Simple GAB

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I have taken the plunge and worked on my Desktop Decluttering, Cleaning & Organizing project!

I am loosely following this week’s missions from Kelly and FlyLady.  Her first step was clean the left of the desk, but the rebel in me started with the right.  Really I did this because I felt this is the side I look to more often, with the mouse, my pens and my coaster for my coffee over there.  Plus it is closer to the doorway so that is where I tend to set things as I come and go.

Here is the unsightly Before shot:

And the spiffy After shot:

Did you realize all those nice little baskets were in there?

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These  few simple steps will get you on the right track:

1. Remove the items that belong elsewhere and set in a box (or bag) and return them to their proper home later.
2. Go through paper clutter and toss what you can.
3. Sort remaining papers into piles:  important papers which may need action a.s.a.p.,  papers to file, items to read later (maybe things  like magazine clippings).
4. Decide what you really need in front of you,  pare down and organize in a way that will work for you.
5. Go through and dust or clean your desktop, storage containers, keyboard and screen, then admire your new clean space!

Now don’t forget about that box or bag of items to get put back in their proper place!

Once you tackle just a small spot, and admire how good it looks,  it is such motivation to go finish the rest!

Tomorrow I will jump back over to the left side of the computer, then next it will be the shelf above.

Here are a few sites that may appeal to your own sense of Decluttering and Organizing:

Unclutter: Workspace of the Week, you may find inspiration in these organized office spaces

Organized Home:  Cut Clutter or Get Organized

Organizing your way: Home Office or Principles of Organizing, the site is chock full of other great tips as well.

Complete Organizing Solutions: Organizing or Office Solutions

The Inspired Room: Organization , not a how-to but a wonderful showcase of spaces that may inspire you.

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If you are following along and tackling your own space let me know how it is going, and post a comment or a link if you are blogging about it.

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YIKES!

My desk is a mess!

Obviously there is work to be done here.

Sometimes I wonder where all this stuff came from…IKEA 2006 catalog, 2 bottles of hand sanitzer, spa hand & nail kit, rechargeable battery plug, those pesky Coke rewards codes,  random photos and artwork, spool of thread, a coffee mug and a Megaman toy figure for eBay, ink cartridge for the printer I no longer have, an obviously unread copy of “Easy Household Tips”, paper, paper and more paper.

Thankfully this week FlyLady is tackling the home office as one of the Zones for cleaning and decluttering!

If you don’t know who FlyLady is, well you may want to go check out her site.

So I am tackling this mess one mission at a time.

After I get it cleaned up, I am working on a new system for organizing all the paper and other stuff that finds its way into my office area.

Stay tuned for more photos, updates and ideas.

Feel free to join me in a little desk cleanup.  The great thing about following FlyLady’s plan is you only have to do a little bit at a time, so as not to get overwhelmed or burnt out. That makes the process a little bit easier to tackle.

With this project you never know what you may find.  I used to have a large wooden desk with one of those big center drawers, and at  the bottom of  that drawer I left this quote  ”Cleaning one’s desk leads to exciting discoveries”.   Gee sometimes just getting to the bottom and seeing that would make me smile because I made some progress.

If you join in and have a blog,  be sure to do a little post on your blog with some before & after photos. Everyone who joins in please  come back to leave a comment, and  mention some wacky or random thing that was your “exciting discovery”.

Ready, set, go!

Any of you with small children know how much clutter their school and activities can generate.

I love perusing the web looking at all the clever ideas out there for what has now become a new catch phrase…the Command Center.  There are simple options and the oh so beautiful (and pricey) options a la Pottery Barn:

Yes I covet these fabulous modular set ups.

If you need a simple, quick option, try this Family Matters® system from Day Runner®:

It is color coded for each family member, with little clips under for notes and such. It could fit most anywhere, and can be hung on the refrigerator, too.

Our system is far from fancy, but it works for us:

The large bulletin board is where we hang the school calendar, lunch menu, sports schedules, community rec. dept. information/registration sheets, and other assorted to-dos. Also during the school year we will hang up artwork, projects, tests or other accomplishments for the boys.

Below is their dry erase calendar:This gets updated with sports practices/games and all the other social stuff that comes up during the year. We also notate on the dry erase when library books are due.

I am not a fan of refrigerator door clutter, so everything goes here on the bulletin board. Getting the papers up here also keeps the nasty hot-spot at the end of the counter clear!

We also have the coats/shoes/backpacks area, but I will save that for another post!

Do you have a Command Center?

What is your setup like?

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Here are a few other links for inspiration:

Command Center Round-up at I’m an Organizing Junkie (link up your own Command Center post for a giveaway!)

Small Spaces Wall mounted Command Center at Organize Magazine

Elegant French Memo board, a great DIY project from Pecuniarities

From Gaudy Art to Fabulous Chalkboard, a DIY project from Twice Remembered