Are you trying to revamp your home office this spring? Well you aren’t alone, spring is the perfect season to do so. Telecommuting affords millions of Americans the ability to work from home—3.1 million people, actually, according to the latest figures from TeleworkResearchNetwork.com. While some big businesses like Yahoo and Best Buy are reining in their home-based workforce, that’s still a significant number of telecommuters and freelancers who are enjoying the work-life balance that the practice brings.

When you work in traditional office environments, you often feel some peer pressure to keep a clean work area. But keeping your home workspace sharp and focused can be difficult, especially if you’re not sharing the space with anyone.

Image via: Andrew McKinney

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We all know a clean and organized space can help you stay productive – plus, it just feels good. Take a look at your at-home work practices and technology; how can you take advantage of the new tech tools to increase productivity and boost your overall operation? It’s time to take stock of the tools you’re using to get the job done and learn how you can invest in a little for much gain. Clean up that home office and get organized.

Portable Devices

The proliferation of mobile devices has enabled telecommuters to get work done while on the go, and they’re crucial to prompt communication with clients, partners and employees. Some devices that give you the freedom of a “portable office” include Web-ready laptops, tablets, no contract phones, hands-free headsets and portable scanners.

Computer

If you’re working on a bulky desktop computer, it might be time for an upgrade. Old desktop computers often consist of a tower, a large monitor and a slew of tangled up cords, taking up your already-limited space. If you can afford it, consider an iMac desktop, which consists of a sleek, thin monitor and one cord. Another option is the Samsung Chromebook. This new Google laptop weighs just 2.4 pounds and has more than 6.5 hours of battery life, and PC World calls it “cheaper and more productive” than a tablet. If you’re not interested in buying a new computer, simply switching to a flat-screen monitor and changing to a wireless keyboard and mouse can reduce clutter.

Image via: Realisation By Design

Printer

Standard printers that hook up to your computer creat unnecessary clutter on your desk. You can better utilize that space if you invest in a wireless printer that you can move off your desk. Or, how about eliminating your printer entirely? Use outside printing services such as Kinkos or UPS. You can send your documents to them online, from anywhere, and pick them up at your convenience.

Receipt Scanner

If you track expenses, invoices and receipts, a receipt scanner is a great way to keep track of them while saving you from a lot of paper clutter. The Neat Company sells a receipt scanner that’s available for both the PC and Mac. The scanner captures key information such as date, amount and payment type, and puts it into the format of your choice.

Furniture

A desk with a large workspace gives you room to organize the everyday items that stay on your desktop, such as a computer, phone, pen holder and notepads. Plenty of desk draws make it easier to organize your supplies, files and other items you don’t use daily. Bookshelves can be useful if you have a business that requires you to keep books and binders handy. If you have a paper-heavy business, be sure to have plenty of filing cabinets so you can neatly organize everything in appropriate folders. Proper filing will allow you to easily find documents when needed.

Image via: Beach Glass Interior Designs

Work Zones

According to HGTV.com, your office should have three work zones: the work center, the reference center and the supply center.

• The work center should remain clean and work-friendly. This is where you keep your computer, phone and other frequently used office items.
• The reference center is where you keep books, binders and manuals you may need to reference.
• The supply center is, of course, where you store supplies – drawers, bins and other containers to keep paper, pencils and other office supplies in an organized and easily accessible manner.

Spring cleaning your home office isn’t just about wiping the dust off the bookshelves. Declutter, get organized and make use of the latest technology to be more productive and gain greater peace of mind.

For more home office ideas on Stagetecture, click here.

Homes offices are places where we are able complete our everyday business endeavors. They can be our havens for organizing the finances, finishing school work, having meetings and etc.   But in time home offices can become spiritless and uninteresting, which can cause us to become less productive in doing anything within them.  So here are a few ways to liven up your home office and give it back the luster that it may have been lacking and provoke an effective work ethic in you.

