How to Set Up A Home Office: A Definitive Checklist

With the rise of the digital age, more professionals every year are taking the opportunity to work from home. For many, this presents an exciting opportunity to set up a home office that truly caters to their unique wants and needs as a professional. Home offices can also save people money by eliminating long commutes to work and even allow for a healthier work-life balance.

There are a lot of things to take into consideration when setting up your new home office. Nearly every supply and piece of equipment you perhaps took for granted at the office will need to be replicated in some way at home.

But now you get to decide how this space will work for you! You can learn how to set up a home office with ease and enjoyment with this guide and definitive checklist of home office supplies available online at CartridgesDirect.

Essential Equipment For Your Home Office Set-Up

When setting up your home office, it may be easier to tackle the bigger items first. This includes essential work from home equipment like computer desks, ergonomic chairs, and a reliable WiFi router.

Another consideration to make for your new home office is investing in some home printers that don't break the bank. You most likely won’t need a behemoth printing station like you had at your corporate office, so a smaller, compact option that fits on your desk would be ideal for working from home.

There is a wide variety available, from laser and sublimation printers, and even photo printers. Depending on your line of work, you may benefit from a hybrid printer with scanner functionality, too. Familiarise yourself with the many different types of printers and their pros and cons to determine which printing solution suits your needs best.

Key Office Supplies to Add to Your Home Office

To be successful working from home, you will need to stock your new office space with day-to-day home office supplies. You can ensure your work continues to flow smoothly by guaranteeing your home office is well-stocked with these key office supplies available online at CartridgesDirect.

• Labeling Essentials: Label printers, label cutters, shipping labels, ink stamps
• Adhesives & Tapes: sticky tape, double-sided tape, masking tape, painters tape, adhesive spray, glue, Command strips
• Files & Folders: binders, Manilla folders, dividers, clipboards, and document holders
• Notes & Flags: sticky notes, note pads, and tabs
• Cutting Tools: scissors and box cutters
• Writing & Drawing Supplies: pens, pencils, dry erase markers, highlighters, erasers, permanent markers, paper
• Printer Cartridges: compatible cartridges for favourite brands like HP, Epson, Brother, etc., toner cartridges, and copier cartridges 

Pro tip: when ordering your cartridges online with CartridgesDirect, you can bundle your ink cartridges as well as set up a repeat order with your account. With a repeat order on file, you can save money on printing and fret less about low ink and toner levels, knowing your next supply of cartridges will arrive before you even run out.

Design Tips to Optimise Your Home Office

Once you have everything you need to keep your home office stocked up for success, now you get to design the space. For some people, this may be the most stressful part. In many houses and apartments, home offices can seem like an afterthought, clashing with the space around them.   

Whether your home office is in a spare bedroom, the living room corner, or at the end of the dining table, you can make any space work for you with some interior design know-how. Here are some design tips to help you optimise your home office. 

Consider Your Light Sources

Regular office spaces are usually fully-lit throughout the day with industrial fluorescents. This is not often the case at home, where natural light peeking through windows may be preferred throughout the day. Working in the shadows is not conducive, though, so you’ll need to consider your light sources when working from home. 

Open the curtains or window shades in your home office at midmorning and afternoon to let natural light in while the sun isn’t at its highest yet. Natural light boosts mood and alertness, buffing your productivity.

You should also have a good desk lamp with adjustable brightness for early mornings or late nights. To avoid overheating as the sun settles into the sky, cover the window and turn on the ceiling lights or a lamp. This will combat screen glare and support your visibility in video meetings, too.

Whether you’re working from 9 to 5 or 5 to 9, being aware of lighting and making conscious choices about where it comes from will keep you working hard any time of day in your home office.  

Design Well-Defined Workstations

In many houses and apartments, home offices can seem like an afterthought. The everyday hubbub of homelife can be hard to ignore. For your own productivity’s sake, you shouldn’t settle for whatever you can squeeze into the first corner you find. 

Try to make your workstation as defined and separate as possible. For those who are working with limited space at home, consider setting up a mobile work station. Try setting up a temporary dividing wall where possible to provide privacy. 

Opt for flexible furniture that can adapt to the space when needed. Consider a desk that has wheels so it can move around the house, following where the light is brightest or where it is quieter. You could even choose a desk that can fold up and be put away when you clock off, helping draw a clear line between work time and home time.

Whether your home office is in the spare bedroom, living room corner, or at the end of the dining table, you can make any space work for you by defining your workstation as distinctly as possible. This will ultimately help ground you for a work-ready mindset and minimise distractions.

Stay Strategic with your Storage

You can avoid tripping over mountains of papers and notebooks by keeping your home office supplies organised with storage. Keeping your at-home work station spic and span will help keep you professional at home and further define your workspace in the house.

