Simplify! My Office (Part 1)

 (the wall art is my DH’s)

Well if I was hesitant about the first assignment of Project: Simplify (the Master Bedroom Closet), I was crestfallen to hear that paper clutter would be the second challenge.

My home is pretty organized. I wouldn’t be embarrassed to have drop in guests at any time, with the exception of the office, where I just close the door! But I am horrified to admit that the above photo is my half of our home office. Everything ends up here. I entitled this post Part 1 since this is a HUGE task and we were away part of the week on vacation.

I made some huge progress this week, basically located my desk and tables from under the piles of stuff.

I began by making several piles. This was the fastest way to sort through stuff and make some visible progress which is important and motivating.

• stuff to sell
• garbage
• recycling
• repairs (clothing, toys, silk swords etc.)
• papers to file
• papers to review
• supplies/craft items to sort and organize
• photos/memorabilia
• items that belong elsewhere in the house

Then I chose the easiest piles first. Recycling and garbage piles were easy to deal with and eliminated a bunch of clutter quickly. Having sorted everything into piles made the task less daunting and more manageable. The items that belonged elsewhere I put into a laundry basket and went around the house returning them to where they belonged. I put all the items to sell in a bin, all the craft items in a bin and all the supplies in the drawer. I put All that is left on top of my desk at this time is the papers to file and sort through.

I still have a lot of work to do in here and look forward to sharing part 2 of this challenge with you as I get to it either later this week or next. It is definitely on the to-do list before baby arrives as it has been a weight around my shoulders!

Still to do:

• Sort/enter/discard/file papers in Inbox
• Empty supply drawers, sort and organize
• Decide what to do with our craft supplies. Sort, organize & store
• List items for sale on Kijiji, eBay or take to consignment store
• Deal with photos
• Evaluate what lands on my desk and why. Set up a system for dealing with it on a regular basis.

• This post links to Simple Mom, Tackle It Tuesday & Org Junkie
• Make sure to enter the BecoPotty Giveaway ends 4/1 Can & USA