The Office: Part 2 Spotlight

Goals for the office:

• Remove name from mailing lists to reduce the amount of junk mail that comes into the house
• Set up a system which makes everyone in the house open and dispose of their mail and papers in a timely manner
• Create space for extra office supplies in the closet
• Donate any unused items
• Purchase new filing cabinet.
• Purchase a shredder for disposing of personal information
• Establish a landing space for all incoming papers. (Set up individual mail boxes for each member in the house)
• Set up 4 boxes labeled (keep, toss, donate, move)
• Organize corner by corner in 1 hour increments so that the task does not get too overwhelming. Set a timer and stop as soon as it goes off.
• Sort through all current papers and mail.
• Slowly but surely replace furniture to match with one comprehensive style
• Research all storage solutions before purchasing (never purchase until after the space is cleared and a plan is made)
• Everything has a home.
• Don't give up!!!

The Office: Part 1 Searchlight

This is already a pretty overwhelming task.

I just have to remind myself to take it one step at a time.

The office closet is mostly empty thanks to my hour organize in the hallway closet.

The unnecessary clothes that once stuffed the office are now neatly hung up in the hallway closet.

The problem is that I'm not quite sure what to put in the minimum space the office closet offers. So I have decided to just start with the corner outside of the closet which is next to the desk.

Step 1: What currently works in your paperwork system?

Not a lot.

The one thing I can think of is a bulletin board currently in the kitchen which I post important bills which need to be paid to.

It would be nice to see that board out of the kitchen but it is a good place for the roommates to evaluate what needs to be paid.

We also use a dry erase board on the fridge to write notes about bills and money owed to one another.

Is paper a hassle for you? Is it taking over your life? Identify what you need to change by asking yourself the following questions:

a. Is mail sorted and dealt with in a timely manner?

Not at all

b. Is there a landing place for all papers that come into your home? Is there a place for mail?

Yes. It is called "any open surface in first sight."

c. Do you have a hard time figuring out what to keep and what to toss?

Yes because most of the mail is not mine. I don't want to toss out something that may be important to one of my roommates

d. Does junk mail live in your home?

Junk mail is the king of our home. He even invites his friends over for long stays. We sort of run a junk mail hotel.

e. Is the desk area functional? Do you use the area or do you answer mail and pay bills in another area? Are all the items that you use to pay bills and use to respond to other correspondence organized and within easy reach (calculator, calender, pens, postage envelopes)?

No to everything.

f. What is the condition of the filing system? Is the current one working for you and is it efficient?

One filing cabinet is working but it is stuffed full. The second filing cabinet is broken and cannot be fixed.

g. Do you need reduce the personal items and decorations on your desk to create more work space?

Yes

h. Do you have adequate lighting?

For the most part

i. Is there space to store office supplies such as paper and other necessities?

The space is there it is just currently being occupied by things out of place.

j. Are there items you need to relocate, donate, recycle, or trash to reduce the clutter in your office?

Most certainly.

k. If your desk or work area organized to support the activities you do here? Does this place help you to be creative and accomplish tasks efficiently?

No. It is too distracting to attempt to work here

l. What activities do you do at your desk or work station? What supplies do you need?

I study and read. I need my school books to be handy. I need a comfortable, clean, bright room that I want to be in. I need the printer to be easy to reach because it is used a lot in our household. My boyfriend needs to be able to come here and work with his businesses. It needs to supply both his needs and my needs.

m. Is the layout and flow comfortable and efficient?

The layout needs to be changed. Everything is too cramped to get to and there needs to be a clear separation of spaces between serving as an office, library, and clothing closet.

n. What will help you enjoy your work here?

I would love to have everything bright, white, clean, organized and spacious. I need this place to not be somewhere I dread to go. I need this place to be somewhere I want to be when I have hard work to accomplish. I want everything was in sync with style. I want the modern minimalism feel with very clever and functional storage. Lot and lots of storage.

(Again, all credit goes to Marilyn Bohn's Go organize!)

