A Place for Everything. Yes, Everything.

I feel ahead most days when I've got breakfast cooked before Xan gets up... 2/3s of a french press in my belly... and some kind of organizational plan going. That's where I trip up a bit. I'm always getting some sort of organization GOING. It is the keeping up with that trips me up. That red flag means that it's not the right organization tool. I'm thinking... guessing... still sorting out. I am a place maker!! An urban designer... I sort out all kinds of messed up street circulation, bizarre building configurations and even the wacky transit route or two. Why can't my office come together?? Well, John and I need an office space together. Something creative for us to work on our projects both paying and hobby.

Today, it was organizing a little thing my computer desktop so that I remember to log my hours when I work on a project. AND that I needed a daily task list. Where do I put that?? I don't want a post it stuck to my screen. I live in a world that is 80% analog and 20% digital. In fact, I create the digital image most of the time just to draw over it!! Ah, well. Right now my desk is such a disaster. I thought about photographing it for you, but then embarrassment set in and I started straightening before I was going to take the photo... Then I thought maybe the embarrassment MIGHT get me motivated! LOL... What an odd gal. So here is the photo. Please... don't judge too harshly. Afterall, this is a work in progress. John and I have big plans for the weekend cleaning and office/ craft space creation!!

Office of Shame

Yes, room is in desperate state after 3 days of charettes and meetings. With no crafting love here.

On the boards... A new pattern book and some little houses.

"Filing" system... or at least filing of some kind. Repurposed certainly. System is definitely stretching it.

Printer is organized! Sort of. Don't pay any attention to the mess on the floor....

John bought me this for my art supplies!! They are happily organized :)

So, the office is a disaster with only paper, some drawing filing and office supplies with a place. I also need some desperate help in the kitchen, bath and Xan's toys. Recycling is taking over the garage... as I can never remember every other week it goes out when?? And soda cans are worth $$ here!! So I need a clever way to pack that in the kitchen or mud room or something. There are dog things and kid things and Rebekah things and John things... everywhere! I've been Pinterest stalking some ideas... But I am on a budget and need something SIMPLE!!

The only thing is... I'm not a fan of labeled cloth lined grassy baskets. Everyone likes clear plastic containers and wicker. I don't like either in my office. I do like drawers. And thankfully our new space has cupboards and drawers. I don't mind boxes of holiday things in the basement or maybe in the bathroom... But office. Nope. Baskets get me in TROUBLE. So do some boxes for that matter. They always start out nice and organized... papers in this one, art stuff in that one... Then there is a day that I need to clean quickly and move things for a project and all of a sudden the box of "invoices/ receipts only" becomes a paper box of everything! I will share a photo of the new space on Sunday when it is completely cleaned out... You wouldn't believe the crazy right now. YIKES! My grandparents weren't hoarders... but they were... well... maybe I'm in denial?? They certainly kept EVERYTHING!! LOL!!

Maybe I'm asking for the world here... is it possible to have "things" that aren't perfect and have organization??  Or maybe I need an assistant?!

A note on "things". John and I both have a couple boxes of moments and memories. What to do with them?? They are good memories from travels etc. I'm not a scrappy scrapbooker... yet? However, I do like this idea for travel/ place journals that I pictured below. So that would be one box down! And it could fit nicely on a bookshelf in several little volumes - Rome, London, Athens, Winchester... . I have a lot of bookshelves. I like bookshelves. I actually like binders a lot. I could have a binder for everything. Only I'd like them to match! I need to order about 100 white 2" binders... That could work. But, as we know... not everything fits in an 8.5 x 11 binder. Which is most of my stuff... bummer. I guess I need to learn to live with containers of stuff. Wow... I can ramble. I'm glad you all can handle me.

Sometimes I wonder... why did I keep this stuff? Other times I think... WOW that was a great memory

I briefly mentioned that John and I were moving the office to a new location in the house. Upstairs! The house used to have a kitchen upstairs when my grandparents first moved into the house the lower floor was his doctor's office. So the upstairs was an apartment. My cousin Mike has been over the past two days helping me get my grandparents things in their right place so that John and I even have a place for our things. Christmas pile... paper pile... storage... donation... trash... etc. It has been a HUGE task that looks like someone ransacked the house. However, my grandparents weren't organizers but they sure were collectors! I have 2 boxes of christmas paper plates. uh huh. I'm not kidding. 3 grocery bags of sunglasses. 2 shoe boxes of exclusively Christmas jewelry - mostly pins.

Well, it's scheduled for this Saturday and Sunday to be put into shape! Mom, sis and even John is taking the weekend off to get it all set! Probably not painted yet as the weather has turned extremely cold here... But cleaned and organized. Can't wait to share the photos!