Comments on: Weekly Roundup: Frugal Home Office Edition

By: Sarah

Sarah — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 12:57:48 +0000

Did you ever read Stephen King’s “On Writing”? He speaks of his writing career beginning at a fold-up table in the laundry area of a tiny apartment. From humble beginnings . . . Good luck with the freelancing!

By: Frugal Dad

Frugal Dad — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 20:54:57 +0000

@DavidK: Bad thoughts David, bad thoughts! LOL! And yes, I’d give anything for one of those full, live-in basements. Half the room could be an office and the other half a play room for the kids.

@Bible Money Matters: Yeah, an awesome logo designer I know did the work!

By: DavidK

DavidK — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 19:27:38 +0000

Perhaps another verb besides “banging”? I totally read your response the wrong way. :-O

Oh what I wouldn’t give for a basement. (I’m sure FD feels the same way.)

By: Bible Money Matters

Bible Money Matters — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 19:13:10 +0000

Thanks for the link! For the longest time at our old house our computer desk/etc was in the middle of our living room kind of in the way. Thankfully at our new house we have a dedicated space in the basement for a desk/computer/etc.

I’m sure I’ll be making use of the new netbook my wife got for her birthday as well – to blog from anywhere i want!

Like your graphic below for cash crate!

By: Frugal Dad

Frugal Dad — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 19:09:43 +0000

@Diane: I used to work from the same table set up in the master bedroom, but my routine of banging away at the keyboard at 4:30am (or late into the night), was not welcomed by the other occupant of the bedroom (Mrs. Frugal).

@Rainy Day Saver: Hmmm…might be a stretch. I’ll probably stay conservative and not claim it. After all, the space is so small the savings would be negligible at best!

By: RainyDaySaver

RainyDaySaver — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 18:47:44 +0000

Does your new space qualify as an office for tax purposes? Hee hee… it does have a door!

By: Diane

Diane — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 18:12:48 +0000

Since you say you have good sized bedrooms, is there room to put a small desk in the master bedroom? I’m sure it would be more comfortable than the laundry room.

By: marci

marci — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 17:42:26 +0000

Re: Found spaces. In the past I used a 4×6 walkthru entry closet with a 4 ft long desk on the 4 ft side. It barely fit, but there was 3 ft of walking space under the window, and then shelving above the desk. This was my only farm/business office space for years. It worked because it had to. The trick was to get an old steel miliary desk with all the drawers/file spaces in it.

Now I have a 6 x 6.5 walkin closet space with a window in it and a pocket door for my scrapbook room. Again it has a large rolltop desk in it, and floor to ceiling shelving and cupboards on both walls. I gave up my walkin closet for this, but to me it was important enough to have the separate space.

Think vertical – and take full advantages of all the wall space.

Walk in closets, if they have windows in them, are wonderful “found spaces” for office/desk tops, if you can bear to part with them. Another excellent space is the area under a stairwell, if you have a 2nd story or an attic space with a small stairwell.

By: Stacey

Stacey — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 16:59:21 +0000

When I needed an office I had our carpenter installed an entrance to the “tall side” of the space under our stairs. The floor space there is only about 4’ wide, but it is 8’ or so in length. Since I am relatively tall I cannot stand up in most of it. However, the office equipment (file cabinets, printers…) all fit nicely on the “short side” which leaves the “tall side” for my desk.

By: Frugal Dad

Frugal Dad — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 15:10:13 +0000

@DavidK: Probably look for a smaller home, but with a bonus room/sunroom, etc. Our house now has good-sized bedrooms, but no bonus areas (other than this larger-than-normal utility room I am now using). Another option may be to close in our porch area to convert to an office. I don’t want to add anything to current home if we do ultimately look to move, though.