Hi,
After many years of using other people's cast off furniture in my home office I have at last been able to afford to have it refitted with custom furniture.
The first step, however, was to empty the room! This was a major undertaking and I doubt I could have even attempted it without additional help from my sister-in-law. We systematically worked through each storage area, emptying it and sorting the contents into rubbish, keep (important), keep (sentimental) and recycle. You wouldn't believe how many rubbish bags we filled and took to the recycling place! The stuff that was kept was transferred into my "makeshift office" in the box room that had been my son's bedroom before he got married and left home.
Surprisingly almost all the furniture and stuff fitted in a room half the size of the original one. OK, so its cosy.
But I have what I need at my fingertips and actually know where everything is. That is a first!
I did have one disaster while sorting out. We found the plug for my daylight lamp, but as I had no idea where the lamp itself was (I actually thought I had discarded it a while ago) we decided to get rid of the plug. The very next day, I found the lamp! In a box on top of the bookcase. Grrrrrr. That will teach me!
The new office is in the process of being decorated and the carpenter is booked for next week to come and start building the custom furniture to fit the room. The plans look terrific and I will have much more storage and work surface, (which will all be on the same level unlike before) that it will be fantastic. I will have room to not only work on the computer but also to undertake the many crafts that I do and write about on my Web sites.
I know that David suggests going through everything before starting GTD, and I have done little bits of that in the past, but this total purge and reorganization has been both wonderful and scary.
I know have a clear desk and easy access to everything I use each day. And I am not in the newly fitted office yet!
I understand this might be a bit drastic for some, but it seems to have worked wonders for me. I will share photos of the new office once it is complete.
Regards,
Carol
After many years of using other people's cast off furniture in my home office I have at last been able to afford to have it refitted with custom furniture.
The first step, however, was to empty the room! This was a major undertaking and I doubt I could have even attempted it without additional help from my sister-in-law. We systematically worked through each storage area, emptying it and sorting the contents into rubbish, keep (important), keep (sentimental) and recycle. You wouldn't believe how many rubbish bags we filled and took to the recycling place! The stuff that was kept was transferred into my "makeshift office" in the box room that had been my son's bedroom before he got married and left home.
Surprisingly almost all the furniture and stuff fitted in a room half the size of the original one. OK, so its cosy.
But I have what I need at my fingertips and actually know where everything is. That is a first!I did have one disaster while sorting out. We found the plug for my daylight lamp, but as I had no idea where the lamp itself was (I actually thought I had discarded it a while ago) we decided to get rid of the plug. The very next day, I found the lamp! In a box on top of the bookcase. Grrrrrr. That will teach me!
The new office is in the process of being decorated and the carpenter is booked for next week to come and start building the custom furniture to fit the room. The plans look terrific and I will have much more storage and work surface, (which will all be on the same level unlike before) that it will be fantastic. I will have room to not only work on the computer but also to undertake the many crafts that I do and write about on my Web sites.
I know that David suggests going through everything before starting GTD, and I have done little bits of that in the past, but this total purge and reorganization has been both wonderful and scary.
I know have a clear desk and easy access to everything I use each day. And I am not in the newly fitted office yet!
I understand this might be a bit drastic for some, but it seems to have worked wonders for me. I will share photos of the new office once it is complete.
Regards,
Carol
