By plugging your laptop into a docking station, you’ll instantly have access to the attached full-size monitor and keyboard, plus all your other peripherals. No more wasting valuable time plugging and unplugging a dozen wires. As a bonus, docking stations have several USB ports, which when combined with those available on your laptop, give you a total of perhaps six or eight USB ports when the laptop is docked. Unless you’re unwaveringly loyal to one brand of computer, look for a universal docking station, such as this Kensington wireless model, rather than one designed for use with a specific brand.

To keep your home office fully functional, you need to be able to do basic office tasks like printing and faxing and an all-in-one machine can let you do that, even if space is at a premium. A good choice is Canon’s Pixma MX700. It even has a 1.8-inch color LCD display that lets you view photos before printing them.