Work Space

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Whether you work in a corporate office, have a designated home office, or even just an area in the corner of the living room where you pay the bills, schedule appointments, and check emails; it’s important to keep that area clean and clutter-free.

So since I talk a lot about cleaning {and more specifically “spring cleaning”} I thought I should talk a bit about cleaning and organizing your office area.

Spring Cleaning… For Your Office

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If you’re like me… you probably spend a good chunk of the day in your office. And if you’re like me… you hate working in a messy, dusty, dirty space!

OK, so even if you don’t mind a little mess, dust, and dirt, a good spring cleaning might just bring new life to your office space and facilitate even more productivity on your part!

Here are a few quick tips to clean up your office space.

10 Ideas To Organize Your Office in 10 Minutes or Less

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I hate wasting time!

So I’m always on the lookout for quick organizing projects to tackle when I have a few extra minutes here and there. I’ve even started timing some of my daily tasks, and found that I could accomplish many of them in 10 minutes or less.

After thinking about these 10-minute tasks, I realized that by completing one task every day for a year, I could tally up over 60 hours of organizing – pretty impressive!

So even if you’re short on time these days, I challenge you to think about little things you can do each day to get your office space more organized without wasting a bunch of precious time.

Here are 10 ideas to help you get started!

I know I’m always SO MUCH MORE productive if I’m working in a clean and organized space. If you can relate… Spring might just be a great time to do a little deep cleaning and organizing {and enjoy your more productive space!}

Do you have any great tips for keeping your office space neat and organized?

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The following is a guest post from Prerna of The Mom Writes.

As a busy work-at-home mom who’s constantly juggling deadlines, errands, play dates and menu plans, I need my workspace to be as organized as possible. Especially since my workspace is also our dining room. And no, it does not have a door!

Here are 5 of my favorite things that keep my workspace organized and my sanity intact:

1. A Basket to Hold Knick-Knacks

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First of all, I can’t live without my li’l basket that holds my must-have-at-hand supplies – pens, glue, stapler, cell phone charger and my cell phone itself. It sits neatly on my desk, takes up hardly any space and any clutter is contained neatly.

You can do the same with any spare basket-like container. How about the spare bowl from the kitchen?  Or even that gift box that you got chocolates in this Valentine’s.

2. A Drawer Organizer

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Next up is a drawer organizer that I fashioned out of an old tea-tray and an ice-cube tray. Yes, I know. I’m cheap. **laughing**

However, both trays fit neatly into the single drawer that we have in our desk. The tea tray holds larger items such as my notebook and a spare spectacle case filled with extra pens.

The ice cube tray is awesome. It holds paper clips, pins and other fasteners, along with a bunch of elastic bands.

3. A Dry-Erase Board and Cork Board

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I use the area above my desk for a pin board and dry erase board to jot down to-dos and pin bills and other papers that need immediate attention.  The small size of the boards keeps me from holding on to too much paper, while giving me the space to tack on a happy photo or an inspiring quote as well.

4. Shelving on the Walls

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A tiny workspace that does double duty as a dining room means that we use the walls to store anything that is essential but can’t be placed on the desk. Shelving is great for stashing items that are needed but not on an everyday basis.

Again, I use baskets and boxes to store things, along with some photos and curios to add a dash of prettiness and break up the monotony.

5. One File for Paperwork

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Finally, using a single file for office-related paperwork means that we don’t hold on to unnecessary paper and we have all the papers we need in one file.

Using electronic versions of bills, forms, and correspondence has really helped us cut down on paper clutter and keep our tiny workspace reasonably organized.  I’m also a BIG fan of scanning documents and then recycling or trashing the paper versions to reduce paper clutter.

Do you have a tiny office? How do you keep it organized?

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Lover of small spaces, Prerna Malik writes about being a work-at-home mom at The Mom Writes and helps small businesses and mom entrepreneurs rock their social media presence with Social Media Direct. For more handy organizing tips and tricks, check out her free eBook 100+ Simple Tips  to Get Organized, Cut Clutter and Increase Productivity.

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Working in an organized space will not only help you to be more efficient and more productive — it will also help you to enjoy the time you spend in your office area!

And whether you work in a big corner office, the back bedroom of your house, your car, or even a tray table in your living room, there are plenty of creative ways you can better organize your office space.

If you are looking for a bunch of creative office organizing ideas — many of which are free — check out the guest post I wrote over here! 

What are your favorite office organizing ideas?

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Yesterday, I talked about our lack of a mudroom — which was one thing we had to comprimise on when we purchased our farmhouse last winter. We would have loved a big mudroom… but it just wasn’t going to happen in this house.

However, there were several other things we were not willing to compromise on… one of which was a main-floor home office. 

Since I work from home almost all the time, and Dave spends many evening hours grading papers and planning lessons for the week, we BOTH really wanted a place to store and organize all of my business things, his school things, and everything else we use to run our home.

So a home office we very high on our “what we want in our next house” list.

