Top 10 Must-Haves for Working at Home

Working at home definitely has its perks: taking your morning coffee break with the kids, the proximity to your favorite creature comforts and of course, the ability to check off a few household to-do's between work tasks.

It has (just) a few drawbacks. The complete lack of a private workspace because of course, your office is everyone's office. The mystery goo left on your desk in a wad of tissues—is it gum or is it (eew) fresh boogers? The invasion of noise of every imaginable type—from cartoons to contractors.

That's why we came up with our list of must-haves for working at home (besides a locking door and earplugs) to help you turn your work-at-home dream into a reality when the real reality kicks in. Our top picks for a dream office wish list (in no particular order):

Whatever you do, do NOT attempt to put in a full day at the home office in a kitchen chair or the hand-me-down (and broken down) office chair from your husband's college years.

Find a comfortable, adjustable ergonomic chair that fits your body. For women that means smaller seat pans and armrests that angle in. The same goes for choosing a footrest. Look for one that brings your legs into a neutral sitting position and compensates for the height of your desk.

Add a project or craft table to your wish list as an addition to—and not a substitute to—your desk. Look for one that allows you to pull up a stool or work from a standing position. The reason why it's in addition to and not replacement for your desk is it gives you a separate space for collaborating with your team, it offers an alternative work position when you absolutely need a break from your desk and in a pinch, it doubles as a workspace for kids.

Get one for Skype and one for your telephone. Choose a super comfortable headpiece because chances are you'll be wearing it a lot, and adjustable volume controls to cancel out background noise.

In keeping with the spirit of "If you can't beat them, join them," stock your office with kid-friendly office supplies knowing that it's impossible to ban them from your office so you may as well give them something to do.

If space allows, set up a mini workstation, complete with office supplies to match yours and give them simple office tasks as part of their allowance or just let them play office while watching you work.

Notice I didn't say, "Filing cabinets?" Filing cabinets don't work for everyone and even if you do have a filing cabinet, you often need additional storage for everything that doesn't fit in a filing cabinet, like the 1,001 business cards from last week's conference.

Ease the workload on the eyes with task lighting. Proper task lighting should illuminate your work surface without producing glare or blinding white hotspots.

Be sure that your task lighting is flexible enough to double as stage lighting for video conference calls and video blog posts because you never know when the opportunity will arise to put a spotlight on your expertise.

Multi-tasking is definitely a no-no, but the one exception is when you can get a bit of exercise while you are on a conference call. Choose exercise gadgets that don't require a lot of brainpower. Think balance gadgets like a wobble board and fit balls.

Let's face it—even though the kitchen is 10 paces away, sometimes we get so wrapped up in what we are doing that even that distance seems insurmountable. Stock it with healthy snacks, your favorite caffeinated beverages and a few surprises for the kids when they join you to play office.

What you use doesn't matter as much as how you use it. You can use a whiteboard, chalk board, magnetic board, wall clips for hanging paper, or even chalkboard paint.

Along with your brainstorming board, you definitely need an endless supply of sticky notes, a giant roll of paper and your very own set of coloring markers (no sharing with the kids).

Last, but definitely not least, add a bunch of miscellaneous office toys to your wish list. My personal favorites are my mini stapleless stapler because it's neat, my trusty Powerstick because it lets me transfer files and saves dying devices and my squishy stress ball because we all have those days!

Top 10 Must-Haves for Working at Home

The Dream Home Office Wish List