Purchase your own copy here:

Office inspiration

Before/After Hallway Closet

Before:

Wattage scale: 1

After

Wattage scale: 8

Moved up a 7 points on the wattage scale in just over an hour!

In only one hour.....

First thing was to empty the Hallway closet completely!

I left the items I knew needed to be in the closet and made room for the clothes from the office closet.

Next I moved the hanging items out of the office closet

and sorted through what needed to be kept or donated.

This was the result in the office closet:

In only one hour

this is the list of donated items packed in my car about to be taken to the local goodwill:

Donation:

4 jackets

2 coats

15 sweaters

23 adult white t shirts

1 shower curtain

1 pillow

2 purse

1 couch cover

1 sheet

1 blanket

1 black graduation gown

11 dresses

1 bra

Unbelievable.....

The embarrassing part

So I have established that the first room to organize and brighten the lights in is the office. The rule is to work from the inside out. This means I must tackle the closet first. I've decided to move all clothes out of this closet and into the hallway closet (where I will be able to find my clothes).

Unfortunately the hallway closet is filled with useless things that need to be thrown out or stored in different places (such as the multiple boxes filled with CDs, the air mattress which is never used, and sports gear). So the first project is actually the hallway closet!

Here comes the hard part.... actually showing the before pictures.... don't judge too hard!

These are before pictures of the office closet (currently being used as nothing because it's impossible to even open! )

In my defense, there is only a tiny portion in the office closet that CAN be used. 75% of the closet is taken up by a water heater and insulation. So I really did not have much to work with.

Here are before hallway closet pictures:

Stay tuned for what an hour can do......

Taking the first leap

Since school and work pretty much control 60hrs a week of my life, I have decided to tackle the worst room first. You can either take the easy way or the hard way at the beginning but I don't want this area to be glooming over my head.

I have to remind myself that I can't complete it all at once and the "instant gratification" I am always looking for is not going to happen. But with time and work corner by corner I can turn this office into something that I love.

The office also serves as a place to store my clothes (my boyfriend is a bit of a closet hog in the bedroom) This is one of the reasons this room has become so unruly. I am going to try my best to conceal and move out my clothes as much as possible and make this room the ideal office/library/reading room that we desperately need!!!

The furniture in the room is all mismatched which drives me crazy. there is no true theme to the room. Since money is tight I will have to force myself to stay away from decorating and focus on organizing. With time I can replace the pieces of furniture and eventually have the ideal clean white office I have always wanted.

Photos of inspiration:

Tips for upkeep:

Keep flat surfaces clear. Don't let piles form.
Establish clear zones/homes for each and every item.

Keep everything that is used frequently within an arm's length.

The perfect office

Using the Wattage Scale

Every room, every corner, every drawer, every inch of the home must be rated using the wattage scale. With 1 being the worst rating and 10 being the best rating, as things progress the wattage will go up in my home.

On a large scale, I rate my entire home at a 3. Broken down room by room, my wattage scale is as follows:

Living room 6

Kitchen 3

Main Bathroom 4

Office/ Guest Room 1

Bedroom 2

Bedroom Bathroom 3

Basement 4

Laundry Room 1

Garage 0

Introduction

Recently I have been feeling anxious and dreadful around my home. Other than my amazing boyfriend and our two dogs, there is nothing I love about the home. I work full time and go to school full time so cleaning can become a bit overwhelming (especially living with 2 boys and 2 dogs). Nothing about the place is organized and the chaos of clutter is causing me to loose focus on the things that I love.

I received the book Go Organize by Marilyn Bohn for a gift and I have decided to use it. All credit goes to Marilyn (along with some tips from others) for the ideas and techniques for getting this done. You can purchase her book here:

I want to record my experiences as I complete her Lights On Organizing System as a way of holding myself accountable and perhaps inspiring others. Not all of the posts will be directly following my progress; some posts will simply contain inspiring pictures to help me toward my goal. Enjoy!

Chelsea

organizethishome@gmail.com