Tag Archives: tiny houses

Tiny Houses: Itty Bitty Office, Big Features

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If you are working with limited space, you can still enjoy a full featured office. Home office technology and the ability to “go paperless” dramatically reduces the physical space needed to do your work. The first rule in working and living in small spaces is to eliminate everything that isn’t essential and organize everything that is. Aside from that, I’ve assembled the following list of essentials for a well-appointed tiny office.

Low-profile computer

I, of course, love my iMac. But, there are many little computers that don’t sacrifice features or function to enjoy a substantial amount of screen real estate while maintaining a dainty footprint. If you prefer a laptop, your tiny office will love you for it!

Go wireless

The fewer wires you have to string about, the happier you will be. The new bluetooth keyboards and mice won’t even require a dongle if your computer is bluetooth equipped. Printers now come wireless and network ready — without a huge pricetag. Using one printer for all computers in the house simplifies life.

All-in-one data scanner/printer solution

Once a week (if you aren’t a “daily” type) you should empty your inbox, scanning in anything that you need to keep and filing it in a software filing program (or in your own system of nested files). Keep only those items you are legal bound to retain. Scan and file those and discard the rest.

Go for quality

Don’t skimp on the quality of your keyboard, don’t accept a less than perfect height desk, and buy the best, most ergonomically sound desk chair you can afford. Buy a good headset for your computer. In addition to making it easier to utilize the cost-effective VOIP options, it will also keep your conversations a bit more private if you are sharing close-quarters with others.

Save your eyes

Make sure you have excellent general lighting as well as task lighting in your office. Squinting at the screen isn’t a good way to spend your day. If you can manage to position your desk so that you can gaze out a window, you will allow your eyes a much needed “mini-vacation” during the course of each day. A few minutes gazing outside and focusing on items in the distance will prevent eyestrain and headaches.

Desk Accessories – A listing of my personal essentials

  • Stapler (and refills)
  • Weighted tape dispenser
  • Three hole punch
  • Mechanical pencil (with extra lead)
  • Ink pen (a good quality roller ball or a fountain pen)
  • Bar-style or other eraser (Papermate “black pearl” oval erasers are nice)
  • Paper clips
  • Ruler or a small tape measure
  • Highlighter
  • Sharpies (Black in medium and fine tips)
  • Garbage can
  • An inbox and an out box
  • Stack of index cards (or a note pad if you prefer)
  • Microfiber monitor/screen cleaning cloth

Stationery

  • Notecards (preferably customized with your business name or monogram)
  • Business cards
  • Stamps (save yourself the hassle and buy the “forever” variety)
  • Printer Paper
  • Standard Envelopes
  • Return address labels
  • Small notepad or stack of index cards

Data storage

Two thumbdrives (one for work stuff, one for personal items) This eliminates the need for most CDs and DVDs and is a much more earth-friendly way to handle your data. It also conserves your office space.
Two external hard drives (one for onsite backups, one for offsite backup storage)

How to handle sticky and space-hogging items

Software disks and manuals can become cumbersome. First, sort through all the ones you currently have and discard/donate any that are outdated or that you no longer use. For those still in use, store a copy of the disk on your computer and back it up to your external hard drives and store the original copies in a less convenient location.

This will keep your office clear, without risking a loss due to a hard drive crash. It will also make it easier to get a new computer up and running by keeping all your software install info in one central location.

  • Have one folder for each type of software disk copy (Utilities, Games, Productivity, Graphic Arts, Music, Video, etc.)
  • Use a password program (like KeePassX) to store your software activation numbers, purchase information, etc.
  • Keep a folder of ebooks on your computer and label one “Users Manuals” – most disks now come with a PDF version of the manual (and those that don’t usually have a version available online.)

NOTE: Be sure, if you go paperless, that you backup your hard drive no less than once a week and keep that copy offsite (safety rule-of-thumb is 50 miles from your home office). Another option is to use one of the smaller hard drives and place it in your safety deposit box. If you use two drives and rotate them, it will be easy to drop one off and pick up the other any time you are out anyway.

Focusing my life: How to Travel

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Tent camping with a truckMy blog may still be unfocused, but I’m starting to gain a bit of that elusive edge in my life. I’ve finally quit straddling the fence on what I plan to do next with my life. I’ve spent my last multi-hour session on eBay salivating over RV options for the foreseeable future. I’m no longer going to be visiting all the forums and blogs dedicated to the “on the road lifestyle” and conversion vans will no longer catch my eye… at least not for a few years.

Last week I bought a small truck. It’s an old one, but it’s solid. I will be replacing the transmission before long, but the body, interior and engine appear to be in fantastic shape. If I get a wild hair, I may paint it. Time will tell. (I always have wanted a seriously purple truck!).

Confession: I love driving a small truck. It makes me happy. I prefer a stick-shift, but this little automatic is still pretty darn sweet. The truck gets excellent gas mileage and I don’t believe in keeping up two vehicles, so once the truck is on the road, I’ll be selling my car.

With that truck and a relatively inexpensive topper, I can do most of the travel/camping stuff I want to do — without the need to purchase an expensive RV and learn to maintain all the systems onboard. I’ll go more simple in my plans and will actually be able to begin the traveling (at least the shorter trips) sooner.

I’m already planning a woodworking project with my father, the moment I have the truck and topper ready to travel. He’s going to help me build a bed-frame in the back with storage space underneath for holding all the camping stuff. I’ll be able to fit a marine-grade cooler, my kerosene cook stove and my good-sized tent under one side with food, clothing and supplies under the second half.