Helpful Tips to Brighten Your Spring Home Office

Image via: Digs Digs

Add Color:

Colors can have a powerful impact on our emotions, such as red and yellow are more vibrant colors that will keep you alert and excited (McDonalds Restaurants) and colors like blue and green are cooler tones that will induce serenity and rest.   Selecting different colors for your office can effect the mood and feel of the office space, find out which ones work best for you while you are trying to work.

Wall Art:

Wall art is another way to bring in variety and pattern to a space.  Wall art has the ability to add so much rich harmony and flow  within the office that can stimulate and revitalize the atmosphere.  Get wall art that best depicts your character and personality because everyday you walk into your office it is more fit to your needs.

Change Lighting Fixtures:

The lighting can create and manipulate the mood within the space as well, for instance dim lighting is more calming for a space versus bright lights which alert.  So switching the lighting fixtures will be a great way to change the style and flow in the office because the lights will give off a vibe and the fixture will add on to the theme of the light. The fixture can cause the office to look more modern, traditional, contemporary etc.  The lighting fixture can also be the anomaly for your office that can add contrast to the space  which will bring in a new variety.

Image via: BHG

Storage Units:

Sometimes removing clutter from your office can help to rejuvenate the space.  So adding bookcases, shelves, filing cabinets and drawers would be a great way for maintaining organization and unity within your office.  You can also add color, pattern,  and graphics to the storage units that will keep them from becoming dull and ordinary.

Personal Touches:

Personal touches to the offices are the best parts because they display what you are passionate about everyday.  So get the photos of your kids, dogs, spouse, parents, self-made artwork, memorabilia, inspirational poster etc and hang them around the office.  All of these things just add to the growth of giving you energy and put you into an enjoyable mood while you are working.

These are great starting points for giving your office the spice of your life.  So try them out and go beyond.  Be creative, inspired and enjoy!

For more home office ideas on Stagetecture, click here.

The orderliness of your home office promotes productivity and efficiency.  However, this is easier said than done. The amount of time you can spend on organizing your home office is a great challenge. Just like any other offices, your home office has to cater paper works, furniture, computer, and other office essentials. You have to know how to arrange these items properly for better working environment.

Image via: B Fein Interior Design

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To help you organize your home office, here are five useful ways to do it:

Hooks can do the trick

Installing hooks is so easy and quick. All you have to do is to find the best place in your home office where you can hang on your clothes or other items and place the hooks. This will prevent you from just hanging these items on your chair or on top of the table.

Throw away duplicates

Check your documents for any duplicates or carbon copies. Bills that are already paid are unnecessary and should be thrown away. If you have a wall and a desk calendar, you have to let go of one.

Promote paperless transactions

Use the power of technology to remove papers in your home office. Saving all your files on a disk is safer that having them in a piece of paper. It will save you space and be environment-friendly. Anyway, you can print it anytime if you need a hard copy.

Maximize your storage

Storage can be a source of clutter if you don’t know how to use it properly. You have to maximize your cabinets, shelves, and other storage materials accordingly. For instance, you can use the top portion of your cabinets for your seasonal office materials.

Image via: Butler Armsden Architects

Use multipurpose furniture

This is very effective especially if you don’t have the luxury of space. You can design your office table to have several drawers to maximize the space it occupies. Also, there are several chairs that are designed with built-in storage.

These are just some of the simple ways to unclutter your home office. Keep these in mind and you will definitely increase your productivity in your work.

For more home office organization tips on Stagetecture, click here.

With more and more people transitioning from working in an office to either telecommuting or starting their own business from the comforts of their own home, now more than ever, individuals are looking for creative ways to design the kind of home office that they will actually be able to work in.

Of course, with that want comes also the desire to achieve the décor goal in a way that will not cost a ton of money or even require a lot of time. If you can relate, we’ve got five quick, easy and not-too-expensive things that you can do that will transform any room in your house into the home office that you’ve always dreamed of:

Image via: Mark Newman Design

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Choose the right space.

When you’re looking for the right room to call your office, there are a few things to take into account. You need a place that is quiet and away from a lot of “house traffic” (kids, pets, etc.). You need a place that has enough outlets to accommodate all of your electronic needs. And you need a place that is easily accessible (if you are going to have clients come in). You don’t want to select a room that is by a lot of bedrooms, for instance. Those are private areas within your home.

