Make Your Home Office Feel Like Home

With so many people working at home these days, a home office needs more than just a simple desk, chair, and lamp. Homey decor helps to make the area look and feel more conducive to working and also creates a sense of comfort. When people are at ease, they work more efficiently.

There are many things you can add to your home office to make it look and feel good. Below are some ideas on how you can transform your home office into something that feels like home:

• Use wicker baskets instead of filing cabinets. Get rid of the typical cabinets you see in offices and instead organize your files in wicker baskets that can be placed in built in shelving spaces.
• Hang inspiration around you. You can put a picture of your kids on your desk, create a pattern of different photo frames on the wall, or perhaps feature some of your kids’ best artwork on a bulletin board.
• Add something natural. Add potted plants or even a small aquarium with colorful fish to keep the natural energy flowing in your room.
• Make your office lighting more elegant. Get rid of the typical desk lamp and have floor lamps light your room instead. Remember that you can choose whatever style of lamp you want because it’s your office.
• Invest in a good desk and chair. When you work in an office somewhere, you use what they give you.  When you work from home, you can make it look like you own the company.
• Have an ottoman set in your office. Create an area where you can take a break and relax for a few minutes.
• Decorate the room with homey pieces. Make your home office feel like home by adding decor that is reminiscent of that in the rest of your house. You can add decor that goes well with other items in your home like unique vases and old clocks.

Jennifer Fields
Oklahoma City & Edmond Real Estate Agent

 

 

 

Work Your Workspace for Two

Working at home along with your spouse is a new adventure and a fun experience to look forward to. However, even if each of you can give way and compromise, there are going to be instances when you fight, whether it be over work space, the phone, or paperclips. That naturally removes the shine from sharing a home office, so how can you maximize your space to minimize conflict?

One of the best things you can do is create a clutter-free, fight-free workstation by arranging your home office to accommodate two people in a defined and distinctive way. By arranging a carefully thought out plan, you instantly reduce the likelihood that disagreements about “invasion of space” will arise.

Here are some great tips to keep in mind when designing your home office for two…

• Talk to your partner to determine if you both want to share a combined work space or not. Understanding each others’ thoughts and desires up front will help immensely when it comes to satisfying demands and creating a peaceful work environment.
• As much as possible, give each other some space. Even if you’re both sharing one table, create some distance between the two of you to allow for privacy and decreased distraction.
• Set up ample lighting on both sides. Both of you are working on important things, so both of you should be able to see what you’re doing. Instead of, or in addition to, installing a single light source, use desk lighting for both sides.
• Place shared office essentials in a common area. If you are using a landline or fax machine, rather than put it on one person’s desk (and taking up their workspace), bring in an additional small table to put in the middle. That way, even if one of you needs to use the phone or grab a stapler or paperclips, the other person will not be disturbed.
• Create individual storage. This will allow each person to organize in the way they see fit. Some people prefer an extremely organized work space, while others actually feel more productive with papers scattered around their desk. So, don’t start an argument just because one station failed to clean his or her area…you’re in charge of your area.
• Decide if you want to work facing each other, away from each other, or side by side. This will play a large role in determining how you choose to organize your furniture.

Jennifer Fields
Oklahoma City & Edmond Real Estate Agent
405.330.0031

Useful Tips for Mowing Your Lawn

When it’s time to cut the grass in your yard, there are certain techniques that you should always implement.  As easy as it may seem, mowing may not necessarily produce the results you’re looking for if you don’t do it properly.  In fact, it can even create damage, not only to your yard, but also to you and your equipment.  It is important to keep safety in mind and to use your lawn mower properly to ensure a smooth, beautiful finish.

