Working From Home: Two Months In

Welcome to my office! I've been working from home with my new job for just over two months now and I'd say it's been working out quite nicely overall. I thought I'd give you a "real life" glimpse into what working from home looks like today and how my home office space has evolved. Now that I've adjusted and gotten into more of a daily rhythm, I figured an update was in order.

The picture above gives you a good idea of my setup - I purposely didn't try to pretty it up too much to keep things real with y'all. I even left my fabric stash in its regular home under my desk - the horror! :) As much as my goal was to have a light and bright office when I took on the office mini-makeover project, there are some work-issued items that I can't change that don't fit that look that I use every day. I'm talking about YOU, ugly laptop, massive black printer and shredder. Oh how I wish all electronics came in white...le sigh. I must say, they do their job beautifully though. I'm thankful for electronics that make my job easier!

So while I can't change those things, I've tried to make the rest of the space something I love to be in since I spend oh, eight hours a day in there (plus the eight hours I sleep since the office does reside in the bedroom!). That's a lot of time, y'all.

Exhibit A: My new desk chair that I scored on Craigslist. Boy do I love that thing - although I'd take anything over that kitchen chair I was using before. I was starting to think I'd need to see a chiropractor since it was so uncomfortable to sit in all day!

Exhibit B: My DIY gold and silver metallic mousepad. Goes to show that it's the little things that can make all the difference. {Oh, and I made this before I started working from home, so that's my personal computer next to it - just in case you're really observant and notice that it's not the same as the ugly black laptop in the first photo...}

Exhibit C: Desk organizer and file box. Since I have a lot of paper to keep track of with my job, it was essential to have a good, practical file system in place. I learned that without one, a hefty stack of disorganized papers ends up on one side of my desk and I can't find anything I need. That leads to major frustration, things getting lost and then I lose precious time during the day trying to find what I need.

{Oy, please don't look too closely at how dirty the window is...unfortunately we can't clean the outsides since we live on the 6th floor of our building!)

The file box is from Target, and it's super functional and pretty. I love the bold green and white quatrefoil pattern (I can't find the exact one I have online, but these are similar if you're in the market). I can easily grab anything that I need from my chair, and at the end of the day, every paper has a place to go. I love having a clean desk when I "leave work" at the end of the day.

The desk organizer is something I've had forever - I think it was from TJMaxx? I slapped a piece of washi tape on the front just for fun, and to match the next thing I'll show you below... go ahead, call me matchy matchy. Anyway, the desk organizer corrals all of my miscellaneous office supplies like paper clips, tape, information pamphlets, and oh yes, pregnancy wheels. Have I mentioned I work in the prenatal world? Those wheels tell me how many weeks pregnant my patients are based on their due date. Fun fun!

I digress.

Back to my one last pretty and functional office related item...

Exhibit D: Magazine files that...wait for it...aren't holding magazines! Ooo, exciting right? Well these magazines files are my secret weapon when it comes to home office organization. They're old versions of these from IKEA and they're awesome. I'll be sharing all about them tomorrow. I know, I'm such a tease. If you squint real hard, you may be able to read what they store, but I'll leave the details for the next post!

All in all, I'd say I've adjusted to working from home pretty well and have ironed out most of the kinks that come with it. My job is going really well, although I must say I do miss having co-workers to hang out with and see every day. But, this job is perfect for this time in my life for a lot of reasons. One major one is that I can take it with me when we move to Philadelphia this summer!

Do any of y'all work from home? What have your experiences been like making the switch from an office (if that's what you were doing) to being home all day? I'm always curious what it's like for other people!