Home Office Organizing Tips With IKEA Hacks

Every January I have this overwhelming desire to organize everything in our home. I’m cleaning up kitchen cupboards, packing up donation boxes, and dusting in places that haven’t been dusted since the previous January. So many of us are working from home these days and office spaces have popped up in the most unexpected places- bedrooms, closets, basements, even dining rooms and kitchens. That makes having an organized and visually appealing office even more important than if it occupied its own room with a door that could be shut at the end of the work day. In this post, Home Office Organizing Tips With IKEA Hacks, I’m sharing how I made my home office not only organized and functional, but also pretty and a place where I enjoy working.

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My Office

My home office is actually a wall in the Master bedroom and this has been the situation since our third child was born. We are currently finishing our basement and designing a complete office, but until then I will make the best of my bedroom office. Since the office is in the bedroom, it’s really important to stay organized and to keep paperwork and clutter under cover. I’ve created several DIY projects to create a lovely and organized home office.

Home Office Organizing Tips

The Most Important Consideration

By far, the most important thing you can do when setting up a home office is to determine what your needs are. Do you need a large surface for crafts? Access to lots of books? Multiple computer monitors? Create a list of all the tasks you commonly do for work and make a list of all the items you need to have at hand. Plan accordingly. This will help you determine the size of desk you need and what other types of storage you might need (e.g., filing cabinet, bookshelf, craft caddy).

Make It Beautiful To Inspire Tidiness

Have you ever noticed that when you get a new piece of furniture or décor accent that it inspires you to keep that space clean and tidy? My first “organizing” tip is to create a pretty office space that will make you want to keep it neat and organized. To do this, I added wallpaper to one wall in our bedroom where I would be placing my desk and storage items. The wallpaper helps to delineate the work area and creates something pretty to look at when my mind inevitably wanders while working. Peel and stick wallpaper is a great low-commitment choice that you can easily remove if your style changes. You can read about how I updated this space with wallpaper here.

Ensure Your Desk Has Storage

A desk with several drawers is the ideal way to keep papers, pens and supplies organized, but it’s not a deal-breaker. My IKEA desk was about $20 decades ago and has no drawers whatsoever. To solve this problem, I use desktop storage drawers. I repurposed a simple IKEA Moppe unit and refinished it with paint and stain, and then added pretty glass knobs. Now it houses all my pens and pencils, sewing supplies, and various necessary items. You can read about this little IKEA hack here.

My desk chair is the Daily Chair from Branch Furniture. They have beautiful looking and functional chairs and desks.

Add A Pinboard

I’m a firm believer that every office should have a pinboard. I honestly don’t know how I would function without it. It’s the best place for a calendar, to-do lists, bills to pay, fabric and paint samples, and inspirational photos. I created this gold-framed pinboard from a basic IKEA Svensas pinboard. You can get the instructions for the IKEA hack here. A good pinboard will be at least 20” square.

Add Hidden Storage

A real game-changer for me was the addition of the IKEA Kallax unit a few weeks ago. Not only does it provide loads of hidden storage, but it provides an extra surface to place things as needed. During different times of the year, it could be used as a picture staging area, a Cricut crafting space, a paperwork organizing mecca (during tax season), or a spot for a pretty vignette of flowers and a family photo. I purchased simple fabric bins for the unit and customized them with labels made from my Cricut Joy machine. This is definitely the simplest and easiest IKEA hack I’ve completed. I used the DTC Sahara Smooth Font in the Cricut Design Space (letter height 2”) and Permanent Vinyl.

In order to make the storage unit the most functional, I designated each of the four compartments to categories I knew I needed. Every home office needs a space to store paperwork, so this one’s a must. I work in design, so I like to have a curated magazine collection at the ready. I always have a craft project on the go, so I designated a cubby for my craft supplies. And since I own an Etsy shop, I have a cubby for in-progress orders and packages that will be shipped out in the next day or so. Within each cubby, I use stacking trays to store and organize my items.

Additional Tips

• When setting up your office, only include items that you actually need plus a few decorative items that bring you joy. If things start getting cluttered, then it’s time to purge.
• Comfort is important too, so make sure your desk chair is comfortable and ergonomically correct. Consider having a reading chair nearby to give your back a “change of scenery”. Some office tasks like reading or phone calls can be completed in a more relaxed chair. It will give you the illusion that you’re taking a break and can help with productivity.
• If you have a lot of paperwork, invest in an attractive filing cabinet. The under-the-desk options may be all that is needed. Filing cabinets are only useful if you know where everything is and don’t just use it as a paper repository.
• Set up an electrical power bar for all the electronics and charging stations you may need. Keep all your charges in one place. I keep mine in a basket near the outlet.
• Ensure your desk is well stocked with all the basics so you don’t have to run through the house every time you need a stapler or a stamp. Basic supplies include- paper (lined, printer, graph, notebooks, letter writing), post-it notes, a calendar, pens, pencils, markers, highlighters, erasers and fluid corrector, scissors, glue, crazy glue, tape, stapler, ruler, measuring tape, reading glasses, paperclips and butterfly clips, a chequebook, envelopes, stamps, sewing needles and thread, charging cables, glue gun, string or twine, a hole punch, and snacks/gum.
• Have a dual garbage can-recycling bin under your desk.
• Tidy your desk at the end of each day and do a monthly purge to keep things from getting cluttered.

Summary

I hope you have enjoyed reading about my home office organizing tips. Beautiful and functional decor doesn’t need to be expensive or complicated. I’d love to hear about your home office. Is it everything you could hope for, or is there room for improvement? Do you have a home office organization tip you’d like to share?