Over the last few months, we have all become accustomed to changes to our lives including working from home or home-schooling our children. This has brought many challenges such as lack of physical space and demands on our time which have created a need to find space, whether that be physical or mental.
To combat these issues, we need to adapt our way of thinking and our living spaces to create a working environment that is conducive to studying and home working.
Pick a room
Have a think about your home and if there is a spare room that is under-utilised that you can re-purpose for home working. Perhaps you have a small box room that is filled with clutter that you never look at such as old toys, books, boxes of china and clothes? Some people only use a spare room for storage, ironing clothes or for visitors to sleep when they occasionally stay over.
Make this room have a purpose and re-claim the space. Not only will this help you in the short-term, but it will also make the home more attractive if you look to sell it in the future.
Clear it/de-clutter
Start by taking everything out of the room, a space can appear even bigger when it is empty. Go through each box or item and don’t be afraid to be ruthless! The chances are, if you haven’t looked at it or used it in over a year you probably don’t need it. As the professional organising consultant Marie Kondo says, ‘Ask yourself if it sparks joy’, if it doesn’t then get rid of it.
Sort everything you want to keep into piles and consider if you need to keep it in your new room or store it elsewhere. If the items or furniture do not fit with the purpose of the new room maybe you could consider selling them to release some cash and use it to re-decorate or furnish the room.
Storage
Now you could well be left with a pile of boxes, containers full of items or furniture for storage but nowhere to store it within the home. If you do not have suitable loft or garage space, why not consider putting the items into a self-storage room on a short-term basis whilst you sort through and dispose of or sell anything you don’t need.
At H2H Storage Solutions we offer all sizes of room from a small 15 sq. ft. to large 100 sq. ft. room, starting from only £10 plus VAT, per week. These can be taken for as short-term as 7 days with no long-term contracts or tie-ins.
Decorating & shelving
Once you have cleared the room, give it a good clean and polish and consider if you need to re-decorate or change the flooring. You don’t have to spend a fortune and a quick lick of paint can do wonders for a room to make it feel fresh and modern.
Have a look at the room with fresh eyes, does it need shelving or bookcases to be added to store books or files you might need for work or studying?
Set up a working station
Think about how you are going to use the room, do you have a suitable desk and chair that you can use as a workstation? These can sometimes be quite expensive to purchase so look at any local freecycle sites or Facebook groups for any freebies that you can upcycle or re-purpose.
Consider the lighting for the room, if you can’t locate the desk near the window then see if you need to get a suitable strength desk-lamp so you aren’t straining your eyes looking at the screen.
Think about wireless connectivity for the room, can you access your home WIFI from there or would you need to purchase a booster? If you do still have visitors to stay and you have space, you could add a sofa bed into the room which would double-up as a chair.
Add some soft furnishings and pictures to make the room welcoming and then you should be all set!
