While working from home may come with numerous benefits- especially for the frugal entrepreneur-trying to find a suitable space for a home office can be frustrating.
Ideally, such a space would not encroach on family living quarters, like the kitchen, the living room, or an occupied bed room, and it would be a separate area designated specifically for business use.
Where a spare room or a garage is not an option then you may want to consider an unlikely place: one of your closets. And no, it's not a joke. If you can put your claustrophobia aside, your unused closet space can become a versatile workstation. And not to mention, when you've finished work for the day, you just close the door and voilà, the area is tidy.
Tips for Converting Your Closet into a Home Office
So, how do you go about turning a closet into suitable office space? Here is a brief step-by-step guide:
Find the right closet. First things first. Look for a closet that you can clear out for your use. Chances are, there's a bedroom closet that just needs a bit of spring cleaning to be rendered suitable. An empty closet can accommodate a surprising amount of furniture and equipment.
Prepare the premises. Clear the space of shelving up to 6 feet in height. Now you can seek out the right kind of furniture while still maintaining storage space above you.
Think vertical. You don't have that much space to spread out horizontally, so build your office upwards. That means taking advantage of existing shelves and storage space over your head. That's where you can store items that are not used on a daily basis.
Buy furniture that fits in. You can buy a basic tower design workstation or even a computer armoire that will fit into the available area. If you go for an armoire, remove the doors and use the built-in storage places to prevent clutter. Go for a double expandable tray that you can pull out. That will be adequate to store the keyboard and provide you with a writing shelf.
Look for Multi-purpose equipment. Where possible, look for compact and multi-purpose devices, such as a multi-function printer that sports scanning, faxing, and copying capablities.
Once you get started, you may be amazed by how much furniture and equipment can be fit into that closet office.