Now that I have defined clutter as any thing or thought that prevents you from living life to its fullest I decided it would only be fair to show you a clutter hot spot I am dealing with now. As I continue walking you through the organizing process I will show you how I tackle this area in my home to illustrate.
Right now I am in the process of moving my main office tasks downstairs into the kitchen. I find that I am much more creative and focused when I am sitting at the kitchen island with all the natural light shining in rather than in my office staring at a wall. My husband installed an electrical outlet at the kitchen island (which at first I thought, do we really need another place to plug in?) however once I started using my Macbook there I haven’t left since. I love working down here and the kids have more room to spread out and play.
Ideally I would like to take over the whole island and transform it into my office space. However we still need the cabinets for kitchen items. A pantry remodel is on the list of things to do for the future so maybe one day that will be an option.
The kitchen desk area is the space I will be turning into my office. This is what it looks like on a good day.
This is what it looks like right now! I have slowly been moving things down here as I need them and since I don’t know how this space will work for me yet, I am growing clutter. Remember, one of the causes of clutter is STUFF without a home. I have the children’s school related papers organized in our command center but now I have to transform this space into an office for me as well. Look familiar to anyone out there? Papers, books, kid stuff!
I didn’t want to jump into the project without knowing what my needs were. Now that I have been working down here regularly I have a good idea of what I need to do to make this space work.
So there you have it, my clutter, my stuff that has yet to find a home. I’ll be transforming this space as we cover the basics of organizing so stick around to see what happens to this little area!
For you all of you household managers out there… where do you like to do your work? Whether it is work, paying bills, or other household management duties. Do you have a favorite “work” spot in your home?
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I have yet to find a place I actually ‘like’ to work in. Our house is feeling smaller and smaller (we didn’t think we’d be here as long as we have been) and currently our office space has invaded our bedroom after our newest babe arrived and clearly needed a room of his own. SOoooo, yes, things definately need more of a ‘home’ in the desk region because more often than not, it just becomes a dumping ground. Not exactly what you want in your bedroom….bah! ;)
Picture #3 on this post shows my “work” area.
Working in this location lets me see most of the living room, dining room, and kitchen – letting me keep an eye on my kids while I’m working.
I work from home and set up my desk (a computer armoire) in the play room. It helps keep my daughter from going crazy while I work (and me as well!). I do my best to keep the desk area from getting cluttered and messy, since the part of the room with all the toys needs to be cleaned constantly. I do like working in there though. It is a very happy room with lots of bright colors and is a lot more “cheery” than the rest of my house (much more subdued and serene).
Yah Tanna! Thanks for showing your clutter. How awesome!
Because my house is so small, my “office” is a small table in my living room. I actually think this may be a positive: bc I have such a small space, I have very little room to accumulate anything, so I’m forced to be pretty spare in that area. It’s tough, though!
Thank goodness I’m not alone! My “work space” always graviates to an end table in the corner of our living room and the spot on the couch closest to it.
I have a desk – howver the office in our house is in a un-insulated room with no windows (those items are on the to-do list – other much more important house repairs ahve to come first though).
I have re-arranged the end table a million times to try to control the clutter or accommodate it with decorative boxes and the clutter always comes back. A friend recommended I replace the table with a night stand that has drawers (I can slam shut) & she might have a point. The table only gets truly clean when my Mother comes to town. The only solace I have is that I’m a better house keeper & much more organized then she’s ever been (and I don’t mean that meanly).
An end table with drawers might solve some of your problems but have you thought about a rolling file cart that has a few drawers for supplies? This might only work if you have an out of sight place to roll it when not in use.
You can find many end tables with storage now it would be worth a look!
I would love to put my computer upstairs. Mine is in the basement office. You gave me some great ideas. I might move my office tonight upstairs.
My actual desk is upstairs in our loft area. My filing cabinet and bookshelf and desktop are there too. But, ever since I got my lap top (a year ago), I rarely go there to work. I set up shop at the kitchen island. I moved my daily stuff down to the kitchen and left the files and storage upstairs. I find myself tweeking my system every so often. Can’t wait to see what new tips you have for me!
I’m finding that the stuff that needs to get filed away upstairs starts gathering at the counter so I think I will need to label one box “Upstairs” and put it in the lower cabinet and create a habit of putting everything back on a certain day each week. I know I am not diligent to take everything up there daily.
thank you thank you thank you thank you doing this!! I’m working on organizing lately too, and have many areas like that! (and far worse!) The hardest part for me, and for most people I think, is coming up with systems that I can stick with and keep nice over long periods of time. I prefer to work at the kitchen table or the living room couch. Maybe it’s because there is plenty of natural light in those rooms, I never thought of that until you mentioned it, also because they are comfortable places to sit.
Abby, Thanks for the comment, that is exactly why I wanted to use my space to illustrate what I will be talking about. I will be walking you through the whole organizing process beginning with the thought process you need to consider before just jumping into the organizing part. Hope it helps!
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