Choosing a Location for the Parent's Home Office

A designated home office can be in any space you can squeeze out of your house or apartment. Walk through your home and scrutinize every corner. You do have a home office hiding in there somewhere. It may be an entire room such as an extra bedroom or attic. It may be reclaimed space such as the basement or garage. It may be a small space such as a walk-in closet or pantry. It may be only part of a room such as the corner of a bedroom or den, or it may be squeezed in a cranny such as under the stairs or in an alcove. In fact, your office does not have to be confined to one room. You may work in one room, keep equipment in another and store supplies someplace else. Keep an open mind as you uncover your office space.

Look at the nature of your business as you plan your home office. What type of materials and equipment do you need? How flexible can you be with your basic equipment? For instance, can you forego the fax machine and instead use fax software on your computer?

Now, evaluate the space with the kids in mind. Determine what the dangerous temptations are for them and plan how to childproof the area. Also, try to plan for some space where they can work next to you while you work. Younger children will probably need to be next to you at least part of the time.