maybe some public humiliation will help

I’m not the most organized person. I have a hard time keeping piles from overtaking every horizontal surface I encounter. I had a hard time throwing out stuff. I’ve gotten better at the tossing and not acquiring so much; but there’s still a 20+ year backlog (not to mention my mum’s stuff).

We live in a one bedroom. I moved into E’s apartment when we married. He had lived here 3 years (I think, we suddenly can’t count, either of us). While I helped with much of the decoration and settling in, when I moved in I ended up with a) a mess of all my stuff as I procrastinated moving out of my studio and b) a difficult time finding where to work. Almost immediately after marriage I stopped full-time work for “the Man” and started focusing on my consulting. So, I needed a home office. Now that I’m a student again, it’s imperative that I have a place I can work.

We looked around and chose a corner of the “main” room which had the most surface area and didn’t involve moving large and heavy pieces of furniture. We installed a shelf that I painted to become my desk, two shelves above. I added a stool for my chair (my choice); and got this bizarre filing cabinet that I insisted to E would work perfectly.

Right.

This is what my workspaces look like today:

a) The couch where I generally end up working because I face into a CORNER and have my back to E and the TV (back to TV isn’t bad, I don’t like my back to E) [photopress:couch_mess.jpg,thumb,pp_image] (I really hope penguin-care services doesn’t take PG away. I’m such a horrible person.)

b) This is the “big” area that I’ve acquired surrounding the desk. See that blue lunchbox? That was going to be for purim schlach manos *TWO* years ago. It’s gotten better actually. I don’t even want to think about how bad it was. And my mother in law has already seen this, so it’s probably not too bad to post it all to the public internet.
[photopress:deskarea_mess.jpg,thumb,pp_image]

c) Here is my desk. I worked on cleaning off the surface of it so I could put my laptop back and work here. But there is a problem. All that “stuff” under the desk. Much of it is active (or semi active) files. Much of it is stuff that should go in the filing cabinet in the closet (the “real” one). The white cabinet to the side is nice, I like it, but I can’t figure out how to make it work. It’s filled with stuff I use on a semi-regular basis and some stuff I forgot is in there. The top drawer has my writing instrument collection and some glue and things. Second has misc craft stuff that has no other home. The third holds other craft odds and ends (which i haven’t used in a long while) The fourth is stationary and notebooks. Fifth comes more stationary notebooks and if I can fit gifts in there they get crammed in. The bottom drawer is for tech odds and ends. That is where the camera cable lives.
[photopress:desk_notreallyclean.jpg,thumb,pp_image]

Those shelves above? I can’t figure out how to make them work out. The other day I cleared off the top one and added the “art” exhibit. The other one has pens and stamps and things I think I need frequently.

No. It hasn’t worked perfectly. I should show you more pictures, but don’t feel like dealing with the process (finding cable, attaching camera, transfer files, edit images for web).

Does anyone have any ideas? I really would love to get this working. I would be thrilled to feel at home and be able to function. Creatively. Efficiently. Happily.

A thought I had was to turn the dining table 90° so it is out of my reach and create a semi L with the cabinets, paint the wall area around the work-area a different shade (perhaps a dark grey) and add a rug to try to separate the area. And I’m totally going to try to either find a gorgeous window-print or something to put on the wall so it doesn’t feel so corner-like.

Any ideas? Suggestions? Comments?

• Category: misc