A New Office Area in the Mudroom

I did not tackle Luke's little nook/reading space this weekend, but I did clear out this mudroom office area (with the help of my wonderful neighbor) in preparation for the arrival of the professional organizer I hired.

A previous homeowner had this area custom built as an office/sewing area, but since living in the house we have only used it as drop zone.  What has wound up in this area?  Coats, bags, groceries, mail, dirty clothes, clean clothes, and junk, junk, and more junk.  And this summer, a watermelon that my mother-n-law brought us got placed on the counter amid the clutter and was forgotten.  It began to rot and the juice ran onto everything.  I kept wondering what that horrid smell was.  I just assumed it was something the cat did, but after cleaning up her litter box and the laundry room (which is at the end of mudroom) where her litter box resides, I still smelled the smell, so I hunted for it and found the watermelon.  Enough was enough.  This area had to be cleaned out and kept clean.

With the help of a professional organizer, I am getting things in order.  This morning she helped me put things into the office area in a functional way.  We are going to tackle all my arts/crafts bits and pieces in a couple of days.  Sometimes you just gotta call in the professionals to help you.  I was getting overwhelmed at the clutter and needed someone else to tell me where to put things and how to best utilize my space.

  

This cabinet above is now nice and neat with my printer paper, blank DVD/CD's and extra toner for the printer ready to go.

We discovered that by turning three of the small awkward cubbies into one, they worked perfectly for magazine folders.  I bought some of these cheap, bankers folders from Staples a while back and have intentions of covering them with pretty paper and decorative bookplates.  After I get to that project, they will be stored facing the other way and look pretty.  I'm just glad I found a good use for this awkward space.

The computer will be placed into this area as well as the printer and my Silhouette Cameo cutting machine (putting it in the drawer previously used for hanging file folders).  We will also use this area to pay bills, house my school books/supplies, and keep envelopes and other mailing implements.

Eventually I want to repaint the walls an aqua/grey color and install a pretty, fabric- or paper-covered cork board on the wall space between the counter and upper cabinets.  But for now, I am just glad the area is clean, uncluttered, and is now functional.  I will be turning our old computer room into a guest room/craft room.