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April Office Area Challenge - Come Join! - Page 4

post #61 of 78
4/16/07 at 11:20am
I pulled together the office supplies under the desk and Freecycled them this weekend. Still lots more to do. DH is going to take some stuff to his new private office at work, which will help some. But we still need to deal with his files, notebooks, and tapes: things only he can truly declutter.

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post #62 of 78
4/16/07 at 11:23am
Hi everyone,

I haven't really made much of a dent on my office yet, I am hoping to have some time to work on it today and tomorrow.
post #63 of 78
4/16/07 at 10:47pm
Our income tax money should be in tomorrow, so we get to go buy paint and curtains!
post #64 of 78
4/18/07 at 10:06am
DH started sorting his cassette tapes! : We've got a long way to go, but the process has started! He's enjoying rediscovering a number of 'treasures': a tape of himself and his sister telling jokes when he was about four years old, a tape of his mother reading her mother's diary from WWII (they were German refugees and her stories are amazing).
post #65 of 78
4/18/07 at 2:45pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Thalia View Post
DH started sorting his cassette tapes! : We've got a long way to go, but the process has started! He's enjoying rediscovering a number of 'treasures': a tape of himself and his sister telling jokes when he was about four years old, a tape of his mother reading her mother's diary from WWII (they were German refugees and her stories are amazing).
That is so cool! I have some tapes like that that l am so afraid I will throw out by accident as they are in some random box in the basement right now. As time passes tho, it is less likely that i will still have a working cassette player to listen to them on...
post #66 of 78
4/18/07 at 4:15pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by greenmansions View Post
That is so cool! I have some tapes like that that l am so afraid I will throw out by accident as they are in some random box in the basement right now. As time passes tho, it is less likely that i will still have a working cassette player to listen to them on...
Yes, we no longer have a cassette deck, and I'm worried that the tapes themselves are degrading over time (some are 20 years old!). DH is listening to the tapes on a little handheld player for now. We have to borrow a stereo-type cassette player in order to transfer these tapes to digital format.
post #67 of 78
4/18/07 at 5:22pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Thalia View Post
Yes, we no longer have a cassette deck, and I'm worried that the tapes themselves are degrading over time (some are 20 years old!). DH is listening to the tapes on a little handheld player for now. We have to borrow a stereo-type cassette player in order to transfer these tapes to digital format.
I know what you mean re degrading, mine for sure are and the last time I listened to them was about 5 years ago and they were already choppy sounding. Mine have my grandmother on them talking about family history. I guess this is lighting a fire under me to get them transferred to digital. I would love to transcribe them also into a booklet for the family, and translate it for the younger ones who don't speak the language anymore.
post #68 of 78
4/19/07 at 9:36am
Quote:
Originally Posted by kellid View Post
I want to join. I have to be motivated. We just moved in, but we are short on cash and storage solutions of any price are not going to happen so I search for free stuff. We'll see.

MY OFFICE BEDROOM PICTURE TOUR

WHAT I LIKE BEST ABOUT MY OFFICE AREA

http://http://farm1.static.flickr.com/231/465037883_4bf9f0a432.jpg?v=0

It's a separate room and I love the desk. Garage sale find.

WHAT I LIKE LEAST ABOUT MY OFFICE BEDROOM

We have no storage solutions for all the office stuff. We just move and left everything behind.

HOT SPOTS (spots in your room that tend to collect clutter)

The whole thing, we just moved in.

MY PLAN OF ACTION

To get it done.
added a pic. late, but I made it. Now I have to fix it.
post #69 of 78
4/21/07 at 12:57am
Got the three or four boxes open boxes of tools and hardware and what not organized. Formerly they were in open bins that had a tendency to fall on one's head and make a huge mess whenever you needed a hammer or a nail. Few things more annoying than having a box of nails spill out all over the floor.

I consolidated the tools and hardware into one (new) metal toolbox and one (new) container for storing screws and nails. I tossed an old broken bin (not recyclable in my area, unfortunately) and cleaned the other two plastic bins. They now hold extra IKEA parts , and rolls of duct and packing tape.

I was surprised that the metal toolbox only cost $16.99. I thought metal toolboxes were much more spendy than that. I had looked for a used one on Freecycle, but no luck.

I also managed to give away via Freecycle a deadbolt lock and a tiny package of license plate fasteners that I knew we wouldn't be using anytime soon. I love seeing that kind of stuff find a good home! I was also happy to find out that the old "Do It Herself" toolkit box I didn't want anymore (after salvaging the remaining tools) IS recyclable, the entire thing! Taking it to the center tomorrow with the other recyclies.

I also found and resuscitated a lambswool duster that was wedged behind all those boxes. I now have the the most complete dusting kit ever: two ostrich feather dusters (one petite and one large), a microfilament duster, and a lambswool duster.

