Being a Mum of almost 3 small children under the age of 4 and all of my extended family living in the UK means I don’t work outside the home. Instead I choose to work from home. As you know I write and sew for BurdaStyle which is my main source of work, I run MixTape Zine with my partner in craft Justine of 62Cherry and I’m working towards selling my handmade creations this year.
Working from home has its pros and cons and these are different for everyone that works from home depending on their lifestyle, family commitments and work. For me the pros are that I get to be with my family and I can work at my own leisure. I can choose to roll out of bed and start work in my pajamas (which I do a LOT!) and I can work my timetable around family commitments. Before children I was a Patisserie Chef working long hours, sometimes 12 or more hours a day in stressful restaurant kitchens, there is no way I could do that sort of work now, I much prefer the laid back lifestyle I live now. I’m lucky enough to have my own sewing room from where I do all of my work which is most often messy like you can see in the photo above. My projects do tend to move around to other parts of my home too though, like my bedside table or the sofa. And of course I couldn’t live without the internet, my laptop and my digital camera!
Then there are the cons. I can’t get away from my kids, they like to ‘help’ so more often than not I’m stepping over them while I work and they’re sitting on my sewing room floor making things with the scraps of fabric, glue and paper. I’ve learned to live with it since getting stressed and trying to keep them out of the room is a huge waste of time. I can end up spending the whole morning in my pajamas which is ok sometimes but some days I just need to make that little bit of effort and get dressed otherwise I may never leave the house! And that creates another con, sometimes I don’t leave the house because I just don’t need to and that can get a little boring.
I live by lists! They keep me semi organized and I always have a notepad with me to scribble down my ‘To-Do’s’ and ideas. The last thing I do at night is write a list of things I need to and want to do the next day, of course they don’t always get done but if I don’t write the list I can lay awake at night thinking of all the things I need to remember for the next day.
I’m a messy person and my sewing room is small so it inevitably becomes untidy after a day of working in there and 2 small children bringing in various toys and craft supplies. I try to have a quick clean up every day or two and once a week I give the room a good sort out and vacuum to keep on top of it. Of course if I didn’t have so many things on the go at once it may not get so untidy but I just can’t have one project at once, I get so much inspiration from everywhere that my mind is buzzing with so many ideas but there’s just not enough time in which to bring them to fruition! I could do with some good storage solutions for my room, in particular for my BurdaStyle sewing patterns. At the moment they are clipped together with bulldog clips and hang from nails on my shelving unit. This worked for a while but as I sew more and more garments I’m collecting more and more patterns that just don’t fit on there anymore and prevent me from seeing my fabric stash behind, any ideas to solve this? Another storage solution I could do with is something I could hang all my bits and pieces from such as scissors, rulers, threads, etc to get them off my work table and create more space. I’m thinking a pegboard storage wall and a BurdaStyle Tory organiser will come in very handy.
Do you work from home? Leave me a comment and tell me all about the pros and cons you face, how you organize your time and your work space and anything else relating to this topic.
Mar 9, 2008, 07.38 AMby admin
WOW! I’m so impressed that you get so much done with three kiddos under four! I only have two kids, and they are 3 and 7, yet I still feel overwhelmed most of the time. I do need to get better about a daily tidy up and list of things to be done the next day – that would help!
As for storage, etc. The pegboard is ingenious – I’ve had my eye on it for a while (I commented on that Flickr photo under my Flickr user name burb_mama) and will definitely put that to use in my sewing room. For patterns … I wonder if you could use a big artist portfolio case or hang them from hangers in a closet ….
Great post – it’s always nice to hear from other work at home moms on the pros and cons of the job! :)
Mar 9, 2008, 01.01 PMby elegantmusings
Thank you for this article (and for being so honest! I’m rather messy by nature—especially when it comes to creating!). I started working from home over the previous fall, due to a long illness and (now) school. I’m doing mostly freelance work, but many of your tips are really helpful—and have the wheels turning on how better organized and just “together” I could be. ;)
I really admire work-at-home moms; it is something I really want to do (and my beau feels the same way) once I have kids. Just need to find the right sort of work that I can do… lol!
I really like the pegboard idea for pattern storage! Right now mine are in about 5 boxes—which doesn’t make for easy retrieval!
Mar 9, 2008, 02.35 PMby littlebutton
Wow – I just wanted to tell you how amazing / hard-working / inspiring you are! I have a 3 yr old and a 1 yr old and I’m a stay at home Mum. I don’t have a ‘job’ other than looking after the house and kids and even then I sometimes feel overwhelmed with how much there is to do! I am similar to you in that my mind starts buzzing when I hop into bed about all the things I would like to and need to do the next day. Unfortunately most of the housework that I do in my head at night doesn’t actually get done! My hubby gets really peeved when I wake him to tell him an idea so that I don’t forget it – maybe a notebook beside the bed is a good idea. Keep up the good work but don’t forget to take it easy when you have your bubs. As I’m sure you know you only get that bonding time once and it goes so fast. I think you must be superwommen!!
