To say that our calendars and rhythms have been upended in 2020 is an understatement. When will school start? What will school look like? Will we be working from home this fall? What will our day-to-day family lives entail? I think we are all feeling challenged with the uncertainty, and as the start of school approaches I find myself grasping for tangible ways to create order and structure in a very chaotic and unprecedented year. To that end, we are sharing a few tips for helping our homes flex to meet all the new demands.
1. Let go of perfection - now more than ever! Your house is going to work harder for you than it ever has, and no amount of storage or organization is going to mask the reality that important work is happening at home. Take a deep breath and be thankful that you have a home to accommodate your new reality and try to look past the piles and chaos.
It took three stylists and a photographer to get these spaces looking so neat and put together - give yourself grace!
2. Carve out dedicated space for schooling and work. To the extent that your home allows, give each family member a spot. In my home, I cleared a console typically used for decor and assigned it to my son. We put his school supplies there and allowed him to leave everything out from day to day. It was helpful for him to have a “desk” and he even decorated a pencil cup to keep there. If you will need your family to clear up their supplies each day, a basket or tray is helpful for each person to corral their items so papers don’t go missing. I tend to work from the dining room table and keep everything in a large tray that I can easily load up and move when it’s time for dinner.
3. Think smart about furniture investments. None of us know how long we’ll be working and schooling from home. For some this may reflect a permanent shift to remote working, but hopefully remote schooling will be a short-term reality. To that end, furniture with flexible use is a good idea. I’m a huge fan of repurposing a small table as a desk - a 48” or 60” x30” table is ample work space but can also be put into rotation as additional dining space at holidays or a cocktail or food station when entertaining. It could be even more useful if the table has casters. Open shelving units can hold work and school supplies now, and books and decor later.
4. Declutter your existing furniture pieces for more storage space. Now is the time to clean out your dining room buffet and see if you can ditch some old placements and clear up a drawer for school and work supplies. Going through kids’ bookshelves and donating books they’ve outgrown will clear up space for some baskets to corral school items if your child studies in his or her room.
5. Make your work and school spaces as aesthetically pleasing as possible. Natural light, plants, or pretty tray to corral supplies can go a long way towards instilling pleasure into the task of sitting down to focus on work or school. You can engage your kids in picking out some storage supplies or a new lamp for their desk to help them feel connected to the task as well.
Beyond the decor and organization, for you and yours, we sincerely hope for health, a sense of peace, and hope that we’ll get through these strange times with resiliency and perhaps even a few things learned along the way.