Ahhhhhh, that sure felt good.
post #70 of 78
4/21/07 at 1:32am
All I've done so far this month is file some papers and thin out the "to shred" pile (most of which was just paper that could be recycled - now it's just sensitive docs to shred). THAT'S IT!! DH and I are going to try to do a little tonight... I'm feeling the crunch, though. Only 10 days left!! :
post #71 of 78
4/22/07 at 12:35am

Slow progress

DH went through more of his tapes tonight. He's a writer, so he has lots of old tapes of himself just talking into a recorder, taking notes. All way before I met him. Interesting stuff. Also tapes from friends in college dictating letters from abroad, and another of himself with an old roommate and his sister, all stoned, just talking. DH hates sitting down to do the sorting, but once he actually does it, he enjoys finding all these little pieces of history.

While he went through them, I washed the dishes, put away the dry goods groceries, cleaned out the shelves in the top of our office closet, and listed a bunch of stuff on Freecycle. All the shelves up there are now clear, so I can take stuff that's cluttering up the rest of the house but necessary to keep and store it up there: yay!
post #72 of 78
4/24/07 at 2:11am
well, i am very disappointed in myself. i got hardly anything done in this room! i only have two rooms left in the house to do, but they are by far the hardest!
i am so overwhelmed by clutter!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
anyone pass on some good hints to deal with this?
this is a very important room to keep clean, since it is the first room you enter when you walk in, but i just can't get it done!
post #73 of 78
4/25/07 at 2:37am
well i mist have lighted a fire under my butt, coming here to complain. got a good amount of stuff done today, just a dent, but got it started
post #74 of 78
4/25/07 at 3:38pm
aaaaaccckkkkkk....i am failing miserably in this room. we got the big boxes out of the middle which is a start but everytimg i pick anything up ds comes in and pulls 6 more things out to take its place amongst the clutter. the rooms almost looks worse now than it did to begin with.

please tell me it is possible to clean a room with an almost 2 year old. i just need encouragement i think. im still trying but it just keeps getting worse.:
post #75 of 78
4/27/07 at 4:32pm

Just wondering...

What's the room for next month?
post #76 of 78
4/27/07 at 6:05pm
I'm such a dork. I just realized that I haven't been posting here at all this month, even though I've been dilligently working on my office!

Well, there's no point in filling out the form this late in the game. For me, the big task has basically just been to get my papers organized, because they have been waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay out of control, um, pretty much my whole life. I have made major, major progress, and I'm sooooo proud of myself! I'm really starting to FINALLY feel organized! :

I've decided, because of space issues, to convert to accordion files instead of a filing cabinet. Our "office" is in our dinette, and it's bad enough that we have to eat our meals right next to our desk (which has a gigantor printer on it), and having the filing cabinet right there just makes me say "yuck!". It's not gone yet, but it will be soon!
post #77 of 78
4/29/07 at 1:36am
I'm nearly done. I bought a new 3 drawer filing cabinet (one for paper and pens, a locking one for checks, labels, permanent markers and other things I don't want dd getting into, and one for files). I completely overhauled my filing system----out went 2 bags of recycling and 1 bag of shredding (still needs shredding). I printed labels for new folders and tabs for hanging files. It's organized, streamlined and very easy to use! One tip---I made one manila folder per hanging folder with matching labels. When I pull out a folder I know right where to return it. So far so good!
I also got a new palm pilot since my old one has been causing me trouble for a whole year. My Dh spent a couple hours getting my data right and sync'd for me (so thankful).
My LLL books are now neatly in a cloth bag on top of the filing cabinet instead of piled on the floor. My hotspot-the tiny shelf between my desk and the kitchen now holds only a jar of coins, a jar of rocks, and a glass of water at most. I bought a small notebook to scribble, take notes, and make lists on rather than trying to keep track of random slips of paper. I put a single manila folder on my desk to keep my active reading/bills, etc, rather than a huge pile.
I'm very excited about my progress. Next up, challenge or not, is trying to get all kid/baby stuff into my dd's room (and random stuff out of the closet in there).


Still to do:
re-tie wires under the desk
shred
take pictures!
post #78 of 78
4/30/07 at 11:52pm
We didn't get the office painted/decorated, but we did get it decluttered, cleaned and organized. I am feeling really good about it!

You may also like:

Sitting or Squatting: What's Really Best in the Bathroom?
There Is Not Always a "Fix" For the Difficult Child
10 Things You Don't Need For a New Baby
Mothering › Mothering Discussion Forums › Natural Family Living › The Mindful Home › Decluttering, Organizing, & Simplifying › April Office Area Challenge - Come Join!