Mar 9, 2008, 05.50 PMby Miss-G
I have a suggestion for organising your Burdastyle patterns. I store mine in A4 size clear plastic pockets, the ones with the reinforcements along one edge – I got mine from Officeworks. I keep the instructions in the front so I can see what it is. Its easy then to just store them in a folder or even a magazine holder. You can take it a step further and sort them into their categories with labled tab dividers. I hope this give you some ideas. Its great that you’re able to spend so much time with your children. Keep up the good work.
Mar 9, 2008, 08.32 PMby admin
I admire your work ethic. I could never manage trying to get real work done while home with tots!
One of my favorite, cheap, quick organizers has 20 see-through plastic pockets on a flat, hang-over-the-door contraption (usually sold for shoe storage). It’s great for holding – in easy view – all kinds of sewing/crafting tools that would otherwise take up table or drawer space. If you don’t gave an available door, you can mount it the organizer on a board and hang that on a wall.
I have these pocket things all over the house- one for mittens and gloves inside the hall closet door, one for cleaning supplies inside the door that goes from the kitchen to the basement, one for socks and tights inside my closet door, and one in my sewing room.
Mar 9, 2008, 09.15 PMby minxdragon
I work from home as well, as an artist. I have my own studio (with similar storage problems!) and an area of my own to sew as well. I love the hours and the relaxed aspect to the work but sometimes it is hard to get motivated, or to get up and do those dishes! I try to keep the place clean but am a messy person by nature so I don’t always succeed.
my biggest problem I guess is that it’s so easy to work online, to work on the promotions, reading feeds and getting lost in the online world that sometimes I don’t spend nearly enough time in the studio!
Mar 10, 2008, 03.12 AMby pranamama
Ahhhh- I don’t feel so alone now! I work at home, too, as a freelance marketing consultant. I’m also trying to get my children’s clothing line off the ground, but I’m not trying very hard! Somedays it’s all I can do to get downstairs to my sewing area and look at my fabric and straighten up a bit. Sometimes my 17 month old daughter likes to “sew” (I have an old kenmore with no needle in it on the floor for her) and play with her toys in my room, but mostly she wants eye contact and snuggles at this age. It’s hard to remember what my priorities are when she’s pulling on my arm and I only have one more seam to finish a project, but she’s the only child I’ve had the fortune of being with at home during her infancy and toddlerhood, so I take a LOT of breaks. The nice thing about having my own space is that I can leave a project out on the table if I have to take a break, instead of having to pick everything up off the dining room table to eat dinner :)
When my other kids are home from school in the evenings I can get some help playing with the little one (they are much older!) It was easier when my husband wasn’t traveling 5 days/week, but I can’t complain since I only have to work for outside clients part-time.
Mar 10, 2008, 03.24 AMby pranamama
As for storage – I use Swedish Tracing Paper (like thin, nonwoven interfacing) to trace my patterns, then I can fold them and place them in large ziplock bags and write the pattern info on the outside. Sometimes I place the instructions in the bag as well, when I remember to. The nice thing about this method is that you can iron all the wrinkles out of your traced patterns before re-cutting to make another of the same. Also, it keeps the “original” intact for further modifications.
Mar 10, 2008, 04.08 AMby admin
I work from home too but as a translator. And although when people ask me what’s the biggest advantage about it I always say it’s the fact that I can work at my own leisure, I actually never do that. I get up at the same time every day, admittedly not very early, but I have pretty much set hours. However, my workdays tend to stretch till very late and often I end up working 12 to 16 hours a day. And that’s a definite con – I don’t know how to set a limit and keep it. Another big con is I never get out of the house. I know I should get some air, but it’s just so comfy sitting in front of the computer and surf the net or even work.
I can’t imagine working from home and having kids, though. I have no idea how I’d organize my time if I had a family. I guess, I’ll have to start thinking about that too. I think all women working from home with their kids running around the room are brave! I’m not sure I could do it. :)
Mar 10, 2008, 04.58 AMby olar
I work from home when I have to extra-work :(, that is some weekends and evenings. For organization, I am also a list maker. I used to be an organization disaster, more like an improviser. This can be stressing because everything is in your head buzzing all the time. Making the list is liberating, as soon as it is in the list, it is out of your head, and you are calm because you are not going to forget.
This may be obvious to many of you :).
A part of the written list, a couple of years ago I started using a computer agenda attached to my email.