At some point in the future, I may invest in one of those tents that connects to the topper to make a “living space” while retaining the truck bed for the sleeping area. I’m not sure at this point that it offers anything worthwhile over having one of the two tents I already own pitched right beside the truck. Heck, since I prefer the one that is large enough to permit me to stand up, I may give the smaller one to someone else. After all, simple camping will soon be possible without even PITCHING a tent! I’ll only pitch the tent if we are staying put or more than a couple of days — at which point I’ll prefer a larger one with more creature comforts.

If I’m feeling particularly inspired while building my little travel thingee, I may even do long “drawers” so there’s no crawling back in the hole to pull out stuff — and so nothing gets lost. I already have a memory-foam mattress that I think will make the sleeping experience pretty darn awesome. And if I like it and use it alot, I may even insulate it for more “all season” use.

It should also break down easily for storage outside the truck, so I can still use my truck to haul wood, move furniture, bring in fruit trees for planting and whatever else inspires me.

I figure the truck will buy me quite a bit of independence/automomy without much sacrifice. It has three seatbelts, so Alex and Prince (my puppy) and I can travel in comfort — and if it’s necessary, I can squeeze in one extra person from time to time.

I’ve listed Serenity, my airstream, on Craigslist and will (hopefully) have her sold within the next few weeks. I posted her on Facebook marketplace a few months back, but had continued to battle with the “do I want to sell, do I want to keep” decision. There was basically no traffic on the marketplace, so I was able to continue with my internal battle. It was a tough decision, but selling her is the right one for me now. I’m simplifying!

With my new emphasis on the 80/20 rule as it applies to my life… I figure using the truck and setting it up like this will give me 80% of the joy of being able to travel, camp, take off and be free at a moment’s notice with only 20% of the expense, effort and hassle.

One major life decision down, a few dozen more to go!

Open Up Tiny Spaces with Paint!

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Custom ceiling for a \My mother knows I’m planning to do a custom ceiling and floor (probably both in my bathroom) in my little cabin, and she sent me these photos as examples. Now, I’d planned more of a ‘copy’ of a classical ceiling I’d seen once that opens up to the heavens, but this one is pretty cool too.

I particularly like the bathroom floor here…

Continue reading →

Zen Office Makeover – Before and After

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Ok, my office “situation” was beyond unbearable. I had actually started queuing up the Flickr slideshow of Uncluttered Office Spaces to try to inspire myself. My “borrowed” desk was supposed to be temporary, but it had become way too permanent. It was too tall, which meant that my feet were dangling from my deskchair and I was “reaching up” to type. I sit at my desk alot, I type alot. I was starting to experience weird aches and pains. I couldn’t wait any longer.

So here’s a shot of my un-touched up, uncleaned, uncleared desk. Look quick, because I may lose my nerve soon and pull it down and vehemently deny that MY desk ever looked like THAT. Right now, I make myself feel better by knowing that this IS, after all, the before. :O)

Crazy, Messy, Difficult place to work

There, confession made. Complete with photographic evidence. So I looked at that mess and tried to determine what was essential to my work and happiness, and what was just extra stuff.

I determined that since most of my “stuff” was digital these days, that I only needed a few things that weren’t on my computer. I also decided that having my daughter’s desk right beside mine was not the best choice.

So I moved her into the adjacent room (where I can still see her while she’s completing her homeschooling assignments). I also moved my desk away from the window to avoid the early afternoon sunbeams that often blinded me.

I also moved the printer to a closer proximity (you can’t even see the printer in the “before” photo.) I pulled the cheap (but functional) kidney shaped computer desk from Serenity into the house and set it up with only the bare necessities. I’m keeping only those items I need every day at fingertip access. The rest, I’m tossing, donating or storing elsewhere.

It’s liberating!

I’ve also recently reworked the way I handle my finances, the way I keep my books and store my client files (the few that are actually physical paper). These items must be easy to access, so they are on the shelf to the left of my workspace. There’s even a place for my new, wonderful, PERFECT purse on that same shelf so those essentials can be reached without getting up.

My new space looks like this:

It's smaller, clearer and more ergonomic.

I do have a cluttered framed print above my desk — it’s plastered with a slew of my favorite photos. Not serene, not feng shui, but I love it and it makes me happy to focus on those photos and those memories at a glance while I’m working.

The light is a clip-on metal with a conversion “swirly” fluorescent bulb that really brightens up my work area without wasting energy. I tamed the tangle of cords and used twist-ties to group them and keep them unknotted.

The “new” desk is missing something, my largish stereo speakers and the huge base unit. I’ve replaced them with the tiny ones you see on the top of the new desk. They sound pretty good, but they can’t thump like the other ones could. That’s ok. I’ll make the sacrifice.

Clean, clear lines of the new workspace

This is where the non-digital supplies are stored

This isn’t the “ultimate” office, but it’s much closer than what I had before. I still need to add a rolling storage cabinet with a hanging file folder drawer in the bottom and a shallow drawer on the top. I’d like to have it outfitted so the printer will live on top. (I’m still looking for that cabinet.)

I’d also like to have a “hot file” for the incoming papers between the time they are received and the time I handle them (pay the bills, complete the project, file the papers). I’d like to hang this folder-sized hot file on the wall beside my desk.

But for now… I have to run and get my desk dock for the iPhone (thank goodness Apple designs things sleek and small!)

Small Cool Winning Spaces

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Apartment Therapy has some of the best “living small” resources around. I particularly like their contests. The Small Cool 2008 contest just ended (this is the fourth annual event for tiny spaces that rock). If you want to check out the winners for some ideas on ways to decorate your own smaller spaces, visit the page dedicated to the “living small” contestants.