Tidy Office Update

About a year and a half ago, I turned our very rudimentary laundry area into a double-duty laundry/office for the spring One Room Challenge. During that project, I uncovered the original shiplap, installed new cabinets, and brought in an electrician to update all of the wiring. The room was greatly improved.

Before that update, my “office,” which really just consisted of a laptop and my camera equipment, migrated around the house. It didn’t really matter where I worked. However, once I started the podcast, finding a permanent location became more important. I had recording equipment to set up and store, and sound management became an issue.

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Despite the serious office upgrade, I found I still needed more storage. So, this week, I added a small bank of upper cabinets, and it’s made a world of difference.

Before I added the new cabinets, my office looked like this:

As time went by, I began piling my equipment, the mail, whatever, on that counter, and soon, I had my own little hoarder-level disaster. For some reason, I have no photos of that. You’ll just have to feel my shame via the words on this page.

Rather than build something new, I opted to install two unfinished project source wall cabinets from Lowe’s. I chose a 30″ x 30″ and an 18″ to line up with the existing lowers. I painted them the same way I painted the unfinished cabinets for the One Room Challenge.

For once, everything came together quickly, and there were no real hitches in the process. Like every good organizational project, it began with decluttering, and here’s where everything that made the cut landed.

My daughter’s homework fits in the magazine file. Since I use my cordless drill so often, I keep it handy along with a bluetooth speaker (similar) and a few office supplies.

My top drawer also includes tools that I regularly use and important items that I grab almost every day.

I also dedicated one full drawer to my camera equipment and one to the running gear I reach for, depending on the need.

One of my favorite things is the little electric fireplace. The one I have is out of stock, but I linked to something similar. It keeps me toasty warm while I am (still) restoring the windows in here.

In the largest drawer, I stored the cords and items that I reach for the most. They are very specific to my job, and it thrills me not to have to root through a tangle of cords to find what I need.

The rest of the room came together with a small yellow vintage bookshelf I scavenged from my son’s room after he scored something larger. The yellow bookcase came from Andy’s childhood home originally. I keep a few books there, my sun lamp, diffuser, and some decorative items.

Admittedly, the other side of the room closely resembles a dentist’s office with the new clear file holders, but they help me keep the clutter off the counter.

Now, I can use the counter for a short-term landing zone instead of long-term storage.

This quick little project makes me so happy. All of the info for my writing projects and podcasting is close at hand. There is ample space for my daughter and me to work on her school work too.

When I am stuck creatively, I love being able to look at the birds and deer out my window and daydream a little.

Future owners may not use this room as an office, but the cabinets make excellent overflow kitchen storage, and more storage is never a bad thing.

What a satisfying project!

And with that, I declare the tidy office complete for now. Clean office, clear mind, or something like that.

For the rest of the year, I don’t have much planned for the blog, but 2021 will be a very productive year here at BHH. I look forward to sharing more projects. There is a lot of good stuff ahead.