Day 8: Office

Today I am going to focus on an area I previously completed in this project.  The office area in my house is tucked into a corner of the master bedroom, and I actually tackled this spot in our house the first.  It was a mess and these photos are the 2nd most embarrassing photos I've shared to date {with yesterdays still taking the cake}!

The chaos that I attempted to run a household from

Seriously I would pay bills on the little desk piece that slides out from above the drawers on the right side.  There was never a real system for processing papers from either the mail or schools - I would not recommend this laxidasical way of operating as it causes unnecessary mental stress for the person in charge.  Really it was no one's fault but my own that I was wallowing in my own filth the filth of this household.  It is just way too easy when there something did not have a place to put it on my desk - this was a HUGE in the motivation to complete 31 day series.

My initial feelings were overwhelming, disgust, want to stay away.  No wonder why I don't want to pay bills, watch budgets, or file paperwork.

What I want as an end result:

• beautiful color coordinating storage/organization
• easy paperwork system
• NO clutter
• Modern Desk/storage set-up
• Inviting/encouraging space to complete household tasks and craft projects

To begin I got rid of clutter, garbage, & junk bringing it to places in the house where it does belong, but not getting sidetracked in other areas of the house.  Then I set-up work areas and places for items that I needed in the office space.

My biggest stumbling block is 'what to put in the desk drawers.'  Honestly it is like a psychological disorder or something.  The desk in the above photo has little to nothing in the right hand drawers, and everything is piled on the desk.  The top center is somewhat organized because I know what is supposed to go in this drawer - office supplies!  I wish there was some place that gave you a diagram telling you what belonged where in a desk.  Afraid of making a mistake, I just avoided trying to put anything anywhere.

Wonderfully clean and somewhat organized office space.

In the desk currently:

• top left: pens, pencils, markers, phone book, tape, stapler, necessary office items
• top right: extra checks, envelopes
• middle: random electronic devices  {may change}
• bottom: my dear's paperwork {may change}

I may need to find space for my scrapbooking/paper craft supplies once I get to where they currently are in this house.

I ended up with a functional space, places for mail & papers to flow through to the file system, computer place, essential items in reachable locations, large work area {could use for sewing}.

On my list of things to do in this space:

• storage bins on top of computer desk
• find a diagram for desk contents
• mail old photos to friends {I am halfway done with this}
• replace the computer desk on the left of the photos above with a large shelving system.  Ideally it would include a small desk-y type space for my computer, space for the printer.  I feel like the current layout is wasting some space on the floor and above the desk.  The below setup could be doable for a reasonable price.

Source: retropolitanhip.blogspot.com via Amy on Pinterest

From Real Simple

I love the yellow wall in this photo as well as the use of the shelves for storage and mementos.  Perfect clean and seemingly organized.

From Grace's Birdcage

I love the green accents of this office as well as the dual work spaces.

From Home Office Studios and Designs

I am in LOVE with all in the above office set-up.  I love the rustic/modern design elements built into this space plus the light and airy-ness as well.

From Martha Stewart

But then the monotone, organized unity of this area also appeals to me.  It is hard for me to believe that I would actually go with this type of space because colors are so much of what I am drawn to in life.

From Whimages

In my next house I think that I would like a little office nook in a central location for all of the family to use - maybe not a creative space for me, but on that all members of the family could find useful in our daily lives.

So to wrap it up, several of weeks since I organized my central command space it is still clean and functioning.  Even though the rest of the room sailed {as was documented yesterday}, I made an effort to deal with and keep this space clean even as I continued my trek through the rest of this house.  It is amazing how much easier it is to keep the rest of the house clean when you make an effort to keep key areas of your life organized.  This makes me so happy!  Life is good in our house today - maybe we will have a set-back along the way, but I feel like my daily operating is going along smoothly.  There are a few other systems that I have implemented, but I will share them as this month marches along!

Hope that you have a lovely day!