My mother thoughtfully sent over some photos of my father's office at home. I think she just wants to reiterate that she is not a clutterer and she does not like clutter. She says she has seen it worse and I have to say, I don't think it looks bad at all.
This is clearly where I learned "couch as storage".
I see an awful lot of desk through those papers, so again, not bad. It might be time to upgrade the monitor however. It is taking a lot of valuable paper space.
Oh my goodness, I underestimated how much messes bother people! Other people that is. However, after a good effort Friday and Sunday I achieved great things, so all of you OCD'ers can relax. A little, anyway.
I did get everything loose off of the floor and it is now on a table in or in a box. Maybe not sorted yet, but in a box. I rearranged my desks because I thought it might prevent the build-up behind the desk. Plus, a certain little person loves to pull things off the front of my desk, so I've eliminated that problem.
The couch is now cleared off (except for an excess of pillows) and the magazines and catalogs that must be sorted are in boxes waiting to go into the filing cabinet. They make filing cabinets super ugly, don't they? I think a decoupage project might be in order there.
My desk still needs some cleaning up, but I removed piles of things that are in a stack on the other table to be sorted and filed. I threw out three huge garbage bags of trash. I also removed four file storage boxes and consolidated them with all the other business records in another room. (Do you think I can tell the IRS I just didn't have room and I destroyed them?) The fabric samples are currently on that wire shelf in the hall. So, yes, some cleanup remains to be done of other areas, but I won't stress you out by showing you those.
Two major finds during my cleanup: the charger to Olivia's Fisher Price four-wheeler which has been dead for a couple of weeks and a pair of paints. Apparently, I brought the pants up here to take up in May and did not get to it before they were buried. May not get to it now, but I think they can live at home now.
I haven't updated you on my office, but before I do, let me tell you about some new things we have at jcaroline creative. Some darling new fabric collections from Michael Miller: Tweet Tweet and Resort. Plus, we got new ribbons from Jessica Jones that match her fabrics. Delicious!
Several months ago, I declared my office out of control. Unfortunately, I did not do anything about it. Strangely enough, it has gotten worse instead of better.
The pictures amuse me, but I also thought they might help me analyze the mess. Because why clean up when I can analyze? Clearly, any shelf that is within my arms reach is going to have more stuff shoved in it than it can hold. And I can probably move Olivia's green chair that I think she may have sat on once last February. I'm not sure if she lost interest, or I just covered it up. And I must find a home for magazines and catalogs, because I throw them on the floor around my desk, but eventually, I run out of floor space. But I can't throw them away. There is a lot of good eye candy in there!
I added a bookshelf in the corner thinking it would help house random objects such as fabric samples and various other things that cannot be thrown away, but need a home. The bookshelf was a mistake. It was too hard to get to, the corner too dark and so it just got cluttered and then I moved further out onto the couch and floor. Yes, there is a couch under there, covered with Peapod fabric. That reminds me, I did take pics as I made that slipcover. I should do a tutorial.
My desk is not the worst it has ever been. And Tuesday, I did clean the right hand side (by the printer) because I did have a good 20 inch stack of things that needed to be filed. That's progress, right? Short-term goals: place for magazines and catalogs, place for fabric and product samples, get wire shelf out of here (ugh...that involves a lot of cleaning up) and replace with a filing cabinet for more discreet "stuffing". I think I just need to work on small portions at a time. I'll be sure to report back on any progress. If you don't hear anything, it's probably because I didn't follow through.
Photo of William Buckley's home office from Newsweek (March 10, 2008).
Yes, my sister sent me the picture she referred to in an earlier comment. Apparently, William F. Buckley, Jr. (who died earlier this month) was a clutterer as well. So I'll consider him a kindred spirit, even though I am not a conservative and I am certainly not intellectual enough to hang out in his circles. Unless his circles happened to spend some time discussing fabric, ribbon and sewing techniques. Too bad they didn't- I would love to hear William Buckley's voice discuss the virtues of interfacing.
Okay, so I'll admit it. My office has reached "critical mass" and I do need to spend some time today picking up before I can achieve any real work. (If you are new to how I keep my workspaces, you can catch up here.) It seems the books did leap off the bookshelf and have some sort of party of the floor- I can't imagine what they got at Office Depot that they found so much fun. (Oh goodness, it looks like it might be materials for filing!) And the couch is no longer interactive- it is just acting as an upholstered work table. Apparently, my idea of adding the shelf right next to it has not turned out to be the neatening trick I thought it might. But that clutter isn't on the couch too, right?
I do have a sewing project I want to finish today too that I hope to get on the web this weekend. So one or the other will get done today-- maybe both.
And again, let me remind you, my mother did not make me this way. This is in no way a reflection on her or her parenting skills.
Now that I study the pictures and compare them to last fall's, it's not that bad. I'll pick it up tomorrow.
In Amy Butler's new book, Midwest Modern, she shows us pictures of her and her husband's design studios. I was so inspired, I thought you might be inspired by my space as well.
This is a lovely 15 x 8 foot room in our warehouse/office space. Note the design details only available in buildings of this era (1980's concrete block business park buildings). Nothing beats the simplicity of a linoleum floor and suspended ceiling with fluorescent lights. It is a multi-function space, storing various hardware, including the computer type (in that refrigerator-like cabinet in the back corner). The table is decoratively strewn with works in progress. Mona is hanging out in the background in a new dress I'm making for her- more on that later.
Another view of the inspiration room. The bookshelf in the back has been meticulously organized with plastic containers with labels. The grid wall on the right provides a home for a few well-organized patterns. I insist on a neat, clean sewing surface, so Olivia is going to have to move her blue block.
But this isn't the only space I put my special design touch on- there's also my office.
Again, I find organizational containers an absolute necessity and these in cute colors from The Container Store fit the bill. And once they got filled up, the floor provides easy access. I love the frosted glass doors on the book cases (from Ikea)-- you can close them and it will hide the mess. I prefer the airiness the open doors provide. It makes me feel like those books are free to come and go as they please.
In front of my desk, I like to keep my inspirational objects and images. Apparently, most of my inspiration arrives in cardboard boxes. The couch is what I like to call "interactive furniture"-- you must clear a spot before you can sit down. Rearranging its contents really helps you get to "know" the furniture.
I call my design philosophy "cluttered genius" and I hope this inspires you to redo your studio, office or even your home.
