Recently I moved my office from my old laundry room to a corner alcove section of my extremely large bedroom. We have been rearranging bedrooms since our eldest daughter if off at her second year of college at the illustrious Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia. When I moved the office space into the alcove I placed my desk and chair right next to the window. This is the left side of the alcove, with a wall behind me. It is great. I get to look outside at a window with a southern view and western view, beautiful trees and neighbors passing by. On the right side I placed my combination white board bulletin board. The whiteboard, shown below, has some of my favorite motivational phrases for writing and work.
At the same time, I noticed that my son had made little holes and rips in the wall. I was not happy. I am planning to paint and paper the entire room, but not for a few months. I did not want to look at that horrible wall for the next few months. At the same time, I did not want to repair and paint the wall short-term. In addition, I needed a place to scribble notes that come up during the day as I work. A blackboard would be great!
I looked at prices for blackboard the size I wanted and things were a little pricey. So, I decided to see what I could do on my own. I went to the local office supply store and purchased a package of poster board – $5.00 for 10 posters, a roll of blackboard contact paper $2.49 and a roll of black duct tape $3.89. I have four children at home, so of course I had a pair of children’s scissors close at hand. So for a mere $12.06 including tax, I made a great blackboard for my office and have supplies left over so that I can make three more!
Anyone who has used contact paper before knows it can be a horrible mess. It is not easy to get the paper to lay flat on the surface you are using and not be full of air bubbles. I did not want to apply the contact paper directly to the wall because it would make painting and papering in a few months more aggravating. That is why I purchased the poster board.
I cut the blackboard contact paper so that it was an inch longer than the poster board at each end. Next I folded the poster board over each end of the poster board and taped it down using the black duck tape. By keeping the adhesive backing on the contact paper, it was easy to move and manipulate. In addition, because the adhesive backing is still attached, when I paper and paint my office, I can re-use the blackboard contact paper in any other way I desire.
It takes two sheets of the contact paper to cover the poster board. This photo shows what the poster board looked like when I attached the first sheet of contact paper.
Once the bulletin board was do, it was a simple matter to hang it on the wall right under the whiteboard. It has been on the wall for two weeks now and it works great. I use colored chalk to take my notes so I get a bit of fancy. Another great idea for your bulletin board, blackboard and whiteboard, use your smart phone to take photos of the notes. That way you can take your notes with you everywhere you go and if you erase something you should have saved, you will have no problems at all.
In all you do, be true to yourself and your own work habits. After all, one of the best things about being a WAHM is the ability to create the workplace of your dreams.
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Great post! I love being a WAHM for the same reason as you. Often for a change in atmosphere I will work at Starbucks.
So true….I never thought about it before. I am the decider of the feel of my office! Good Post!
We finished our business and made me a beautiful office space to work in and I rarely do. I definitely need to!
My daughter in law skypes her mom every weekend. It is nice for her to see her mom’s expressions, and nice for her mom too because she gets to see the little one (granddaughter).
I definitely prefer being a work at home mom. I work on my own time and at my own pace.
Glad I could help! We have to stick together and help one another out.
Yes!!! Human being re social creatures and we need an opportunity to get out and be among other people.
These are great points. I think some of the methods you outlined would help me be much more productive.
I have started working at the library once a week. I need to get out and interact with people or I start going crazy!
I am the opposite of you. I like having dedicated office space for all my equipment and supplies.
I work from home and pretty much live at my kitchen table even though I have a room I was supposed to turn into an office! I realize I’d rather be in the middle of the action!
I don’t really work from home but I am a SAHM now that I’ve retired. There is nothing quite like it but it does seem like I do more work now that I’m at home compared to when I was actually at work.
I don’t work in my pajamas either. I get up, shower dress and act like I am at work. I save the pajamas for my down time.
I am glad you like the library idea. You can work in a noisy section or the quiet section depending on your distraction tolerance. It is great!
One of my favorite things is being able to work at my home office when I want and then switch up to my satellite office aka the coffee-house.
Working from Home is great! The best par is not sitting in Traffic for Hours. I use to have dedicated days when I would work outside the home at a Coffee Shop for example just to maintain normalcy
I love being a WAHM and being here for my son.. I only have a few more years before he is off to college so every minute is precious.
I love being a WAHM too! I never thought of working at my library though! Great tip!
I love being a WAHM. It’s interesting to me to see what works and what doesn’t. Mainly, people think I work in my pajamas and I don’t! I totally have to get fully dressed and showered to feel more productive. And it’s hard for me to take a lunch break!
I love being at WAHM but I dont have an office. I sort of move around each day.
I am happy that I no longer work outside of the home. It is important to find the right job, though.