How I Downsized My Entire Home Office Into a Single Box

My one-box method for total work mobility

About seven years ago I gave up my home office so my girls (then 8 and 10) could have their own rooms. It felt impossible - I had a full office set up, including file cabinets and furniture, and our 120-year old bungalow was already short on storage. Luckily, I like a good creative challenge and managed to whittle down my entire home office into a single box.

Here’s how I did it:

Step One: Goodbye, Furniture

Since I had to clear the decks completely, I started with the bulkiest items. I gave the rug to a neighbor and offered the desks and chairs to Chloe's friend who was happy to have a new homework nook. I emptied and donated my file cabinet, and Emilie kept (and repurposed) the pretty linen cork board. Everything was out in a day.

An old shot of my home office by Vivian Johnson

Step Two: Paring Down the Paperwork

I can be on the ruthless side when it comes to paper, so I shredded or recycled nearly everything (we have digital bank and accounting records, and I keep tax documents and important records in a single banker’s box in the basement). It honestly felt great to start fresh and realize I could happily live without ever filing again.

The process; photographed by Vivian Johnson

Step Three: Reevaluating Office Supplies

Once I had given away the furniture and pared down the paperwork, all that was left was a pile of office supplies I didn't really use - sticky notes, highlighters, envelopes, notebooks, and legal pads. I donated all of them to our local center for creative reuse. Note: I did keep the few things we actually used and relocated them into a drawer in our kitchen for easy access (see below).

Our utility drawer; photography by Vivian Johnson

Step Four: Storing The Things That Remained

It was striking (liberating!) to realize that all I truly needed to run my business was the following:

• Laptop and stand

• Stack of blank index cards

• A pen

• Headphones

• Plug-in microphone for podcast recordings

All of these items fit easily into a single box. Each night, when I finish work, I tuck them away in our dining room built-in cabinets (we also store art supplies and paper here for the girls).

Home office and homework headquarters shot by Vivian Johnson

Turns out I don’t miss the desk at all. Or the filing cabinet. Or any of it, really. What I gained was way better than what I gave up: my daughters got their own rooms, I got total mobility, and I stopped maintaining a whole room full of stuff I didn’t actually need. Also, I can pick up my entire office and relocate anywhere in about 10 seconds.

Maybe I’ll go back to having an office one day when the girls go off to college, but at this point I can’t really imagine what I’d fill it with.

I do most of my work in our sunlit dining room - all I need is my laptop

READER PROMPT: Anyone else paring down their home office or work supplies? What questions do you have about minimizing your workspace?

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