Here are some tips to maximize the quality and effectiveness of your lawn mowing…

• Invest in good mowing equipment…and be sure you understand how to use it.  It takes a few times to become familiar with a new lawn mower, so be diligent and keep your mowing path free of obstacles.
• When mowing, as a safety precaution, do not allow your children or pets to play within the area you’ll be mowing.  Also, don’t let children operate a lawn mower unless they’re strong enough, responsible, and understand all the operating and safety features of the machine. Even then, supervise them. Never give a young child a ride on a ride-on mower. Sudden stops, flying objects, or an excited child can spell disaster.
• When mowing, only remove one-third of the leaf blade.  Cutting more risks scalping or damaging the plant.
• Wear proper clothing that covers as much of your skin as possible and that will not get caught in the machine.  Use earplugs or earmuffs to protect your hearing.
• Only mow when the grass is dry.  This will prevent clumping and also minimize the spread of disease, which thrives in moisture, throughout the grass.
• To encourage accelerated growth, mow the lawn once a week, except during an extended drought or other extreme weather conditions.
• Mow the lawn in different directions to prevent wear patterns.  This encourages upright growth and produces a nice striping effect.
• Determine the height of cut that best allows the grass to thrive and store energy and water.
• Keep your blades sharp.  Torn ragged tips will not cut your grass as well, and that will result in you having to put in more time and effort than is necessary to achieve your desired results.
• If clumping occurs, loosen and disperse the clumps with a rake or blower.
• If you prefer to collect your clippings, start a compost pile. Use compost as a lawn top-dressing.
• Mow along the outside edge of your lawn first, then mow the inside in straight lines, finishing with one more “clean-up” lap around the border.
• When mowing a sloped area, if you’re using a push mower, always mow across the slope, not up and down, to prevent accidents. If you’re using a riding mower, then you must mow up and down the slope to prevent the riding lawnmower from tipping over.
• If grass clogs the blades or discharge chute of a power lawnmower and the engine starts to sputter, turn off the engine and make sure the blades have stopped rotating before carefully raising the lawnmower to remove the debris.
• Be careful when fueling. Be sure the engine is turned off and let it cool for 10 minutes before you begin. Never fill the tank while the machine is on the lawn, as spills can damage your grass.  Pouring spouts are a great way to avoid spills, but if it happens, clean up the gas immediately and put the used rags in a covered metal can (gasoline-soaked rags are a fire hazard).
• Never leave the mower running unattended, and be sure it is turned off before you make repairs or cross non-grassy areas.

Jennifer Fields
Oklahoma City & Edmond Real Estate Agent
405.330.0031

Make Your Home Office A Healthier Environment

We should always strive to make our homes a healthy environment – and our home office should be no exception. Although we stress ourselves working in this area of the house, it is never an excuse to disregard the standards we hold to the rest of our home. In making your office a more friendly, and healthy place to work – you can find yourself looking forward to spending time in your office, versus dreading it.

There are several ways on how you can make your home office a better place to work while not compromising any functionality of your office. Here are some ideas on how you can make your home office healthier:

• Before anything else, a healthy home office will always need a good ergonomic workstation. Make your workplace suitable to your body and not the other way around. This means having the perfect desk that will make your body comfortable while working. It should be the ideal height so your wrist and arms will be comfortable while at the desk. Also, invest in a good chair – it should be soft enough to endure longer hours of sitting, must also have a good back rest and should be adjustable.
• Install proper and ample lighting. You need plenty of light for you to read and work no matter what time it is, day or night and not strain your eyes. Include a desk lamp and an overhead lighting that will provide full light whenever you need.
• While you’re getting comfortable, help the environment out a bit and get a recycle bin for your office. Most of time, you will be throwing away papers anyhow.
• Add a little life to your office and decorate with fresh flowers or plants. Fresh flowers and house plants with lots of colors will set a cheerful mood and will be great to help liven your office space up a bit. Place them in a separate table or somewhere near for you to see once in awhile between tasks.
• Very important! Invest in things that will help calm you; You can add soothing music while you work to help take the stress edge off. You can paint the room with pleasant colors so it will help to calm you on a subliminal level. You can even include pictures that will inspire you and remind you why you do what you do – like a family picture, the perfect vacation place or even your dream home. Anything that will calm your senses and make you work in a more relaxed state should be added to your office. You work hard enough as it is – and when all is said and done it’s equally important to remember to relax!

Jennifer Fields
Oklahoma City & Edmond Real Estate Agent
405.330.0031