Day 7, Bedroom - Part 1

Ugh.  I feel like I got nothing done in here today!  Now I did get a WHOLE bunch of laundry done and put away, educated the children, fixed 3 meals, did next week's school prep, and a host of other things.  But not a lot got done on the Project.  So here's what I DID do.  A little background info - my desk sits next to my nightstand.  I have a fab desk chair that rocks and reclines and is super comfy, which is important because I spend a lot of time in it.  Unfortunately, it takes up a whole lot of space on my already-space-limited side of the bed.  Because of the chair arms, you can't push it under the desk.

So a while back I bought a new desk chair.  It's been cluttering up the hallway for quite some time.  Today I decided to put it together and try it out.  I opened the box and found all the parts to the chair (hallelujah) as well as an assortment of toys, jewelry and other junk that small people around here apparently have been tossing in there on their way down the hall!  Anyway, here's what it looked like with the new chair:

Lots more space!  The only problem is, I don't like it.  I sat in it for awhile and it's a nice chair, good back support and great for sitting at the desk writing or typing.  But it doesn't recline!  It's not comfy!  How can I kick back and watch Netflix on my computer if I can't kick back???  So, I decided to compromise.

That's right, I'm keeping them both.  Someday when this decluttering is done, I hope to switch to a smaller desk which will take up less space on my side of the room.  When that happens, I'll make a decision.  For now, this works because the kids love to sit at the desk with me or sit together when they have their computer time. 

I also turned this...

into 3 full bags of laundry to take to the laundry room.  Pictures of that area will come once it's completely decluttered.  Stay tuned!

Day 4, Desk revisited

When I posted the picture of my desk "clean and organized" it occurred to me that it was also really cluttered.  So after some thinking, I decided to put away all the office supplies, paper, etc. out of sight.  For now, that means it went into my empty dresser.  I have decided that the perfect substitute for the dresser would be our old hutch that is currently in the basement.  Just the bottom of it, that is.  It's got 2 drawers and two doors with shelves inside.  It will be a perfect stand for my dollhouse and perfect storage for the office supplies, without being a big overwhelming piece of furniture like the desk is.  In the meantime, here's the before and after of the desk.



BEFORE:  Clean and organized

AFTER:  Clean, organized AND clutter-free!



Day 1, Desk

Since I am still under the weather, though feeling better than I was, I decided to start where I was.  I've been spending a lot of time sleeping and lying in bed.  My desk is right next to my bed, so that is where I started!  My "desk" is actually a 6-foot table.  Before, I had one of those nice armoire desks where you could close the doors and no one could see inside.  But there are a lot of problems with those desks.  1) you can close the door and pretend there's no mess inside, 2) you can lose things (at least I can), 3) in our house, mice tend to think that kind of desk is perfect for nesting!  Ewww!  So I decided I wanted a desk with no doors, drawers or cubby holes whatsoever.  Unfortunately, this type of desk also is an easy dumping ground in my bedroom for everyone's stuff.  So Day 1, I decided to tackle this project.  I regret not taking a 'before' photo, but here is what it looked like after:

Now this is where my "Clean House" inspiration comes in.  Even though my desk is now clean AND organized, I realized from this photo that it is still CLUTTERED.  So I am working on a plan to actually change this.  My dresser is completely empty since I keep my clothes in the family closet/laundry room. I realized that not only is the dresser serving only one purpose (as a stand for my dollhouse), it is HUGE.  So my new plan is to get a smaller stand for the dollhouse and also use it for storage for desk items such as paper, envelopes, etc.  More on that later.