Welcome to my Home Office

This week I wanted to share many things that I had been working on; like my binders, my filing system, how I organized my fridge, and laundry room.

Since I had to start somewhere, I decided to start broad and work my way to the little things.

Its still a work in progress, I have to be sure the way it is situated now will work for the long haul before I can ever consider it done. However it has been working for this past month.

First the before:

At this time I was just using my laptop in the living room since that's where my husband, The Rooster, always was with his. The truth is our office chairs, although cheap (free), are incredibly uncomfortable so he hates it in here. My desk became a catch-all for everything that didn't belong in the rest of the house. Most of this stuff already has a home, but life took over and I didn't have enough time to put it there. I decided to focus on my two businesses (one for costumes, and the other for printables).  Other than my stores, I do not make any money from the items I am linking here. I am only trying to show you where you can get the items I have or similar ones.

Working like this just wasn't working. So I got to it, I played some music, and sorted everything. I used the only touch it once rule. Once I picked something up, I put it in its home or created one for it.

Now my desk looks like this:

I still have a lot going on here, but its all organized in a way that makes sense to me. Let me break it down:

In the far corner I have my Dollar Tree calendar that I can use for multiple peoples schedules, my world map for an upcoming project, and my whiteboard for quick notes. Below that, I have 3 of my binders; bill paying, home management, and business/blog along with a clipboard and some calendar stickers. I keep my program/game CD-roms in a small cardboard box, same with my markers and glue sticks (those are my most used craft items). I also have a stack of cds, and my little army buddy from the frg. I'm supposed to put a picture of Rooster in there when he deploys again, but for now it's home to his extra rank patches. Then there is my sewing machine, pin cushion, and tablet (yes, I often use both my tablet and my computer at the same time). I got that tablet stand at the 99cent store. Under this I have my fabric storage:

I made my own bolts out of foam core poster-board. I cut them to fit and then wrapped the fabric around them. I got the idea from Pintrest, but it's here. This only houses amounts that can make a good project. Once they get to small, they migrate to my scraps bin in the closet.

Here is the area for the stuff I use the most. Its on the right side because I am right handed. My action box and to file box are right near the front . I found out how to make my own re-writable file tabs from Organizing Home Life right here. I use them for things that need a folder, and my active files. Right now, Ive done my taxes so they need a home, and so do the new retirement documents. I am also redoing my will and power of attorney. Up top is a clip for my recent important receipts, my lamp, that has spots for pens, business cards, post-its and sd cards Believe it or not, that lighter is for sewing purposes, I do NOT smoke, and would never in my house anyway. There is an e-reader under that next to my plethora of pens, highlighters, and markers in my Target $1 spot find. I finally upgraded to a tape dispenser for $2.50 when BigLots had there back to school sale. I have another cup with extra filing labels. I have my power center; everything is plugged in here and I can turn things on and off all in the same spot. Its very efficient, plus it is a surge protector. I made my own labels to go over the default ones, because I don't have a desktop computer.

This brings me to under my desk:

I used an under-the-shelf organizer to house my laptop. I plugged in a monitor my mother gave me and my wireless mouse an keyboard I got from BigLots for $25. Here is a similar set. To the left is my expandable file I keep warranty info and user guides for almost everything. My Life.doc binder, my medical binder, my super attractive storage solution for extra paper, labels, and ink. Sewing machine peddle, a cheapie paper shredder (need to upgrade, got it for $3 at a thrift store), a Dollar Tree trash bin, and my Brother label maker that I adore, a thrift store find at $2.

Top drawer, it stays really neat without dividers so I never bothered:

Second drawer, for mailing stuff:

I just got that date stamper from Targets $1 spot, it was $3 and the ink pad was less then desirable so I use a different one I had.
The bottom drawer is my filing cabinet. It still needs a little bit of prettying up, but it is pretty much organized the way I want it:

Next to my desk on the right side, I have things that pertain to my sewing business; like active patterns, labeling tools, and also my stamps. On top are my paper cutter and 3-hole-punch. Here is the link for the stand at BigLots:

Now we come to the closet. On the back of the door is a shoe hanger from BigLots for my paints and other little craft supplies. At the bottom, where you cant see, I have my cameras and accessories, extra cords, extra batteries, and chargers . The lower bins hold my sewing things, like half finished projects and scraps, and misc craft items. I still have 3 large boxes of scrap-booking supplies in another room. The basket is full of things I have to mend, and the purple kit is full of my most used sewing tools:

Up top, I have my pattern boxes an my current project with all the pieces I need, tools and notions, spare computer parts, laptop bags, sewing machine case, and a really old (really heavy) singer sewing machine. I would like to display this somewhere, but I don't know where or how yet:

Last, but not least, we come to the Rooster's side of the office:

He doesn't have very much stuff in here, but it serves it's purpose.

Well, that's my home office, Id love to hear about yours! Feel free to contact me, or leave a comment.
Thanks for stopping by,