Come and help me organise my "office"

[mawbroon]

Pics on my profile in a minute once I've done this post.

I have recently organised the living room with proper storage and am amazed at the difference it has made. I actually get time to clean the room instead of just managing to get it tidy.

So, while I'm on a roll, I need to do my bit under the stairs which we refer to tongue in cheek as the "office".

You will see from the pics that it's not very big, but you will also see that it's just a bloody mess. It's the first horizontal surface available on entering the house, so it becomes a dumping ground for keys/hats/gloves/bags/mail/you name it.

I have an in tray and a filing cabinet, so am pretty organised with the adminny stuff, I just hate having to tidy that bit before I can sit down and deal with the admin. And don't worry readers, we have a laptop, I don't have to sit in that mess to MN DH wants to keep the old computer, so afraid it has to stay...

Those wicker baskets are also just a complete jumble. I know that there are spare batteries in there for example, but can I lay my hands on them when I need them??

I am thinking some sort of mini drawers for the stapler/post-its/drawing pins/spare batteries/tape measure/cluttery stuff but need a few more ideas.

Anyone?

[mawbroon]

pics are on now

[mawbroon]

OK try again.


Pleeeeeeeeeeease come and help me sort my office.

[Pannacotta]

I'd try and clear the desk.
can you add more wall shelves? Perhaps clear boxes with labels on them so you know whats what?
Is there any floor space under the desk where you coudl put a filing cabinet?
IKEA is fab for office storage, I love the Alex range shown here
<a class="break-all" href="http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=springcart.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341cad7953ef010535f4c6bc970c-500wi&imgrefurl=springcart.typepad.com/my_weblog/2008/11/im-having-craft-studio-envy.html&h=375&w=500&sz=117&tbnid=O2TLyVYYzy9omM:&tbnh=98&tbnw=130&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dikea%2Balex&zoom=1&q=ikea+alex&hl=en&usg=__fXB7pZDz4d7ZCElyaAOFiPk6wAM=&sa=X&ei=UDEuTYS2JYma4AbRiJ2DCw&ved=0CEcQ9QEwCQ" rel="nofollow noindex" target="_blank">www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=springcart.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341cad7953ef010535f4c6bc970c-500wi&imgrefurl=springcart.typepad.com/my_weblog/2008/11/im-having-craft-studio-envy.html&h=375&w=500&sz=117&tbnid=O2TLyVYYzy9omM:&tbnh=98&tbnw=130&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dikea%2Balex&zoom=1&q=ikea+alex&hl=en&usg=__fXB7pZDz4d7ZCElyaAOFiPk6wAM=&sa=X&ei=UDEuTYS2JYma4AbRiJ2DCw&ved=0CEcQ9QEwCQ

[Pannacotta]

And have a look here for other options for your keys/hats etc.

class="underline">menu>hallways>130x115>stylishhallway_ideas

[mawbroon]

There's already a 2 drawer filing cabinet in there Pannacotta.

I wonder if I could put more shelves on the wall to the RH side if I removed the ones that are there already. I quite like the pigeon hole type things in your first link.

The hall is very narrow. No room for anything, even stuff on hooks would take up too much space and get knocked off the hooks every time somebody walked past. We do have a cupboard at the bottom of the stairs where coats etc are SUPPOSED to live, but they only ever seem to get there once in a while....

[oldenoughtowearpurple]

Hmm - tempted to say put on some doors and shut them.

It is a very small space so be realistic about what it can actually do. Decide what the space is for and then move anything that doesn't deliver that to somewhere else. Eg the space is supposed to be home office not key dump, so find nice key hanger and put it up somewhere else. If the space is for household bills and household admin then find good storage for those things and leave them there but take everything else - like batteries - out.

I lust over Ikea storage too.

[Pannacotta]

It is possible to move the office area somewhere else and use that space for the things which seem to end up there?
I think its hard to keep a hall tidy if there is nowhere accessible/easy to put keys/post/hats/gloves etc, whereas you only need room for a small table to put the PC on, so it coudl be tucked away in a corner somewhere else maybe?

[mawbroon]

LOL at the doors option Tempting!!

Good point about deciding what the space is actually for. If we were to move the computer and "office" away, it would have to be upstairs to our bedroom. But first I would have to sort the storage in there to make room for it.

If we did that, I have a niggling feeling that all the mail etc would end up on the kitchen worktop instead of making it's way upatairs to the office though....

[Pannacotta]

Can you create a little work station, or just a bill paying place, in the kitchen? Even if its only a lever arch file or a drawer for the paperwork. If you bank on-line you could use your laptop rather than the PC.