Very convenient for repeating regular events and appointments. While I sip my morning coffee I read the
mail agenda and the lists and I organize my day.
For the patterns, I staple all the parts together and I add them to a clip hanger with the rest that I hang in my closet. This work so far well as both my pattern collection and my wardrobe are very small.
For work space, I agree with Prananamama in the importance of having a separated space that you go in and OUT.
Mar 10, 2008, 01.24 PMby ale.b
I work from home since this january as a graphic and web designer, and I live alone, no kids yet (maybe one in the future, we’ll see). My worst problem is what I call “space/time gaps” They happen without me being aware, until I come out of it. For example, I say “let’s check the new creations on burdastyle just for 5 minutes” then I experience the relativity of time, and when finally go back to my work, hours have gone by! Besides that I work in the morning as soon as I get up, until the evening, more than what I did before. I seem not to be able to understand when I have done enough for the day, so I overwork. My house is really small, so my work area is the same as my bedroom – livingroom – sewing room… as a matter of fact my desk with the computer is under my bed (I have one of those Ikea high beds) an the sewing machine is by the window on my left. It’s a real temptation to be able to see my sewing machine when I work, but my will is strong, so far.
I have fabrics, clothes, books, magazines, all over the room, hopefully I’ll move to a bigger house in a few months. I keep some of my fabrics in Muji plastic boxes, the rest is everywhere in the room. As for the patterns, I don’t have many but I keep them in A4 crystal plastic folders. My house is at times very very messy and then very clean, it seem as I need to get to the very bottom to be able to rise back up.
I do too need to make lists of all the things I have/want to do. And I should go out more often, especially during the day, see the sun, breathe some “fresh” air, but I get lazy about that.
Mar 10, 2008, 01.32 PMby ale.b
and about the pro: I love to be able to jump on the couch in the middle of the morning to take a quick break. I love to be able to cook in my kitchen, with my food. I love to be able to go out whenever I want (even if I almost never do, unless I need to, but like cats, I need to see the doors opened). I get a bit lonely sometimes, and I need to show my work and have opinions from my friend, but I still can do it with skype/mail… I think I’ll keep on working at home, unless I’ll need to hire an assistant
Mar 10, 2008, 02.25 PMby EmilyKate
I work fulltime but still manage to make my sewing room look like a bomb hit every time I work in there! I wish I were neater but have to admit the only time it gets cleaned is when my partner (a congenital neatnik) tears out his hair and says ‘I can’t stand it!’ and cleans it up himself. He really does an excellent job.
Mar 12, 2008, 10.04 AMby Spiderlily
I work from home also, but I am also a full-time college student. If it wasn’t for school I wouldn’t leave the house. I get lost in my creating and hours, sometimes days go by and I don’t even realize it. I love being able to eat home cooked food when I am hungry, taking breaks when I need them (not when a boss tells me I can have one), and being here for my family. I don’t have kids yet but I hope to be able to balance everything when I do. As for storing my patterns (I have hundreds since it is my favorite thing to make) I use large manila envelopes. I draw a quick sketch on the outside as well as the style number and they all file nicely into milk crates. The rest of my sewing room is very organized because I can’t concentrate otherwise, although while I am in the middle of a project things do get quite messy. I always clean up my studio at the end of the day so when I come back the next day it is inviting. The things I don’t like about working from home are….nothing, I think it’s the greatest!
May 25, 2008, 09.44 PMby jocole
oh my goodness and you do it with 3 chillins’ (i only have 1.5) yikes!!
as for pattern storage solutions, for my smaller patterns (like purses, etc) i use a 3 ring binder and put all the pieces into a page protector.
for my clothing patterns (i draft my own, esp. for my business) i use pattern hooks and hang them up
http://www.pgm-pro.com/product_brief_view.php?product_brief_item_number=802D
i bought a huge box from this company (144 hooks for $30) and it will keep be busy for awhile. all you have to do it punch a 3/4" hole and slide the pattern on the hook and hang it up. it keeps them organized and you don’t have to fold them a million times.
if you use a lot of commercial patterns shoeboxes (or pretty patterns photo boxes) work well on a bookshelf.
if you have any questions about the hooks just send me a message. hehe! good luck!!
Feb 26, 2009, 04.03 AMby aslinsibel
I am also working from the home only just before of two months only iam doing a job .Its very helpful me to manage my family .Iam getting a different experience from it.
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aslinsibel
Home Based BusinessMay 18, 2009, 03.51 AMby ParkerT
Lots of people nowadays have already found a way to work at home. Everyone could use a few home office tips. A lot of people work from home, and having a good home office is paramount. One of the best home office tips is that you have to keep the office separated from the home. You could even put a cash advance to good use putting in a separate phone line and answering machine, or a get a consultant in to give some Feng Shui home office tips.