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Workspace of the Week: Organized office closet
This week’s Workspace of the Week is Bettnet’s better basecamp –
Before:
After:
I love a good closet organizing project, and Bettnet certainly doesn’t disappoint with his office closet makeover. I like what he wrote about the “after” photograph:
Now everything is neat and organized. Sure, I still have some uncluttering to do: I really don’t need 20-year-old cables for obsolete technologies anymore nor software that runs on computers I got rid of 5 years ago. Plus those 500-count boxes of window envelopes from a business I folded that half-decade ago? Yeah, they need to go too. But I’m getting there.
I agree that a little bit of purging wouldn’t hurt, but I think this closet is really amazing even in its current state. Things looked as if they were on the verge of collapse in that “before” photograph, and now the space looks safe and extremely useful. Congratulations, Bettnet, on a job well done!
Want to have your own workspace featured in Workspace of the Week? Submit a picture to the Unclutterer flickr pool. Check it out because we have a nice little community brewing there. Also, don’t forget that workspaces aren’t just desks. If you’re a cook, it’s a kitchen; if you’re a carpenter, it’s your workbench.
11 comments posted
Posted by Sarah - 09/10/2010
I appreciate the use of the color-scheme-appropriate Bud Light box.
Posted by Donna - 09/10/2010
Sarah – did you notice that even the tape in the paint tray is color coordinated as well?
Nice and realistic choice of workspaces! Its good to see one that features equipment beyond a laptop, task light, and a sexy chair.
Posted by JustGail - 09/10/2010
Nice re-organizing job, great color. Are the bins labeled, or a chart nearby so it’s easier to find the right tote? I find the real problem with unlabeled totes is not finding the right one to get stuff out of, it’s finding the right one to put the stuff away. Not so much for myself, but for others who get things out.
Floppy disks – I’ve still got a few with software from my school days. Just not *quite* ready to let go of them.
Posted by Erin S. - 09/10/2010
I really appreciated the comment with the after photo. I am cleaning out after 20 years in the same house, several career changes and numerous life events.
Many of the minimalist and simple living sites involve very young people. It is easy for a college student with two suitcases of clothes and a guitar to go minimalist as they had very little to get rid of to begin with.
But for those of us who have been somewhere for a while and have lived through raising children and burying relatives, being responsible to host family holiday dinners and owning grown up career clothes; there can be a lot stuff we are not quite sure about. For some of us, it is a process that involves a day at a time, a couple of items at a time.
I always visit this site on Friday for inspiration for the weekend. Thanks.
Posted by Jen - 09/10/2010
Sometimes it’s just easier to organize first and declutter later (because then you can see how many of something, or what kinds of things, were lurking in the mess).
Posted by Domenico Bettinelli - 09/10/2010
Thanks for the honor and the kind words, everyone. I’m grateful to show that an uncluttered workspace can be attainable with a few Ikea shelves. To answer a couple of questions:
1. I do intend to put labels on the bins as soon as I bring the label printer home from work.
2. As for the window envelopes, I’m going to be the rare employee who “gives” office supplies to my employer.
3. The blue color scheme was entirely unintentional, although blue is my favorite color.
4. The decluttering goes on, including bags of kids clothes that we’ve been given. It’s an ongoing process.
5. I really agree with the sentiment that sometimes you need to organize the clutter before you can declutter it.
Posted by Ramblings of a Woman - 09/11/2010
I agree with Erin about minimalizing for those of us who have been established a while. We have lived on our house for 21 years and raised 4 kids here. The kids are alomost gone, but we have accumulated quite a bit of stuff. Luckily, we don’t have a garage, a basement, and only a small attic space to be filled, although my husband has a rather large storgae shed that is a mess! I am hoping he plans to spend a weekend once it cools off going through it!
I am working on purging my book collection as well as my clothing!
http://bernicewood.wordpress.c.....can-dream/
Bernice
Posted by Ann - 09/11/2010
awesome to see a organized space that looks like something i could actually do!
Posted by Jurgen - 09/12/2010
I’m not impressed at all. It still looks very cluttered, nothing is labelled, and you still get the sense that either there is too much stuff here, or too little storage space.
Yes, it’s an improvement from the ‘before’ state, but it’s only a half-finished job.
Posted by Pammyfay - 09/13/2010
The “after” comments by Domenico–that there are 20-year-old cords, etc., in those nice new bins that he probably doesn’t even need anymore–is why “sort and purge” should come before “buy storage containers.” You probably could have saved a few bucks in the end, Domenico! Plus now you will have to devote more time to actually making the decision on what to toss and what to keep. It looks nice now–most people won’t bother to go back into the job and do the rest of the work.
But it does look better than before!
Posted by Vicky - 09/28/2010
You may want to find someone who will repurpose some of your “junk”. I know I am always searching for unwanted envelopes for my day care kids to use during literacy projects. BTW Nice work!
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