Home Office Essentials
As a work-from-home mom, you need the best tools to maximize your work and homeschool spaces. These home office essentials can make all the difference in how you work.
Your home office should help you work more effectively and efficiently. Considering that you’re sharing your home space with your workspace, it helps to have a clutter-free, organized area to call your very own.
Truth be told, it’s hard for me to function in anything other than a clean and distraction-free space. Hence, I’ve come up with a list of the work from home office essentials that have helped me do my job at home.
Home Office Essentials for Working Moms
No worries if you don’t have a dedicated workspace or a lavish home office. The suggestions below are accessory-based and can easily be moved and relocated to the workspace of your choice. They’re also ideal for creating the perfect little home office to meet your specific needs.
Planners
It probably goes without saying, but a business planner (especially for moms) is a must.
And if you’re like me, you probably operate using more than one planner, and that’s fine as long as it works for you.
Some all-inclusive planners include space for everything you can think of. You’ll find pages for daily devotionals, meal planning, work schedules, homeschooling, and space to keep up with extra-curricular activities.
You’ll also find planners geared specifically for work-related things. This is the way to go if you would like to keep work tasks separate from other areas of life tasks.
A few of my favorite planners for working homeschool moms include
- The Push Journal
- Work from Home Planner
- iFocus Business Planner
- Legen Planner
Desk Options
Whether you lean towards the farmhouse decor style or chic-modern style, you need a functional desk in your home office space.
I have many pens, pencils, little notepads, paper clips and highlighters. (By the way, I love stationary. So I need a desk with ample storage for that. Not to mention the papers, tablets, my printer, and so on.
Think about all the things you use for your job. Then, think about the amount of space you have for a desk.
Some moms have transformed a closet, a corner in the bedroom, or a space in the living room for their office. And some of us have a homeschool room and office in one.
With these thoughts in mind, here are a few space-saving yet functional, desks to look into.
Best Office Chairs for Working From Home
One of the most overlooked office accessories is often the chair. However, it should be top on the list because depending on the time you’re sitting, the health of your bones, muscles, and posture could take a hard hit.
The chair suggestions below take into consideration health features plus price:
- Hbada Office Chair (Sleek design and simple adjustment mid-back desk chair. Match different decorative styles. The ergonomic backrest fits the natural curve of the lower back and takes the pain of the spine away from your body.)
- Computer Ergonomic Mesh Chair (Ergonomic office chair with lumbar support mesh back for breathability. The updated thick padded seat provides extra comfort for daily use.)
- High-Back Executive Office Chair (Comfortable executive chair with polyurethane bonded leather upholstery. It has a padded seat and back for all-day comfort and support.)
Noise Canceling Headphones
If your work-from-home job includes meetings, recording videos, or anything where headphones are needed, then you need to invest in a pair of noise-canceling headphones.
If you need to have a clear conversation without the static of background noise, then these MOVSSOU earphones are perfect and inexpensive. The Cyber Acoustics are another great option, being less bulky than most headphones and easy to hook up to any computer laptop, or tablet.
Zoom Background Options
Speaking of meetings… if you have a less-than-ideal space you’d like to cover up, use Zoom backgrounds. They’ve made it easier than ever to add them.
However, I find they work best with a solid-colored background – specifically a green screen. I’ve used a green piece of fabric and it worked just fine.
To activate the Zoom background option, follow these steps.
- Sign in to Zoom.
- Navigate to Account Settings and click on the Meeting tab.
- Enable the Virtual Background option.
- Once you’re in a meeting, tick the arrow next to Start Video and click Choose Virtual Background.
From there, you can download a background built into Zoom or choose one of your own. To get the most from using backgrounds, be sure you have a good camera, use good lighting, and wear something different from the color of your background.
Ring Lights/Good Lighting for Virtual Meetings
Are virtual meetings part of your job? I highly recommend getting a good ring light to help add visual appeal to your area.
Using natural light isn’t always an option, not to mention depending on the position of where you’re sitting; natural light can make your face look even darker. Here are a few ring lights to consider:
- 10” Ring Light (with Tripod)
- Clip-On Ring Light
- 12” Ring Light (3 different color options)
Final Thoughts
A working mom must have some (or all) of these home office essentials.
However, you don’t need to buy them all at once.
Make a list in order of importance, set some goals to get one thing per week, month, or quarter and before you know it, you’ll have a fully functioning home office! What are your must-have home office essentials?
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