Working from home has had its upsides for Guy Dorrell – no commute, more family time, coffee on tap – but like many of us over the past year, he has struggled with the lack of separation between work and home. “I’ve been able to walk my two children to school and I’ve got a great setup at the kitchen table; it’s all very nice,” he says. “I don’t do an hour and a half commute each way to the office along two motorways, but at the same time I’ll start work at 7am and might still be answering emails at 9 or 10pm. Before, I used to get in the car and that was it.”
That juggling act was made even harder when schools closed, and Dorrell had to balance home schooling his six- and 11-year-old, alongside conference calls with work. While the kids are now back at school, it’s made him realise he’s desperate for a space of his own, particularly as he will be working remotely in the long term. “Home working is great, but you have to be quite disciplined in a different way from working in an office,” he says. “We have no more space in the house, so the only alternative is some kind of shed in the garden.”
The project has niggled at the back of his mind for the past year. Inspired by Kevin Rushby’s success in building his own beach hut, which Dorrell read about in the Guardian, he’s decided to do it himself. That’s despite not describing himself as particularly handy.
“I’m very interested in tinkering with things and with wood, but I’m extraordinarily impractical,” he admits. “But, fingers permitting, it should be a learning process. And there’s always YouTube. I’ve bought a book on wood joints and have been wondering if you could make an eco-shed without using any metal … but I think I’m going to have to rein it in at some point. I’ve gone fully down the rabbit hole now.”
That the structure has to be eco-friendly is a given – Dorrell is passionate about sustainability. He’s been weighing up the eco credentials of installing a turf roof versus solar panels, and has started a group on LinkedIn called Shed Life to share ideas with others. He’s started scavenging wood to make the structure itself and is saving £1,000 to put towards the materials he can’t salvage.
“I’ve got a real eye for skips these days,” he says. “No skip in my local area is safe. I’ve already picked up a few pieces that I think will be good structurally, but it is quite difficult to find uniform bits. I will have to buy some stuff – like windows, for example, and I want to put in a stable door so the children can see in through the top but not actually get in. They think they’re going to get another play area but they’re wrong.”
It’s become a “real labour of love”, he says, that gave him something else to focus on during lockdown. Part of the enjoyment has been putting a little bit of money aside each month to go towards the project and watching his pot grow. “I’m not in a rush and I think saving for something is quite a nice discipline to have,” he adds. “I quite like the idea that nothing is immediate and we need to take a longer-term view. I want to pass on those values to my children, and for them to see something at the end that was worthwhile.”
He’s already encouraging his kids to follow his example. “When they want to spend on Fortnite game cards or whatever it is, I tell them: ‘Well I’m saving for my office, so you need to save this week’s and next week’s pocket money to be able to afford that.’”
Jill Waters, NS&I’s retail director says: “Many of us have unexpectedly found ourselves working from home and trying to squeeze our work life into our home life. This has given many of us the chance to reflect on how we use our home space and rethink it. Time spent saving for an office at the end of the garden or turning the guest room into a study with a sofa bed could be easy ways to maximise your living space.”
Dorrell says he’s always been mindful of his impact on the environment, but the past year has given him more time and space to adjust his behaviour. He now has a hybrid car, which he’s been able to run off the battery more because he’s not driving long distances, and the family has been able to make more of an effort to recycle more. “I really love the idea that we’re more discerning about what we do, because we can do less but we’re also taking care of ourselves better,” he says.
“I see people out walking who I didn’t see before and I think that’s really good. If we can be better custodians of this planet, not spend on fripperies we don’t really need … I think that would be one of the very few positives we’ll be able to take out of the pandemic. We all got caught up in something that it turns out we didn’t need.”
Having something joyful to save towards can make putting money aside easier. Start saving for a sunny day with the help of NS&I. Visit nsandi.com for more information
