For those of you who work from home, dream of working from home, or perhaps have a second job or hobby that has you converting your 3rd bedroom into an office, this column is for you. We’ll review our favorite must-have gadgets, talk about time-management, and strategies for success. If YOU have an idea for an article subject, please email editor@detroitbuzz.com.

I’ve worked off and on in a telecommuting role for the last 8 years. It takes a special kind of person to be able to do it, and i admit that I’m not always that kind of person. While there’s something to be said about having a comfortable couch on the other side of the wall from your office, and being able to work in your ‘jammies’, sometimes it gets distracting, and distracting in a crazy way. Take my refrigerator for instance… no, really, TAKE MY REFRIGERATOR. It would help if my wife didn’t stock it with stuff that I love to eat. But that's part of the reason I love working from home. I wouldn't trade it for the world.

In this article series, I’m going to explore some of the gadgets and processes that make a home office situation not only livable, but an ideal place to work.

My corporate office is a thousand miles away. Well, to be slightly more accurate, it’s 742.5 miles away from my home office. In a recent visit to HQ, I made a discovery that proved life-changing. My discovery was the Keurig coffee maker.

One of my challenges in working from home is that I have a tough time figuring out what to do about the coffee situation. If I brew a POT of coffee, one of two things happens - I either drink it all and get the jitters, or don't and watch most of it get cold and go wasted. I can think of things I enjoy more than having to empty out a cold coffee pot, wash it out, and empty and wash the filterless filter the next morning. Did I mention that I’m not a morning person?

The solution? A single-serve coffee maker. I hadn’t heard of Keurig until I encountered the B2003 at my corporate offices. I kept sneaking out of our “all-hands” meeting to try another variety of coffee or tea. The office model was plumbed right in just like a refrigerator water filter, and there was a wide variety of coffee and tea available. At any rate, I started feeling sorry for myself a little. Sometimes working from a home office doesn’t give you some of the luxuries of an office building. The camaraderie of an “in person” work environment. A Starbucks on the way in. A water cooler, or people to tell bad jokes to around that water cooler.

So when I got home, I surfed the web and found out that there are a variety of single-serve coffee makers for home available from a variety of companies. I sent out an email to a few people that are gadget freaks, and asked them about some of the models. I did research on the Internet, and called a variety of the companies. I decided to go with Keurig and in the two months I haven’t regretted it for a minute.

I ordered a B-60 “Special Edition”, and at $199.00, I thought it was a great deal. With a 48 oz reservoir, it makes five 9 oz cups of coffee without having to refill it. The water heats up really quickly once you do refill it, and it’s ready to go.

It’s also a hit with everyone who’s visited. The fact is that people have different tastes in hot beverages. With this, when entertaining, we have satisfied coffee drinkers (decaf, dark roast, French roast, full body, etc), tea drinkers, and used the hot water function to make a great cup of hot chocolate - just the right temperature.

The process works with “K-Cups” which hold the coffee or tea, and look a little like oversized creamer cups. You open a small compartment on the top of the brewer, put the cup in the receptacle, close the door, push a button, and within seconds, you have a freshly brewed cup of coffee. I can’t honestly tell the difference between this and my $3 cup of coffee from the overpriced café down the street. Apparently the pressure and heat allow for the “perfect cup”, and it doesn’t leave a mess either - you just remove the cup after you’re done and discard it. The process pokes a hole at the top of the cup, and one at the bottom. You have to be a little careful when removing the used cup, as about every 10th time, it does drip a little, but it’s just a drip.

I can’t find anything wrong with this, and it’s quickly become an indispensable part of my home office routine. It’s a huge timesaver in the morning as well, and I don’t have to negotiate with my wife over the merits of a dark Columbian versus French vanilla or hazelnut.

At any rate, I highly recommend that you check it out. You can buy it (and K-Cups) direct from the manufacturer at http://www.keurig.com, and check out the coffee and tea varieties and manufacturers here.

Or just drop by. I'll brew you a cup while you check mine out.

Grade: A

Do you have a neat gizmo you use at your home office? Tell us about it on the message board!