My personal life has been hectic and stressful over the last couple weeks…to put it mildly. I’m writing a blog post about some of it soon, but can’t begin to explain how therapeutic it’s been to have the house completely to myself. Even if it’s only 6 hours of peace, a house can drastically change with this lady behind the wheel. Closets torn apart and put back together, laundry done, folded and put away, dinners prepped and playroom sorted out. But the big project topping the hit list is my home office.

Over the last 3 years, I’ve shared different cleaned up versions of the space. But the furniture has all stayed the same. I have the Pottery Barn Bedford Collection desk in black and their Studio Wall Shelving in black. I love love this set, and couldn’t believe my good fortune when it relocated from Arkansas and fit like a glove in here. But I’m ready for a change. I want light and bright…and I’ve also taken on the road toward less paper. Therefore, I don’t need all this filing space anymore.

I’m sure many of you are familiar with the One Room Challenge hosted by Calling It Home. I applied earlier this year and haven’t heard a response yet (crossing everything to be one of the few chosen!), but whether they accept me or not, I’m joining the challenge and my home office is going to transform!

Let’s first start with where summer left off and then I’ll share the after of my efforts. This morning I threw on my favorite podcasts and went to town…you should see the back of my truck. Yay!

Summer was insane. Let’s just be honest. I was working a ton, my kids were busy and then all of the sudden back to school hit. So my poor desk was not very happy over the last couple weeks…

 

Paper piles everywhere!

The master bedroom is near my home office so I see this space everyday whether I’m in here working or not. It was weighing on me.

My wall shelving needed some love too…

While this may look tidy and you’re scratching your head, trust me. The baskets were hiding everything.

One of my biggest issues in here is the back wall of the office…

At one point, I had a green linen cover over the tall white shelf, but it was intended for a playroom or children’s space. I removed the cover a while ago leaving us with this view. My little work table is never cleaned off. It’s too easy to drop products for review, client projects or home stuff…

This is just a folding table I placed here out of convenience for when I need to spread out work materials or a project. The surface space is never enough for my needs though. The rolling drawer systems underneath are also a temporary situation that moved into the space from Arkansas. But as with other baskets and drawers throughout the office, I knew so much of this stuff wasn’t being used and needed to go. My ultimate goal today was getting so much accomplished the tall white shelf would be gone and I won! #winning

I sorted through and touched every single space and thing. Bags and bags of stuff are gone. Now my favorite chair from the old house is sitting pretty in the corner…making for a much nicer view as I come up the stairs…

Again, this is temporary. But for now I would much prefer that view. As far as the little project table, that is looking much better also!…

Every drawer was sorted out and now contains the materials needed for client or blog work.

My desktop surface is cleaned up – papers sorted through, hanging wall files cleaned up and ready for the new school year, and I removed a few storage pieces not being used…

Sitting here typing away hasn’t felt this good in a long time.

My wall shelving got a whole lot of attention. With the white shelf moving out, I had to make the most of this space. These had to make it all come together…

And I did!

The 9 open-topped bins you see were purchased long ago in the Target $1 section. One of my favorite finds and had to grab them. I actually had quite a few on hand but ended up using a good majority in client homes. Everything on the shelves and in the magazines files or bins is something I use or need to reach for on occasion.

It’s a great feeling!

This corner of the office has been a pain point for me. It’s where the printer sits and a lot of items that need to be plugged in or charged live here. There’s a lot of outlets hiding behind the little white shelf that requires everything to huddle in this spot.

So, as I sit here breathing a bit easier after a major clean up, I’m dreaming of how I want to transform this space. I have a lot of ideas and am putting together a big post of inspiration (look for that soon!). I want to do the whole deal – new shelves, desk, window covering, rug, maybe a long wall of cabinets with a huge work surface on top, maybe a window seat. What I love about the One Room Challenge is that you’re paired up with a designer…that is my biggest downfall in all of this. I’d love to have someone with a design eye hear my dream and then put together the pieces to make it a reality. I’m dreaming of a totally clear glass desk with nothing underneath. Kinda like this…

However, the desktop would need to accommodate my iMac as I need a large screen while working. Isn’t that such a pretty office? Love the window coverings too!

I’m really loving the idea of a desk in the middle of the space.

If I can’t afford a built-in situation, I love these wall shelves…

These would look pretty on either side of the window and still offer tons of space to grab whatever I would typically need in a desk drawer.

I’ve seen a lot etagere shelves around the web…

( via )

I’m not trying to be trendy and jump on that bandwagon, but do love how open and light they are…as opposed to my heavy, dark shelving. I can add pretty storage boxes and other decor.

Alternatively I’d love a wall of cabinets with a reading nook / bench and have my desk floating in the middle…

Isn’t that beautiful!? I could totally go to the ceiling on either side of the window and there would be tons of storage – hidden and open. Love the simplicity and those little sconces too.

Just dreaming away over here! But I’ll do a bigger inspo post so if they choose me, I’ll be prepared and ready to hit the ground running.

Any of you enjoying that quiet time at home getting organized in YOUR spaces? It does feel amazing! I’m heading back to Los Angeles this weekend for a very fun organizing project…be sure to check in on Instagram to see what I’m up to!

Happy back to school organizing everyone!

I’m linking up with the One Room Challenge on Calling It Home