Our OLD “Home Office”:

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We never had a real home office in our first house… but I made due with a small desk in our den/dinning room area and Dave did much of his work at the kitchen table or on the couch. It wasn’t perfect, but it worked!

Our NEW Home Office:

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I can vividly remember the first time we walked through our farmhouse and I saw the main floor home office. It was so ugly… but had SO much potential.

I knew this room would become one of my most favorite rooms — and I was right!

I absolutely LOVE every minute spent in our home office — and now that we knocked out one of the walls, the office is totally open to the living room and kitchen area {which is exactly what I wanted}.

You can see the entire transformation here.

And even though I’m extremely happy with our new home office, I just can’t stop myself from searching the internet for other drool-worthy home offices.

Here are a few of my favorite home offices from around the web:

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Martha Stewart’s Home Office: This one is so completely over-the-top that I just HAD to show you!

I love how this home office makes great use of such a long, skinny space.

Who would have though you could transform a tiny space under the staircase into a fabulous home office!

I always thought it would be so fun to have a “closet home office” but I’ve never had the right closet.

I love this “home office in a trunk” because it proves that if you’re organized, you don’t need a huge space.

I love all the white and soft colors in this home office — what a lovely place to spend the day!

And even though I do love white, I couldn’t help but be drawn in by this totally rustic home office. What a fun place for a bunch of kids to sit and do their homework!

Ok, one more… just because I love all home offices with dual-seating {like our office!}

If you still need MORE home office inspiration, you can see a whole bunch of other REALLY inspiring home offices on my Pinterest board {get ready to drool!}

What would your DREAM home office look like?

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As I mentioned the other day, I work A LOT of hours from home. So when we were looking for a new house, one of our top requirements was that it had a nice area that we could use for a home office.

We wanted that area to be big enough to accommodate my work, my business, my hobbies, Dave’s school stuff, Dave’s books, and a few fun things too.

And even though it took quite a bit of renovation {and knocking out an entire wall} we got exactly what we wanted!

A Few Before Pictures:

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Very “grey” and industrial looking… don’t you think? Plus, the nasty outdoor carpeting and that hideous office chairs just wouldn’t do

The thing we loved about this office though, is the set of French doors that lead out to a deck on the back of the house!

We also loved that there was potential to close off the door to the hallway and knock out the back wall {see below} to completely open the office up to our main living room.

OK, that’s enough grey and blah. On to the NEW, after photos!

Our Farmhouse Desk:

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I already showed you our farmhouse desk the other day, but here’s a second look at it. It is probably my favorite part about our office!

We purchased this 120-year-old farm table off Criagslist and NO, we did not cut it to fit!! The table is 5′ 11 3/4″ which is EXACTLY what we needed to wedge into our space {it was meant to be!}

We did sand it down a bit, dry brush white on the legs and base, and then stained/polyurethaned the top to match our floors. I’m so completely in love with this desk — which is nice since I sit here for several hours each day

I wanted to keep the desk very “clutter-free” since there are several times when both Dave and I work here together. So I decided to only have a few basic office supplies in the corner: pens, pencils, calculator, paper, paper clips, stapler, and some highlighters. I keep these supplies in an old bread pan and an old white measuring cup so they still look nice. I also put a basket on the right side for any mics. papers I have to deal with.

The TV was Dave’s request because he likes to watch TV while he grades papers and works on his computer. And as you’ll see later on, we also have a nice, comfy chair on the opposite wall, so it creates somewhat of a “den” atmosphere when the computers are put away.

One of the things I’m most excited about is that we managed to hide ALL our cord clutter {I know, I’m a dork!}

I mounted a large power stripe on the back side of the desk and then plugged in both our laptop chargers, the TV, the light, the cable modem, and the wireless router. Then I installed small hooks all along the back side of the table, wound up each cord, and hung them on the hooks.

As you can see by the image above, it still doesn’t look that organized underneath the table – but at least you can’t see any cords hanging down or laying on the floor!

Built-In Cabinets:

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We actually kept the built-in cabinets above the desk and just updated them with a fresh coat of white paint. They serve as excellent storage for all our craft supplies, mailing supplies, batteries, extra printer paper, folders for the different committees we’re both on, etc. etc.

The large basket on the top shelf nicely conceals many of my craft supplies, the rest are in the wooden crate on the bottom middle shelf. I store cards and photos in the two blue boxes, and the rest of our supplies are “out in the open” but still somewhat decorative {like the colored pencils, Sharpies, and crayons on the middle shelf}

I installed some cork on the inside of one cabinet door — which is a great place to store business cards, phone numbers, schedules, and other mics. information we reference on a regular basis.

Office Closet:

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We have a very large closet in our office {right next to the desk} and it goes under our staircase to maximize every inch of available storage space.

Not only is there enough room for our filing cabinet, wireless printer, shredder, and fire-proof safe. We also have plenty of room for a bookcase that stores our computers, my sewing supplies, and Dave’s school text books.

