I try not to take myself or my home office work too seriously. Following some online threads I came across two web posts that made me laugh. One is  about how to get a quick clean home office  and the other about a laptop chair that is better in concept than the reality of the home office. I hope they lighten your workday.

A recent post in Apartment Therapy was about how to clean your home office in 15 minutes for last-minute visitors or clients.

This home office may be neat, but is it functional or fun?

Among the suggestions were:

•  “Take down calendars and notes from bulletin boards and file them in folders. Or align them so that the tops are all in horizontal lines.
  
•   Rearrange crooked books so that all spines are facing the same direction and the titles all read from top to bottom.
  
•   Stow the keyboard and the mouse in a drawer so only the computer monitor tops the desk.
  
•   Use a lint brush on your desktop and keyboard for a quick dusting (especially if you have pets). If you have time, deep clean your keyboard with tape or a sticky note.
•   Empty the trash can (you’d be surprised how a bare bin can make your office feel cleaner). If you don’t have time to run to the trash chute or dumper, empty your office trash into a can in the bathroom or kitchen.”

I hope you are laughing as you read this, because I certainly was. (In fairness the last two suggestions are quick and effective).

The best part of this post were the readers’ comments:

• “Hah! sorry, but just one or two of those tips would take that long.
• You have a home office and you don’t want anyone to see your KEYBOARD??? Pens and pencils on your desk? Oh gimme a break! Pick up the trash, put your papers in a semi-tidy stack, and dust if you need to.
• You might want to clean up for a client but I wouldn’t go as far as hiding the keyboard. They might doubt whether you actually work!
• How about, this:
  Keep a large box handy that easily fits behind a closet door.
  Step one: When you need to clean quickly, place the box at the end of your desk, and push everything that isn’t nailed or wired down into the box.
  Step two: push box into the closet and shut the door.”

Or check out this solution to a cluttered desk.

The goal of an organized office is not perfection, but order.

More silliness:

How about a dual function lounge chair  that has hidden trays for a laptop and mouse. Now you can have your home office in your living room.

“This marvel of malleability looks like a simple modern armchair, but it hides a secret. With a few folding swivel trays and a power station tucked into its side, this chair transitions seamlessly into a one-man workspace.” 

A dual-function lounge chair

A few thoughts about this chair:

• The designer ignored any kind of good ergonomics. The chair back slants back, but the surface for the laptop is perfectly level. The mouse rest hangs off the end of one of the arms. You would have to be very tall to reach everything and then you would be hunched over to see the laptop screen. Oh my aching back/neck/shoulders/wrists…Read this to learn how to buy a comfortable and ergonomic desk chair.
• If this chair has a hidden power station, how do you plug in the chair? Does it mean the chair must be against a wall?
• This is example of how the challenge of designing dual purpose furniture rarely meets the needs of both functions.

But few of us need to worry about how truly functional this chair is – “If you have to ask how much it costs, you can’t afford it.”

How do you get your home office clean – quickly and easily?

Have you discovered a multipurpose item for your home office that really works?

Please share your thoughts and discoveries in the comments below.

desk photo by luxhome

chair photo by Rossin

The Smarter Home Office is ranked #1 on Amazon. Get the book for an entire chapter on ergonomics. Paperback or Kindle editions.