This makes me feel bad. And crazy. And overwhelmed ON A DAILY BASIS (no not Baby... the room!).
Since babysitting this fall I do have a handle on EVERY other room in the house. (For real)
But this desk just does not work. AT ALL.
Even when the papers are not piled up in teetering towers. As hard as it may be to believe we can actually clean this space up. BUT it will return to this within a few hours or days. This space has just always been the family dumping grounds. In part because this one room has 5 doors leading in and out of it. Partly because it is on the way out (or in) our back door. Partly because it is next to the laundry room (note clothes all over floor and spilling out of closets). Partly because it is Mr F's "dressing room". Partly because it is my "craft room". But mostly because it is apparently a war zone of paper, trash, and junk.
This office has just never worked for us in this house. It does not have adequate storage for the things we actually need to store in here. It doesn't have appropriate furniture that defines the space.
Since the moment we moved in this space has floundered about undefined. This is the room we never really unpacked. This is the room where all those bizarre odds and ends got placed while they awaited their final resting spot (only to remain here FOREVER). This room didn't have to be *presentable* and so it never has been.
One reason I was excited about the prospect of moving was that we could move away from it.
Now we're staying and I need this space to feel less like a large trash can and more like an extension of our house.
And it needs to be my priority.
I need to fix it.
I'll see you all when I have done that (it could be hours... or days... it could be YEARS).
If you want to play along put a link in the comments. I will check them out (on my sanctioned breaks of course)
21 comments:
Hmmm, good luck with that.
:)
hmm, I hate that spot, the spot where the unpacking never really happens, in my house its the guest room closet the only saving grace it offers is a door.
I think we all have a place like this be it a room closet or hell a storage good luck. My immediate thought you need to be nominated for an organizing show they can come in and redo that room for you.Big dreams Im having for your room.
Can you do shelves on the wall? Getting stuff off the desk and at least into bins of some type might feel better, space wise. Also, maybe you could barter with a professional organizer for some type of trade? Cake baking? Babysitting? Video testimonial for the success of their biz?
You've seen Ken's office...I'm in no position to offer advice.
Ummm ... how long should we wait before we worry?! LOL
I have a huge closet like that too .. the catch all the junk & stuff we dont need out closet .. I HATE IT! My craft room also gets like that when I am in a big wave of craftiness! lol
Hope it goes quickly for you!
I am a huge believer in the shelves from Ikea that hold bins. Buy 4, tall white ones, buy bins, in whatever color you want (I prefer them to shelves in most cases of kid stuff- for your crafts shelves may work, you can also buy them in pairs) and see how much better you feel right away. Organisation makes my ulcer stop twitching.
The problem with this space are multi-fold. First it's a small bedroom (originally) 10x 12 (ish). There are double windows, a radiator on one wall, and 5 doors. So there is actually very little usable wall space. On top of that we need two desks. Ideally we also need a space for a guest bed. The closets are full of our clothes (other bedroom does not have enough storage). And I have a cabinet of baking things in here that doesn't fit in the kitchen (adjoins) and must be in this space.
Shelves? Yes. Bins? No. We are not people who can keep bins organized. We have bins all over this house. For somethings they work but most of what we need to organize in here is paperwork and magazines and such. It isn't so much that we don't know what we need as much as it is that we can't afford new furniture. At our old house Mr F had his own office. My desk was in a separate room. Laundry & baking & art stuff did not need to be stored in either space.
What we need is another (or two) filing cabinets, shelving, rug, window treatments & ideally matching desks (or a large corner desk... although I'm scared of sharing space). We just need about $1200 and we'd be good to go. I'm past trying to make this stuff function. Neither of our desks have any real storage. We need functional furniture that at least goes together so we can have a cohesive feel.
What I want is two matching desks w/ adequate drawers back to back in the middle of the room. Shelves w/ cabinet along the wall that Mr F has. And a small sofabed type thing where my desk is. That would satisfy all our needs while still leaving access to all the closets.
Okay I just found Steelcase grey office desks... you know... like the industrial steel desks that schools have (or social workers... I had one)... for $50/each. They've got plenty of storage and they kind of lend a funky industrial "we're doing this on purpose" feel.
Definitely a contender.
I also found all sorts of cubicles and that makes me laugh so hard I almost want to get one!
That's what you need to do!! Set up cubicles in there. You can all have one. AND you and Mr. F wouldn't have to see each other while y'all are working. Unless you groundhog. ;)
Robin,
I have successfully avoid doing any cleaning by searching for random office furniture. I just found a receptionists *station*... which is so fucking funny. It even has one of those little ledges like Pam on The Office. Oh God!! It would be so funny!
Off to check out Overstocks.com
I'm getting furniture in here by the end of the week!
Welcome to normal, with kids.
You know, on the bed note...how is the roof in there? Are there any rafters that are very strong or anything? Weird question I know..But, I saw an office/ play room once in a magazine that also played guest room. The beauty of it all was that it was a regular old bed on a semisolid frame attached to "Swing set-esque" chains and hung from the ceiling..it has really cute quilts and pillows..it wasn't all "creepy sex room" looking either. LOL...it was actually really cute and artsy.
KInda the same feel as these:
http://www.progressivefarmer.com/farmer/store/images/bed.jpg
http://img4.coastalliving.com/i/2009/06/neutrals-9-l.jpg
inkelywinkely,
"it wasn't all "creepy sex room" looking either"
Bwahahahahahahahaha! That is the funniest thing ever!
I need to get this. How funny would that be? Plus it solves almost all our problems. There is room for Mr F's computer, plenty of room for me, and bonus the kids and pile all their shit on their too!
I'm still laughing from "inkelywinkely"!!!! So funny - I'm glad you can't see my dining room table right now - there is no excuse - it is just me here!!!!
I had (and still have in the US) a big old Steelcase desk. I had it powdercoated a really gorgeous Vespa green, for $50. But that might be an option only available in the Bronx....
Kiki, I DIDN'T get to see Ken's office, and I feel like I really missed out!
My "desk" is actually an ancient IKEA kitchen table—just four legs and a top—so no drawers or sides to hide all of my shit.
Mrs F's desk is really a console table. It has a couple of tiny drawers but the table is only like 18 inches deep.
Theoretically we could probably get away with having one effective, real desk. We almost never are in here working at the same time, and when we are, Mrs F could laptop it up sitting on the couch we'd have room for with only one desk...
I need space for a big(gish) screen, tower and keyboard, so my computer would need to reside on the desk, but I actually don't really do anything else at my desk except store broken toys I need to glue for the kids and the miscellaneous clay sculptures and drawings they are constantly handing me.
The first thing we need to add to the room is a 39-gallon trash can. If I throw enough of my shit away, can I convince Mrs F to go single-desk-style?
This desk/office-panic must be something that happens post Halloween/pre-Holidays? Maybe it's cold weather or daylight savings time making us feel trapped inside?
Who knows?
But here is a post from exactly two years ago to the day.
We have made progress...
Mr.Furious, You didn't miss out...Ken's office is an atrocity of unknown proportions...he could barely stand it that Mrs F. had seen it! You'd think the humiliation would be enough to get him motivated...but no, it's still a disaster!
We have a room in the basement that is THAT room. I straighten it up, and two days later, it's a sty again. Anything that didn't get unpacked is labeled and stored in that room, but that stuff is still organized. Why? Because MY HUSBAND has never had any reason to look at it. I should take a picture of that room and post it on my blog, Mrs. F. It would probably make you feel... well, if not better, at least not alone in the world.
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