Cleaning Out The Office
Often on Sundays I feel inspired to clean and/or organize something. Cleaning makes me feel happy - it’s like I can impose my will on reality, and create order out of chaos. Perhaps it’s my Dark Side of the Force in action, wanting to create ORDER in the GALAXY.
I originally had my office on the main floor but then decided I wanted to move it downstairs where the bedrooms and Dan’s office is. That way we could reserve the main floor as our “off-duty” relaxing zone.
1:30 pm: Here is a picture of the random clutter I had “before.” I had stuff everywhere that was just shoved together the day I set up, in this odd bonus room right off our master bedroom. I am not sure the purpose of this room - nursery? Unfinished bathroom? Possibly a craft area?
To illustrate how much my husband loves me, he even made me a wooden floor for this bizarre little room. I hate carpet and wanted a floor so I could zip around on my chair between work stations. He literally made me a floor out of plywood, complete with foundations. What a guy! <3 ( <– a heart shaped emoticon)
2pm: Right now I am at the point where everything is dragged out of the room. I just vacuumed the floor and polished my wood shelves. I took down the white board and am currently thinking where things should be re-established for the best use of traffic and work flow. I don’t have much room to spare.
2:35pm: Spent 35 minutes moving around my six bookcases, credenzas and wall units. I think I *finally* have a con
figuration that will be useful for me.
My office needs a lot of space for books (for reference and titles to-be-reviewed), papers (we journalists have notes and brochures everywhere), products (also to be reviewed) and various wonderful doodads gifted to me by beloved friends and family members. These are useless things that take up space, but still I refuse to give them up: looking at them makes me happy.
2:45PM: Slightly frustrated about the furniture. This is a 7X7 space. I need places to put things. Lots of things. My husband has a paper-less office so his decorating is easy. My trick is to get everything I need in here without making it look cruddy. 
2:55pm: Am getting serious about this: poured myself some Chardonnay, put on loud tunes to get the creative juices flowing. Still messing with the bookshelf placement.
3:16pm: Enjoying being in the “organizing zone.” Things are just leaping onto my shelves! Singing and grooving to retro tunes. Jungle Boogie!
4:02: DONE! Everything I want in the office is in the office. I feel great and it looks so much more usable in here now. Everything smells like my lemon oil wood polish and I am no longer ashamed of this space.
I decided to not sort my books yet. I put them wherever on the shelves: will place them by category another day. I also didn’t bother with the inside of drawers, for similar sanity reasons.
It’s never good to bite off more than you can chew in one afternoon. 
So I have my Liz Phair playing - woot! I am slightly buzzed from the wine and ready to press my Staples Easy Button…get ready, here we go: “…that was easy…”
Filed under All About Me, Family Life |7 Responses to “Cleaning Out The Office”
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you’re an inspiration to us all.
Thank you! And I thought it was cute when you tweeted me about my ‘before’ being cleaner than your ‘after.’ But probably not the case. My stuff was so random. I feel much lighter now.
I bet that does feel better. You have inspired me. I’m not going to try to do it all in one day either. It’s best to tackle it before stuff starts falling on me.
Yeah, it’s all about baby steps, Sandra. I have to stay mindful of what can be DONE in one afternoon.
There’s nothing less motivating that having crap all over your home that only announces an unfinished project.
Before anyone takes on a big project, think first what step can handled in one chunk and do that first.
I need some serious office cleaning too
Unfortunately it involves moving a big bookcase, a computer desk and two printer stands down from the 3rd floor.
Hi Laura! Moving furniture is a lot of work. I try to get large men to move such things for me so I don’t hurt my back.
Actually, you should probably do that too. Moving all that big stuff down several flights of stairs can be dangerous.
What room is your new office going to be in? Are you excited to have it all set up?
[...] * Office Organized - I did most of it but still need to set aside time to do the drawers. I documented my office cleaning project. [...]