Select the right furniture.

One thing that makes a home office different than just about any other room in a house is that you shouldn’t just pick furniture based on what’s comfortable or even what simply catches your eye. You need to select things that will keep you working in a “professionally progressive” manner. Ergonomics is the study of human engineering. When it comes to getting a desk and chair, look for ones that are marketed as being ergonomic (ones that will help you to work more productively). As it relates to the decor, select things that will inspire creativity and productiveness. For instance, great home office colors include neutrals, blues, lavenders and rose. Smart additions would include ottomons (for storage) and a vertical bookshelf (that, rather than a horizontal one, will provide you with more space).

Have good lighting.

When you work from home, you probably already know that while it can be really empowering, you can also easily find yourself working from dawn until way into the nighttime hours. For the sake of your eyes especially, make sure that you have good lighting in your office. Although natural lighting is great for during the day, make sure to also have some additional lamps for your desk, along with a motion sensor light switch when you want to change the mood a bit.

Image via: Peter Murdock

Keep down the clutter.

There are some rooms in the house that, since there are only one or two people who frequent it, there is a temptation to just toss things in it and shut the door. Don’t allow your office to become one of those places. Make sure to file your paperwork, hang up things rather than lay them on the furniture and when it comes to electronic equipment like your desktop and printer, place them close to an outlet so that the cords are not in the way.

Incorporate little “touches”.

We all know the saying: “Little things mean a lot”. As you’re putting your final touches on your office, don’t forget to hang some art on your walls, to bring in a plant or two and to add a couple of soy candles for the sake of aromatherapy (rosemary and peppermint are great for fatigue; sandalwood and jasmine build self-confidence; rosewood and grapefruit help to relieve stress). When you’ve created a professional space that’s both warm and inviting, you know you’ve got the perfect home office.

For more home office ideas on Stagetecture, click here.

Many people are getting interested in how to stay motivated to lose weight, especially during the holidays. Of course, proper motivation is the key to sustain and achieve the desired weight, but during the holidays temptations of food, busy schedules and stress and entertaining can lead to overeating. One must always have the zeal to perform training and routine exercise to lose weight.

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The enthusiasm and never give up attitude should always be there. It drives you closer to your goal. The initial step of performing your quest to attain a desirable weight may be smooth but it will get rough along the way. These hurdles may block simultaneously on your way. The best strategy to overcome these stumbling blocks is to stay motivated and focus on your target goal.

Here are some helpful tips on how to stay motivated to lose weight:

Stay focused

This can be very vague but there are several things you can do to stay focused on your goal. One strategy is to place a statement or illustration of your desired weight in front of your bed. This will remind you as you wake up and before going to sleep about your objective. This is something that you can gauge your efforts done every day. Another strategy is by evaluating your weight loss every other day. Once you will see the progress of your weight, you will definitely look forward for the next result.

Invite your best friend

This may sound simple but hard to do. It involves proper selection of friend that can be with you until the end. Invite more friends as possible. This will also serve as your bonding time. With having friends to be with you, there will be greater chances of achieving the desired weight. The whole procedure of losing weight can be more fun and easy when shared with your friends.

Image via: Yoga Chocolate Love

Take a weekly pictorial

This is a great way to stay motivated. It is a something that you can look and be inspired. The thing with getting pictures of yourself is that it will provide you with the most accurate illustration on how you fair with your task. The more significant the weight loss manifest in the picture, the more motivation you develop in the process.

It’s never too late to get healthy this holiday season. Start your regimen now and enjoy a healthy holiday!

For more wellness tips on Stagetecture, click here.

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Colour Combinations to Create Your Beach Theme

The first element in creating your theme is to select a colour palette which will remind you of the beach. If you’re starting from scratch you can paint the walls and select the right flooring. If you already have an office, then you can add embellishments such as a cushion or throw over your chair, change your office supplies and add splashes of colour. A few colour schemes you can choose from are:

• Gray, green, blue
• Light blue, dark blue, salmon, mandarin
• Blue, light blue, gray, orange

For more ideas, check out the tools available at Design-Seeds and COLOURlovers.

