you to sketch out your home office and make it perfect?

You'll find much inspiration and beautiful ideas all over the internet.

Some so lovely you'll find yourself very intimidated about what you don't have.

One thing though you must have is some form of organization or you'll create a mess so awful you won't be able to function.

You need a place to store your papers and files, pens, pencils, a stapler, and a printer.  Without this very basic structure of some form, you will quickly create a mess of your home office space with items scattered everywhere, causing complete and utter chaos.  

Being confined to mandatory stay-at-home conditions, a result of covid19, along with a work-space that is unkept like that photo above, will quickly render you unproductive.  Tips to clean can be found here.

A simple set of file cabinets, storage boxes, or shelves near your place of work will prevent massive clutter and keep you somewhat sane (a bit of sarcasm needs to be inserted here).

Here is a very simple shelf that lifts some of the clutter off of your desk.  Cups can act as holders for pens and pencils and all of those old school pencil boxes your children have collected over the years will quickly become life-saving organizational tools as well.

Another must-have is a printer nearby, a good monitor for your computer and wi-fi.

Put your cables under your desk or tape them down to the floor so you won't trip, fall or accidentally unplug something and ultimately delete your work since you forgot to hit save.

These are trying times for everyone around the world.

We'll have time to improve on our workspace/home office as time goes on.

One piece of artwork you will gladly welcome into your home during this trying time is an amulet for luck and prosperity (you can insert sanity here too if you'd like).

A hamsa hand wall hanging does the perfect job of achieving the goal of blessings for your home and workspace.

Hamsa Wall Decor

This hand-shaped amulet, available on Alef Bet's website, comes in many shapes and sizes and is perfect to hang near your work area.

A hamsa hand, you can read more about its protective qualities on our blog, is a multicultural five-fingered hand-shaped amulet that blesses us with prosperity and good fortune.

Hung in a place of business, or a home, it acts as the perfect good luck charm to promote not only good health but luck and fortune.

The evil eye that dangles from the end of the wall hanging is there to watch over us at all times, making sure no harm comes our way.

Hamsa Glass Wall Hanging

Hamsa Wall Art

If you've made the temporary move home for work or if you're one that always is able to work from home, we hope you'll find tranquility and prosperity, hope and happiness from wherever you make your space.

If you'd like to read more about what a hamsa or an evil eye is about, we've written a few blog posts about it online.

For the time being, be well.

Let's make the best of the situation that is affecting the world now with this pandemic. 

And reflect on the famous Yiddish saying, "This Too Shall Pass."

We'd love to see how you've set up your home office space.