Since 2012 I’ve been working online from home, but I didn’t have an actual home office until I started seminary. Prior to this, we lived in small apartments, so there was no room for me to have a dedicated workspace.

I have found that for me having a home office is crucial to succeeding in my classes online. While I do like to move around the house, it’s nice to have one space that contains all of my books, supplies, and my desk.

Since I already had a white futon that I had purchased on sale a couple years ago, I decided to make my office all white. I found a corner shelf on sale on Craigslist for $20, and I went to Ikea to get a small white bookshelf for about the same. The white desk is what I spent the most on, but I still got it for under $200. One of the important features for me that this desk has is a shelf that fits under the window. I try to buy furniture that my cats will also enjoy, and this shelf was a big hit.

Here’s how I store school items in this tiny office of mine:

• A bookshelf (not pictured) holds the current year’s textbooks on the top shelf.
• A cloth organizing box under the desk (not pictured) holds all the articles I have already read.
• Two nice storage boxes under the futon hold all of my prior semester’s notes and miscellaneous items.
• A cork board next to the desk has important notes and a form with my school progress on it.
• A hanging file organizer contains all the articles for each class.

If a student doesn’t have enough room for a dedicated home office, I suggest dedicating a corner somewhere for portable storage of items. This hanging file folder is probably the top thing I recommend to have. It gives me a visual reminder each time I walk into the office that I need to check to see what reading is coming up.

Finally, I’m extremely thankful to my husband for putting together my desk and shelf. His support in so many ways makes seminary possible for me.

Teach me knowledge and good judgment, for I trust your commands. Psalm 119:66