Starting the process at work.

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(22 posts) (8 voices)

Started 2 years ago by stagepin
Latest reply from jbeany
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stagepin
Member

So, I'm going to be trying to clean off my desk here at work. It's not a small undertaking; I'm not naturally an organized person. So, I've been roaming thru the past unclutterer posts after having found this a few weeks ago. I've just started reading the book. I figure I'm more inclined to keep posting to a thread to keep myself motivated than I am to save it all up.

Here's at look at my current working conditions: http://www.flickr.com/photos/31064848@N08/sets/72157622928244193/

I work in my family's HVAC company here in Northern Va. I'm the service manager and most everything in the office passes by me. So, I end up continually putting out fires and end up half-way thru most of my work. I'm kinda tired of my surroundings and am trying to get myself organized. Added to that, I'm going to be gone for a month getting specialized training and I need to have it organized such that the work doesn't stop while I'm gone.

My aim's to spend at least an hour a day getting things in shape, and I figure I'll keep snapping some pictures here and there and updating as I can.

Posted 2 years ago #
MsDasha
Member

Good luck! We'll try our best to keep you motivated!

Posted 2 years ago #
Claycat
Member

Stagepin, thanks for starting an accountability thread! Let's all agree that this is stagepin's thread. That way it doesn't get too confusing! Is that okay?

Stagepin, if you can edit the title, you might put stagepin's office project or something.

Great photos! You are giving me the courage to post mine! Do you have access to extra shelving, stagepin? It seems like that would help. Also, some containers on the shelves to hold cords, videos, etc.

Posted 2 years ago #
stagepin
Member

I have a plan!

I'm going to replace the bookcase behind my desk with two Ikea kitchen cabinets. It gives me storage to get the stuff off my desks and based on what I was poking around with over the weekend, I should only really need about one cabinet's worth of storage. That'll mean if something comes my way, I'll have a home for it.

I'm also going to replace my desk with one that only has one small drawer. This hopefully will get me so that I don't just shove things into a drawer and call it clean.

I'm planning to make the trip to Ikea later today, so hopefully in a few days I'll at least be able to post a photo of them together.

Posted 2 years ago #
MsDasha
Member

@stagepin, if you are getting the cabinets from the Varde series (freestanding with butcher block countertops), they are super nice, but keep in mind that you need a drill to put them together! Good luck and I can't wait to see the results!

Posted 2 years ago #
stagepin
Member

Research Journal
Day #234:

Met with local furniture shaman. Paid due respects and brought many things shaman liked. Walked away with lots of interesting pieces to study.

Research Journal
Day #248:

Have spent last fortnight examining pieces brought back from Ikeanaway. Pictorial histories included with samples quite intriguing. Basic conceptual written math shown on parchment. However it seems to incorrectly detail parts of samples. Always seem to be left with extra parts.

Research Journal
Day #253:

My local guide has left my employ. Left claiming I had been cursed by shaman. Muttered something about spending rest of life forever assembling samples. Warned me to fear a creature called the "Umlaut".

Posted 2 years ago #
stagepin
Member

For six days I've been assembling Ikea furniture. I finally finished. Now I can start the cleaning process. One of the biggest problems I have with my space is that I'm the landing pad for almost all the work in the office. So I've accumulated a bunch of stuff that really should be other places in the office. I'm starting to send these things back to where they came from.

One of the things I've accomplished is redoing the desk in the server room. It's gone from http://www.flickr.com/photos/31064848@N08/4245504602/in/set-72157622928244193/ to http://www.flickr.com/photos/31064848@N08/4245504668/in/set-72157622928244193/ and I've gotten rid of the NAS which stat on my desk.

Posted 2 years ago #
Claycat
Member

That looks a lot better, stagepin! Congratulations on your ongoing progress!

Posted 2 years ago #
stagepin
Member

This is to replace my bookcase. Right now, I'm filling the bins I have bought with stuff from my desk in an organized, task-specific way. I'm hoping to have this finished by next week.

Today, I got the bug to make a charging station out of one of the extra Kassett boxes I had floating around. This is what I came up with:

I've not only got my USB hub and charging cables, but also I've got my manly Superman Returns media reader installed at the bottom.

Posted 2 years ago #
Claycat
Member

I like that cabinet! It's streamlined and has a good work surface.

The charging station is very inventive.

Posted 2 years ago #
stagepin
Member

I'm totally jumping the gun here. But I'm too excited not to post.

So, I've gone from this:

To this:

I have to get home to the family, but I'll post more detail tomorrow. I just had to share.

Posted 2 years ago #
Claycat
Member

Wow! Stagepin, I am so impressed! Congratulations!

Posted 2 years ago #
smartakus
Member

THAT is impressive!

Posted 2 years ago #
stagepin
Member

I had just about enough room to put my arms and function with the computer. The biggest thing I did was get the papers off my desk and filed (still filing today). One of my problems was that the area to the right on my desk was where everyone would drop off things for me to do, and that got crowded, as you can see. I moved that to a filing rack on the counter behind me. That way I only have what I am currently working on in front of me.

I got rid of the three or four office accessory holders in favor of a bathroom organizer that will not only hold more paperclips than the little magnetic dispenser, but also stacks the paperclips, rubber bands and large clips.

I also forced myself to go to a desk with only one small drawer. This is going to force me to not just shove things into the drawers and forget about them for 2 years.

Posted 2 years ago #
stagepin
Member

I figured cheap kitchen cabinets would do a good job of holding the many things on my desk and give me a good work surface. This way I wouldn't have to shove the paperwork to the side to work on a computer. So, I took out the bookcase/pile o' crap and replaced it.

A good amount of what was on my desks were things that I was holding on to. Tools, spare parts, computer cables. Things that were useful, but should have a home. So I made sure to get a lot of bins, figure out how many would go inside one of the cabinets and got things organized.

For the things that other people may need, I took pictures of the contents of the shelf (close to how the shelf was organized) and taped them to the doors. This way anyone who needs something but doesn't know where it would be has a guide.

I ordered an extra pair of 24" shelves to make open shelves between the two big cabinets. I took the opposite side panels and drilled support holes for the shelf pegs on the exterior of the cabinet. This not only made for some nice looking shelves, I didn't have to buy another $100 cabinet. It will look better when we repaint the walls and there's a color in the back.

Posted 2 years ago #
MsDasha
Member

Everything looks so great!

Posted 2 years ago #
nellieb
Member

Wow! Love your idea of using inexpensive kitchen cabinets in your office, totally functional and gives your space a whole new look! Congrats on your decision to not only unclutter your office but also on following through!

Posted 2 years ago #
stagepin
Member

Thanks for the responses! I tell you, already I feel more energized at the end of the day, and I'm only on day two.

Anyway, more detail:

My desk has a countertop next to it. Before I got around to it, it looked like this:

I've moved the three scanners. One of which I gave to someone else in the office so they can scan their own stuff and leave me alone. I made my charging station and gave those cables and devices a home of their own. I also got rid of a bunch of really chunky picture frames in favor of some that take up less space as frames. Now the space feels less like it's going to collapse on me.

I took all the assorted paperwork off the desk, piled them up into a box and have been organizing them today. I've gotten rid of a bunch of trade magazines, and have taken out the articles I want to keep. I've set these aside to scan so I can get rid of the paper copies.

Posted 2 years ago #
Claycat
Member

I love the before and after photos, stagepin! I love how great the kitchen cabinets look. Everything is so streamlined now. It must make your job flow better!

Posted 2 years ago #
athenabyron75
Member

These are awesome. They give me some hopt that I can get my work clutter under control.

Posted 1 year ago #

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