This week’s guest blogger is Interior Designer and mum of two Sarah Barnes, owner of Ivy House Interiors. In this blog Sarah gives some handy hints on how to organise your workspace in the home.

It has to be said that the benefits of working from home, especially with children’s hectic and somewhat unpredictable schedules, are endless.  I’m lucky in that my commute (usually after loading up the washer) is up 15 steps to the spare bedroom and takes, traffic permitting (i.e. junk piled up on the stairs for “putting away later”) around 30 seconds. I can store my paint sample pots, off-cuts of wallpapers and mood boards without them getting in the way of the normal hubble bubble of family life.  But what happens if this isn’t the case ? If you are commuting to your kitchen table of sofa what could you do to create a practical, unobtrusive yet productive working environment? Here are a few suggestions to get you started…

Storage
There is no denying it, even if you run your business completely from your laptop and mobile you are still going to need some kind of storage space for those bank statements and other accounts paperwork if nothing else.  Rather than having a shoebox or storage crate that is constantly moved from one corner to the next, stake your claim on a permanent home for your business.  Time for a quick spring clean – ideal places include a kitchen cupboard, a few shelves in the airing cupboard, a shelving unit wedged into the bottom of your wardrobe or a small chest of drawers hidden in a corner of a room.  If you give yourself a base then you can keep everything together and are limiting your search area when that all important prospective client calls back and you need to get your hands on the paperwork quickly.

Your desk 
If you can pick up and pack up at the end of each day then you can probably get away with the dining table or kitchen worktop but if like me you are a bit more space hungry then how can you squeeze in a nice flat surface ?  Time for a bit of multi-tasking – a dressing table doubles up perfectly, especially if its in a spare room and won’t get the remains of the day dumped on it each night.  Do you have an integral garage ? Could you make yourself a work surface out of a piece of worktop attached to batons on the wall ? (My inventive friend Mrs W has created a workroom in her utility room by buying another identical length of worktop but without the sink cut-out, this then sits snugly on top – perfect !)  Folding tables can be great – they bring back memories of caravan holidays when I was little – if you don’t quite get everything finished by tea-time it can stay put and just get moved aside. But when it’s time for Sunday lunch it can all be folded up and tucked away from view.

Keep it simple 
If you’re anything like me then buying stationery is second only to blitzing Boots make-up counters or raiding Space.NK.  You really don’t need to buy post it note dispensers or fancy desk tidies if you don’t have a desk ! A few old mugs or jam jars are perfect for storage especially if your home office is going to be hidden away from view.  Priority would be lever arch files and a stack of filing trays to allow you to prioritise your work load.

Keep on top of it
Give yourself a slot in your schedule to tidy away and file.  The last thing you need is to turn up to an important meeting at the bank to find that the statement that you left on the worktop has been used as part of a pre-schoolers art creation (or my usual trick, a coaster) – you may work from the kitchen table but its still important to present a professional image.

It’s a small start but who knows the contents of that kitchen cupboard could be the very things that lead to your first million – by which time you probably won’t be worrying about what your bank manager thinks of the kids colouring!

For help with de-cluttering, organising and prioritising for day-to-day living or before putting your home up for sale contact Sarah on 07711 293320.

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