I hung a clear plastic shoe organizer on the left wall of the closet and we keep all our “cord clutter”, chargers, and other small electronics organized and easily accessible {I did label each pocket so everyone knows where everything goes!}

Then I hung peg board on the right wall and organized all the tools we use on a regular basis.

If you turn the corner to go under the stairs, I have all my gift wrap and packaging supplies shoved back there {but still organized!}

I am thrilled with how we were able to maximize the storage in this closet — especially since old farmhouses aren’t exactly known for their vast amounts of storage!

Office Shelves:

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I posted a picture of our new offices shelves on Facebook the other day — and I’m just SOOO happy with how they turned out. They are actually 120 year old barn beams that we cut down to fit perfectly along the west wall.

Of course, I immediately filled them with all my fun decorations… now we just need to find a piano or a sewing table for under the shelves.

We even made enough room for a smaller chair and side table for when we just want to relax and watch a little TV {or rock a sleeping baby!}

The natural light in this room is simply fabulous and even on gloomy days {like when I took these pictures} There is still plenty plenty of light.

So that’s it — our new home office!

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It’s so nice to have one place to keep all our office things and not have to work on the couch or the kitchen table all the time. It’s also wonderful that my desk is only about 12 steps away from our bedroom and the kitchen… and right off the living room. I still feel totally “connected” even if I’m working!

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Last week, I gave a mini tutorial on the FREE desk I rescued for my “office”.

Isn’t it purdy??

My trash-to-treasure adventure was a success and I love my desk! I blogged about it, and thought I was finished…

However, I was inspired to show you the rest of these pictures after receiving so many emails regarding your own home offices.

Several of you mentioned that you can’t devote an entire room to your office and would like some tips for creating a home office in a less-than-desirable location.

Well, you are in luck — I have JUST the home to show you…

My own!

OK, so here’s my little desk and “office” one more time…

…but, if you take a little wider angle, you can see that I really don’t have a traditional office…just a nook between our entryway and our den.

And did I mention that our den is right off our dinning area and kitchen??

Yup, that’s my “office” — and it works wonderfully for me!

Believe it or not, we actually DO have an extra bedroom that I could use as my office, but I choose not to. I LOVE my ”out in the open” office.

WHY? For two simple reasons:

What about you?

Is your perfect office location already in your home?

1. Can you “steal” part of a room…or an unused room {like your formal dining room} and make it into your office?

– See how Emily a.k.a. Decorchick turned her dinning room into a gorgeous “Mom Cave”

Photo Credit: Decorchick

2. Do you have an unused closet you can turn into your office hub?

– Check out this  “mini closet office” over at YoungHouseLove

Photo Credit: Young House Love

3. If you have a laptop, could you create an office nook in your kitchen or living room?

– I love how Melissa from The Inspired Room simply uses a comfy living room chair as her “office”!

Photo Credit: The Inspired Room

4. Could you create an office inside an armoire?

– Here’s a pretty amoire make-over by The Nester {she’s using it for her TV… but you get the idea}

Photo Credit: The Nester

5. Or just do what I do — and plop a desk right in the middle of your entryway!

I’m convinced that you really CAN have an office anywhere in your home!

Where is your “office”? What works for you?

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Our home office is one room in our house that we could not do without.

However, the room is just a small extra bedroom and the closet is even smaller — so I knew it would require lots of organization to function at maximum capacity.

We needed our closet to function in 3 very specific ways:

1. House all our gift wrapping supplies
2. House all our paperwork
3. House basic tools and craft supplies

Since the closet is SO small I decided to removed the door to give us easier access to our “stuff”. Here it is…all 3 feet of it!

ZONE 1: Gift Wrapping

Location — Top Shelf

I have 4 large bags  and 2 boxes that contain all my wrapping supplies:

• Bag #1 — Large bags
• Bag #2 — Llarge boxes
• Bag #3 — Small bags
• Bag #4 — Ribbons & bows

• Box #1 — Tissue paper
• Box #2 — Smaller boxes

I labeled each bag and box with cute tags that I made from construction paper.

Zone 2: Paperwork

Location — filing cabinet

In the center of my closet is a large 4-drawer filing cabinet that holds ALL our paperwork.

• Drawer #1: Personal paperwork
• Drawer #2: My business paperwork
• Drawer #3: Hubby’s school paperwork
• Drawer #4: Craft paper, cards, envelopes, etc.

I use the tabs down the center for our main categories, and the tabs on the left for subcategories.

For example:

If the main category is be “utilities”

The subcategories would be each of the different utility companies we work with (DTE, AT&T, Consumers Electric, Allied Waste, etc.)

This system works wonderfully for us.

We also keep a small fire-proof safe on top of the filing cabinet for important documents and information.

Zone #3: Tools and Craft Supplies

Location: Peg board

Inside our closet, on the right side, I installed a small section of peg board to house some of our smaller tools and craft supplies.

Our larger tools are either in the shed outside or down in the basement but I like to keep these tools on hand for more regular use.

This section of the closet would otherwise just be a bunch of wasted space

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