Easy DIY Decorations Created From Your Last Beach Trip

It’s extremely easy to take memorabilia you’ve collected from your last beach trip and convert them into designer looking decoration pieces for your office. If you don’t live near the beach or haven’t been to one recently, most of the required items can be found at a local craft or stationary store:

• Beach in a Bottle: Take a wide mouthed bottle or vase and fill it up with sand, a large conch or multiple small shells and maybe a piece of coral.
• Beach Snapshot: Frame your favourite ocean scene or better yet, frame two: one of the ocean and one of the beach.
• Beach Plaque: Paint the word ‘Beach’ in a whimsical style on an old piece of drift wood and hang with a thick piece of natural rope.

Keeping Your Beach Theme Eco-Friendly

Considering that you’re going to be using elements of nature to benefit you it’s only fair that you keep the environment in mind when setting up your beach inspired office. Here are a few tips to make sure that your new office is as eco-friendly as possible:

1. Use plants, lots of them. All the most awesome tropical beaches have tons of palm trees and the smaller ones are relatively affordable and can be grown indoors. If palm trees are too exotic for your taste or budget, ferns will have the same effect.
2. Stick with energy efficient lighting sources. They’ll save you money on your next electricity bill and lower your personal carbon footprint. According to Carbon Footprint, low energy light bulbs use 20% less energy than the average light bulb and last 15 times longer!
3. Use all-natural decorations. If you’re following the ideas that I’ve laid out for you, this one is already covered.

Now, put on some flip-flops, get creative and bring the beach into your own office space. Not only will you start work with a fresh mind and look forward to your desk every morning, you’ll also have one of the most unique office spaces ever. Make sure to let us know if you decide to implement an eco-friendly beach theme in your workspace!

Caroline Webb is the owner and chief strategist of JP Office Workstations and a passionate Sustainable Design advocate. She loves innovative ideas in office design and the psychology of human performance. You can contact Caroline at admin@jpofficeworkstations.com.au

For more home office ideas on Stagetecture, click here.

If you can transform a simple and common thing into an innovative work of art, it means you are being creative. Creativity is definitely something that everyone wants to have especially in dealing with home interior designing. With a creative touch, you can simply make use of what is available and make some impressive bits and pieces out of it. Today, we explore Artisan Amy Rice in her creative art studio.

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We all have the gift of creativity. Some people are just born to have it and cultivate it and are able to make the most of their creative skills. Take for example our known artists. These people are popular because of their creative skills in painting, drawing, sketching and other forms of arts. One of the best known artists in Minnesota is Amy Rice. Just imagine how an exceptional artist can make use of her creative skills in her studio.

Looking into her space, you can definitely see the artistic quality and creative talent within. The studio has a wonderful view of the Mississippi River. This makes it very inspiring for an artist to look at and spend moments at times. The studio is a former grain mill that is now converted into a studio building designed and built for about 20 local artists.

Being an artist herself, Amy decorated all further details in the studio – like the pillows, rug, mat, and curtains. The studio includes old-fashioned storage for all things needed for her work. The studio walls look so gorgeous with Amy’s letterpress, paintings and other splendid art works. These wall arts make the simple white colored wall a great canvass for different works of arts.

For Amy, everything is a work in progress. Just imagine how fantastic this study will become as time goes by. She is partnered with her cute and playful dog named Pumpkin. Her adorable dog is her loyal helper at home. Making her studio a perfect place to live.

For more architecture ideas on Stagetecture, click here.

Tonight we are talking about getting organized at your home office now that you’ve decided to take the plunge into entrepreneurship. I will share how one person can look like they have an “army” of workers with the help of virtual assistants and how social media can help you make connections, network, and become an authority in your niche with a blog to target the right audience.

DID YOU MISS THE SHOW? LISTEN IN HERE!

