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Tuesday 25 February 2014

Office C A L M

When there's many things in life to consider, and days fill of different deeds that require concentration, it's much easier to find that peace for working when the surroundings for working are somehow in order. 

I have spent some time lately diving deep into the land of organizing videos to find inspiration for my work space at the shop. 
My work space has open shelving under a counter top, and it's all too easy to just let the shelves get filled with junk to get it out of the way for now. I also use a certain number of binders daily at work, and their storage space has been a few steps away from the counter. It has provided me with about five extra steps worth of moving daily, but is becoming a nuisance, because I have to reach for the folders so many times. So I needed a re-do, and I've been working on it slowly, bit by bit, and solution by solution.

I've watched Alejandra's YouTube-videos from her website for inspiration. She's an American organizer who seems to find storage solutions to just about anything. I think I'd personally prefer a lot smaller amount of things to organise in the first place, and shiver at the sight of her pen collection (I don't think I've ever seen that many pens at one go), but her videos are fun and show her enthusiasm and love for color. And who wouldn't be inspired by fun and color?!

I took her advice, and carefully measured the nearest shelf below my desk to fit my most needed daily folders. I found these beautifully coloured and to my eyes calm binders first online, but then found out my local bookshop is selling them for half price, so instead of ordering them and getting them delivered to the door, I put on my winter boots and walked to the bookshop to collect them myself. 


And now I have my four most needed binders right at hand, just when I need them. Before this, one of them lived two steps away in the opposite direction, forcing me to bend over to floor level to pick it up (and because it's the bookkeeping binder, it's used sometimes several times a day). Two others lived on this shelf, along with some miscellany of cd's, wool yarn, hangers, baskets and a cup. The fourth binder (which had kiwi fruits on the cover) lived next to this shelf on the floor, because it had no space anywhere else. I don't have a "before" -picture of this shelf, but believe me, it's probably all for the best.

The wee shelf above this one got a revamp too.
It is the home of the daily most needed things at the shop - the receipts, the calculator, and the back-up drive.
Now it has everything arranged so that it's out of sight, but easy to reach for, even if you're not looking AT what you're looking FOR. All the extra rubbish is gone, and everything on the shelf is needed daily. I also love the way there's no space for the extra rubbish now - the spaces are used for good.


On the counter top live the Stress Tool Cards from Living With Ease - course I did in January. They help me daily. Here's hoping this one is helping you out too:


So is there something where you work/write/play that would need a revamp? Some thought? Arranging? What could be better where you spend most of your productive time? 



2 comments:

Sandra Pawula said...

How lovely, Anne! I've been going through my last three boxes of clutter and either discarding or looking for a place for these things. So your revamp of your shelves is so inspiring to me. Thanks for sharing. Love that you continue to use the stress tool cards. :)

Anne-Marika said...

Thanks Sandra! The tool cards are there every day. Today they say "concentrate". Your "last three boxes" sounds good. It sounds like the end of a round. I've noticed, that after the initial first cull, once I get settled into the new found space and harmony, it's much easier to pick the things that weren't originally decluttered the first time around and to see their value and worth more clearly. For my home and work life, a couple of months after the first round I tend to go over the space that's been cleared to appreciate the space and calm, and to see if there's something that can be let go of now. Usually there is. For me it seems to be an ongoing process, and I love that. I think in a couple of month's time I'll go over the binders again and see if there's anything worth not saving :)