13 Home Office Life Hacks

Whether you’re a freelancer, run your own business, or are simply facing the impacts of a global pandemic, a home office is often a must. Perhaps your current work area is the kitchen table you’ve converted into a makeshift office. 

Or maybe your working space is a tiny nook in the corner of your bedroom. Either way, you might find yourself asking, “how can I make the most of my home office so that it’s not only functional but also organized and clutter-free?”

Well, we’re glad you asked. We’ve rounded up the best home office hacks so that you can finally get a handle on that pesky junk drawer, keep your work surface in check, and get off the dining table and into a designated area that makes getting work done at home a satisfying cross off your to-do list.

Say goodbye to workspace clutter with this DIY pegboard organizing system from XOXO Jackie. The white unit features a 2x4 wooden shelf, painted clothespins to tame loose sticky notes and arrange mail, and hooks for hanging baskets and other miscellaneous items — including headphones, reusable bags, and clipboards. 

And if that’s not convincing enough, this office hack can be completely customized to fit your personal office storage needs.

Vertical storage is essential for home offices, especially for those with very little elbow room. This hanging bucket organizer from The Beauty Dojo, is a perfect example of how effective suspended units can be at providing structure to your workspace. 

The organizing system, great for housing various desk accessories, is crafted from three tin buckets that were each spray-painted with black chalkboard paint to allow easy labeling. Twine is then used to tie the buckets together and they are then hung on a wall near other office storage solutions, like floating shelves. 

Imagine this, you’ve always wanted a home office, but your tiny living space makes it seemingly impossible to fit a swivel chair, let alone a functional desk and other storage units. So what are you to do? If you uttered the word “cloffice” to yourself, you’d be right! Turning a tiny closet into an office workspace may be one of the more unusual home office hacks on the list, but the result is a practical space that features a floating desk, shelving storage, chic wallpaper (that helps the area feel much larger than it is!), and puck lighting inside of a pendant fixture. Plus, this DIY from Nesting With Grace is super budget-friendly, coming in at a mere $120 for the complete project. 

Whether it be natural sun rays or artificial light from an overhead fixture, an office workspace needs adequate lighting. A floating shelf and bulb duo may not be the most typical of home office hacks, but it is one that offers solutions to both storage and brightness needs. Talk about a major two for one!

The Ikea Kallax shelving unit has long proved its versatility among crafty DIYers. While this hack sees the Kallax system being used in its typical function, as a bookshelf, the wooden feature still adds a creative touch to any home office. The eight cubbies in this shelf allow for plenty of office storage possibilities, such as wooden baskets, file holders, and even potted plants to keep you company during long workdays.

The mammoth collection of pens on your desk is spilling over the edge. There are more sticky notes on your laptop than visible keyboard. You just knocked over your stapler for the fifth time today. Sound familiar? 

This wall organizer is the vertical storage solution made for your workspace that is seemingly in dire need of decluttering. With a 6x9 canvas drop cloth, sewing machine, dowel rod, and a whole lot of determination, you can DIY this pocket organizer that can easily store all your office stationery. 

Not sure what to do with that awkward space under your stairs? Why not turn it into a tiny work area! That’s exactly what one clever DIYer did. Using an Ikea Alex drawer, Linnmon table top, shelf, and a Hectar light, this office station looks completely built into the small nook. Other accessories, like a hanging wire basket and swivel chair, make this chic corner one of the most chic and functional home office hacks on this list.

Why is a storage unit on wheels the perfect addition to your home office? Well, let’s take a look. Does a rolling rack have plenty of storage? Check. Easy mobility? Check. A sophisticated aesthetic that can mesh with any work area? Check and check. The only question left is deciding where to fit the organizer in your space!

Here’s yet another Ikea home office hack to zest up your work area. Installing a wire grid, available at hardware stores, above your workspace creates a chic mood board perfect for storing office supplies. Use S-hooks and binder clips to suspend images, memos, calendars, and all sorts of desk accessories. The storage options for your board are as infinite as your imagination allows!

Sometimes keeping it simple can be the best approach for home office hacks in spaces that tend to become cluttered no matter how many times you reorganize them. 

This floating desk with shelving above is the perfect illustration of how a minimalistic space can allow plenty of functionality and storage. The desk is long enough to house two separate work areas, while the shelving unit stores various stationery, as well as decor.

Crossing items off your to-do list just got a whole lot more satisfying with this wall-mounted Kraft paper dispenser. Rather than being mounted directly onto the wall, the roll of paper is attached to Ikea shelf brackets, meaning you have an extra storage unit above. House books, paper files, or even succulents on the top shelf — there are so many clever options!

You can buy aa roller like this or DIY one yourself.

A way to curb your collection of pesky cords is to simply get rid of them! Okay, so maybe you can’t actually do that. But a DIY charging station built into a discreet drawer is a close second. All that’s required is to drill a hole in the back of your unit (this project uses a nightstand, but a desk could also work). From there, run the cord of a power strip through the hole and attach the unit to the side of the drawer so that the plug-in feature stays in place while you secretly charge all your devices. Out of sight, out of mind!

What if a “cloffice” or under-the-stairs nook still won’t work for your teeny-tiny space? Well, there’s one last home office hack up our sleeve — a work area that is a home office one minute and a mirror the next. This multi-purpose feature is mounted onto a wall, which means it doesn’t take up any floor space. When the table is down, the unit can function as an office, kitchen table, or even a hangout space for when guests are over. And when it’s not in use, the work surface can be discreetly tucked away.