Get yourself some storage containers to keep your office supplies in. Arrange boxes and containers in the same colour to create cohesion and label them to make supplies easier to find.

Save room by dedicating one wall or corner to storage space for all your office supplies. Hiding them away in a closet would be ideal, too. You can keep your bundles of ink cartridges stored away safely from direct light by using a storage container kept in a secure place. Correct storage of your cartridges is essential to reduce risks of your ink drying or hardening.

Whether your home office is set up in its own room or in a hallway, you can avoid blurring the line between work and home by giving everything its place. Invest in storage and homeware solutions to keep control of your work environment. A Sistema container is just as good at holding rubber bands as it is lollies!

Include Extra Seating for Easy Collaboration

If you thrive on the energy and variety that comes from working alongside others, then a solo home office setup might feel too quiet. But you don’t have to give up collaboration just because you’re working from home.

By reserving space for another person in your home office, you make it easy to invite a colleague, partner, or friend over for a brainstorming session or project. Keep a couple of lightweight, foldable chairs tucked away for spur-of-the-moment catchups. This way, you can quickly transform your solo space into a shared space without permanently sacrificing room.

Consider a wider desk or an L-shaped workstation so there’s enough room for two computers and dual monitors. To maintain focus and a sense of personal space, you could incorporate small touches for privacy like a freestanding partition, a row of potted plants, or even a portable dividing screen.

Working from home doesn’t have to mean working alone. By setting up your home office for occasional coworking, you can enjoy collaboration in the comfort and familiarity of your own home.

Cable Management is a Must

Nothing kills a home office vibe faster than a tangled mess of cables sprawled across the floor. Beyond looking untidy, loose cords can become tripping hazards and make your workspace harder to adjust. Good cable management creates a safe, organised, and distraction-free environment.

Start by grouping cables together using ties, clips, or sleeves. If your desk or workstation doesn’t have built-in cable channels, add them underneath or along the back to keep everything hidden from sight.

Consider looping your cables toward a central power board tucked neatly under your desk or inside a cable box. This will keep everything tidier and easier to disconnect. Upgrading to wireless keyboards and mice can further reduce cord clutter and give your desk a more open and clean feel.

With some effort, you can turn curb cable chaos and create a sleek, seamless setup. Your workspace will feel more professional, easier to maintain, and help you focus on your work not your wires.

Comfort = Productivity

Part of the joy of working from home is the feeling of being at home. Working from home can provide the opportunity to set up the most comfy workstation you’ve ever had. You don’t have to compromise your comfort for productivity, then; in fact, being comfortable will likely boost your performance and help you stay in the zone longer. 

Start with an ergonomic office chair with adjustable height, lumbar support, and soft fabric. Pair it with a desk that allows you to maintain a neutral position for your arms and wrists so you aren’t straining your neck and back or leaning forward too much. Consider adding a footrest too if your feet don’t naturally rest flat on the floor.

Keep the temperature in your workspace consistent, and add personal touches like a soft throw blanket or candle for enhancing your mood. Open the windows to allow in sounds from outside to create peaceful ambiance—or play your own music out loud!

When your home office is a space you enjoy being in, like the rest of your home house, you’re free to focus entirely on your job. In fact, it may be hard to get you out of there!

Benefits of a Well-Designed Home Office Set-Up

A thoughtfully set up home office does more than just look good. It sets the tone for how you work and how you feel while working. 

Enhanced Focus and Productivity

Whether you’re tackling projects for work or you need somewhere quiet to build that ship in a bottle, your workspace becomes a sanctuary of productivity where you can focus easily on your tasks while surrounded by your home office supplies.

Improved Healthy Work-Life Balance

You can improve your work-life balance when working from your home office; reduce stress, maximise on sleep, and save money—your only commute is the one from your bed to your desk!

Increased Property Value 

With flexible furniture and storage options, your new home office (or study nook) fits any need; investing in a new, versatile office setup will not only enhance your quality of life and work output, but also add value to your property.

With the right balance of comfort, organisational tools, and functionality, you can achieve your own version of WFH feng shui with a space that encourages focus, creativity, and a healthier work-life balance.

Create the Ultimate Home Office Set-Up with Office Supplies from CartridgesDirect

Whether you’re upgrading your current WFH space or starting from scratch, CartridgesDirect has everything you need to turn your home office into a productivity sanctuary. If you need help setting up your home office like a true WFH pro, call us today for expert advice.

Stock up on all the essential office supplies, printers, accessories, needed to help you work smarter, not harder. With the right set up, your home office won’t just be a place to work in but a place you love to be in. There’s no workplace like home!