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Sunday, August 12th – 6:30pm EST

Artistically Speaking: “Leaving your 9 to 5 to Pursue your Passion – Part 2”

Click Here —> LISTEN TO SHOW

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Topics I will cover – “Arming yourself with the right tools”:

• You’ve decided to make the switch to being an entrepreneur: Get organized!
• Tools to arm yourself for success & what I needed: Smart phone/Internet access, Social Media, Reliable resources for income
• Using virtual assistants to expand your resources and work like an army, even though you are a single person.
  

  DOWNLOAD THE PODCAST:

  Are you a podcast listener? Download the FREE iTunes podcast after the show on – Artistically Speaking Talk Show under “Podcasts”.

  

  iTunes link to download the podcast after the show –> iTunes podcastI hope you join me this Sunday, August 12th and hear inspiring information to help you, a coworker or a friend help create a life they truly enjoy!

Did you miss last week’s show? Listen in on iTunes or Blog Talk Radio

After the show, let me know your thoughts! Comment here on the blog post, Contact Me, or send me a message on Facebook or Twitter!

Thank you to everyone who listened in on the ‘Leaving your 9 to 5 to Pursue your Passion – Part 1‘ – on August 5th, on Artistically Speaking Blog Talk Radio Show.

Weren’t able to listen in? No worries – listen to the August 5th show here on iTunes or Blog Talk Radio

DID YOU MISS THE SHOW? LISTEN IN HERE!

This Sunday, August 12th we are talking about getting organized now that you’ve decided to take the plunge into entrepreneurship. I will share how one person can look like they have an “army” of workers with the help of virtual assistants and how social media can help you make connections, network, and become an authority in your niche with a blog to target the right audience.

Image via

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Sunday, August 12th – 6:30pm EST

Artistically Speaking: “Leaving your 9 to 5 to Pursue your Passion – Part 2”

Click Here —> LISTEN TO SHOW

Topics I will cover – “Arming yourself with the right tools”:

• You’ve decided to make the switch to being an entrepreneur: Get organized!
• Tools to arm yourself for success & what I needed: Smart phone/Internet access, Social Media, Reliable resources for income
• Using virtual assistants to expand your resources and work like an army, even though you are a single person.

Image via

DOWNLOAD THE PODCAST:

Are you a podcast listener? Download the FREE iTunes podcast after the show on – Artistically Speaking Talk Show under “Podcasts”.

iTunes link to download the podcast after the show –> iTunes podcast

I hope you join me this Sunday, August 12th and hear inspiring information to help you, a coworker or a friend help create a life they truly enjoy!

Image via

After the show, let me know your thoughts! Comment here on the blog post, Contact Me, or send me a message on Facebook or Twitter!

I’m so excited to host my first Blog Talk Radio Show tonight at 6:30pm EST. Tonight and next Sunday, Aug. 12th I sit in for Rebecca Parsons of Artistically Speaking – Blog Talk Radio Show.

Find out all the details about the two shows in detail here –> Leaving your 9 to 5

DID YOU MISS THE SHOW? LISTEN IN HERE!

To listen to tonight’s show:

Artistically Speaking: “Leaving your 9 to 5 to Pursue your Passion – Part 1”

Sunday, August 5th – 6:30pm EST

HOW:

Click here —> Artistically Speaking Blog Talk Radio Show

Have a question: Call in Phone Number: (347) 996-5698 and Press “1”

(Calls may or may not be answered – depending on how much I am doing… he he.. I’m a one woman show!)

Topics I will cover – “Deciding if this is the right time”:

• How to decide if this is the right time to leave your 9 to 5 and how to know the signs.
• Deciding if your passion has enough value to offer others to make a living from it.
• Is your passion a hobby or can your hobby turn into a full time career
• How I armed myself with stepping stones while working my 9 to 5, before making the leap into entrepreneurship
• Building a support system – before you make the leap.

DOWNLOAD THE PODCAST:

Are you a podcast listener? Download the FREE iTunes podcast after the show on – Artistically Speaking Talk Show under “Podcasts”.

iTunes link to download the podcast after the show –> iTunes podcast

I hope you join me tonight and hear inspiring information to help you, a coworker or a friend help create a life they truly enjoy!

After the show, let me know your thoughts! Comment here on the blog post, Contact Me, or send me a message on Facebook or Twitter!