I'm biased, I know. For most of my life I enjoyed building things, and as I've chronicled on this blog, have turned that hobby into a business. Yet I can't help but look at many home offices I see and cringe at how many low-quality, store-bought items populate them. Yes, those items are easy to acquire and require little or no work setting up. But when they bend and break within a year, does that saved money really amount to anything?

While not everyone possesses the skills to build a house, or even remodel a single room in the house, we can all learn fundamental building skills. Those skills can go a long way -- a far longer way than most people without handiwork experience realize. We can start with this simple example of building furniture in a home office. Not only is it cheaper up-front to build your own office furniture staples, but it saves you in the long term. Hand-built items done right will last far longer than what you buy in the store.

In addition, never underestimate the sense of accomplishment that goes along with building something. This sense carries beyond completion of the project, since you'll be using this furniture every day. And so, without further ado, here are five projects you can work on today.

1. Office desk

Chances are you have an ideal of what would constitute your ideal desk. Some people like to spread out with a large surface, leaving room for multiple computer monitors and notepads. Others like a smaller, simplisitic surface that keeps everything in focus. Yet others focus more on drawer space than on surface area. 

Whatever your preference, chances are you won't find exactly what you're looking for at a Target, an Ikea, or a Walmart, which are among the only places you can buy a cheap desk. You can look to more specialized out lets for home computer desks, and you'll likely find something more to your likeing -- and more expensive as well. If you're willing to trade money for time, then go ahead. But if you'd rather build your perfect desk and learn valuable skills along the way, skip the office store and go right to the Home Depot (or your home improvement store of choice). 

My recommendation is to find a basic schematic, such as this one at Popular Mechanics, and adjust to meet your needs. The basic outline will get you as far as you need to go. 

2. Shelving

If you have underestimated, or continue to underestimate, the utility of shelving in an office, I'll forgive you. When I worked my 9-to-5, I hardly had time to think about how to organize my cubicle. Each wall did have a couple of shelves, though, and I kept frequently used items on them for easy access. When I first moved into my home office, though, I had neglected to put in any shelving. Immediately I understood its importance. 

We all have items that just don't fit well in a drawer. Paper, both for writing and printing, ranks right there. Staplers and other stationary equipment is another category of items best kept outside of a drawer. You can probably think of a dozen yourself. Chances are, as well, that you keep them in a drawer, because that's just where you put things that you don't need constantly. 

Installing office shelving is incredibly easy, and I wonder why more people don't do it. The only tools your really need are a stud finder, power drill, and level, all of which come in handy for all kinds of projects. From there you can buy some wood and some brackets and place your shelving wherever it fits best. Trust me when I say you will appreciate your office space much more when you do.

3. Filing cabinet

When people think about building filing cabinets, they typically think of those bulky metal monstrosities that we see in homes and offices across the world. In my estimation they are not the best tools for the task. One big reason is the lack of portability. Even if you pull the drawers out, you still have to move a bulky, heavy item. If you have to take all the files out, then you have to figure out a way to move them. None of that is attractive to someone who has to move offices.

At my old job I recommended we buy wood filing cabinets, but I was laughed at. Why would we change when we already have filing cabinets? Even well-to-do businesses don't lay out that kind of expense just for what is perceived as a slight convenience upgrade. So when I built my own home office, I knew I'd craft a filing cabinet made out of wood. Now when I have to move my office, I'll have a much easier time of it.

(I also spent far, far less making my filing cabinet than I would have spent buying a metal one.)

Again, the best route is to go and find some file cabinet plans and work off of those. You don't have to build to their exact specs, but the measurements and ratios will come in handy as you build your ideal filing cabinet.