Home Work Planner: A Reader Request

Hi everyone, I hope that this finds you all well and happy.  Last month I started a new feature, Reader Request.  Where you, my lovely readers, could write in and let me know what kind of printable you wanted. Once a month, or more often if I get enough requests, I'll make a printable that one of you has asked for, and share it here on the blog.  Last month, I made up a Room by Room cleaning  checklist.  It's been a huge hit.  This month, I've got something a little different up my sleeve.

This month's request came to me from a friend's niece   She started high school this year, and is feeling a little overwhelmed with some of the larger school projects being assigned for homework.  Because she is involved in a number of after school activities she is really trying to plan out her study time so she's able to stay on top of school work, as well as continue to meet her other commitments.  Currently, she uses her school issued planner to try to keep track of everything, but that means flipping back and forth between the weeks, and for her it just wasn't working.  She told me she was looking for something that would allow her to keep track of the important info for each assignment, as well as a place to break it down into smaller chunks.  This teen is pretty big on goal setting, one of the MUST haves for her, was a space to allow her to set her own deadlines for each step.  How could I possibly say no?

After much back and forth, and a little tweaking here and there, this is what we came up with!

Home Work Planner

I kept it pretty simple.  There's space for what class, what teacher, date assigned, date due, and how many marks it's worth.  Having the assigned date was really important to my friend's niece.  It allows her to see, at a glance, how long she has to complete it, as well as being able to see how long has already passed.  There's a box for keeping track of criteria, this is for any notes on teacher expectations.  The idea is that this sheet will hold all the important info and can be kept at home.  And the last section is a simple checklist area for breaking a project down into smaller, more manageable chunks.  This section will enable a student to schedule these tasks so that large projects are not so overwhelming.  

I realize this isn't a printable everyone will find a use for, but if you know a student who could use a little planning help, pass it along!  And I hope you'll come back tomorrow for this week's planner printables.  (yep, plural!)  

And I'm still taking requests for more printables, the more the merrier!  If you've been looking for just the right thing, or heck, maybe you don't want to spend hours scouring the web looking for the right thing, just drop me a line and I'll see what I can do!  

Can you believe there are only five more days til Christmas?  Do you ever feel like Christmas starts off taking forever to get here and then all of a sudden, BAM! it's so close you wonder where the time went?  Are you all ready for the holiday?

When the Computer is Away the Blogger Will Play

My computer spent Thursday and Friday visiting with my husband's computer.  My operating system was being kind of twitchy, and my incredible, amazing, techy god of a husband very kindly offered to swap the OS on it for me.  So he spent 2 days backing everything up, installing a new OS and putting everything back for me.  He's a total sweetie!  Now, I get to have some fun relearning this OS and getting into my groove.  With my computer unavailable, I was a little lost.  I spent some time getting caught up on housework, and then I turned my attention to a little space that was in desperate need of some organizing.  One where the systems I thought would work, weren't working at all.

My almost emtpy, office nook.  I had to move the desk out of there for now.  The light from the afternoon sun was shining right on my computer, and I'd rather have the blinds open during the day.  But that left this space empty and an undefined space is a magnet for clutter.

The cluttered buffet.  Not too bad, but being on the wall by the entrance to the kitchen made it an easy target for those random items to start collecting.  And finally, the reason my husband found it painful to watch me have to pack everything up at the end of the day when I was using the dining room table...

Scary right?  Actually, this is pretty normal when I'm in the middle of a major project, or three.  That pile of stuff on the right hand side, is actually stuff I was using.  It may look like a hot mess to you, but that's the physical manifestation of my creativity at work.  Strangely, I function better like that than I do with everything in neat piles or filed away.  However, once the project is complete, everything goes away.  For the most part I like a neat work space, the messy times are reserved for creative stuff.

But as you can see things weren't working as well as I had thought.  That meant, back to the drawing board. Some times it takes a few tried to get everything just right.  I had been meaning to do a minor update to this space, but with computer busy getting all new and shiny, I thought I would tackle some major changes to the space.

Step one:  I used my room organizer and spent some time figuring out what this space needed, and how I could make it work for me.

Step two: Empty out the space.

Nothing to see here....

...or here!

Step three:  Sort, sort, sort.  With all the hubbub from getting the house ready for sale, then the selling of the house (yes we did finally sell it... yay!) I've pretty much pared down as far as I can go.  Everything I have, I use, or have a planned use for, with a few extras thrown in for surprise projects like "help your child build a wagon for their teddy bear at the teddy bear picnic next week".  But I still didn't skip this step.  Though I didn't get rid of anything, I did find a new way to store it.  :-)  I didn't take pics of this process, I kind of figured you didn't want to look at more mess.

Step four:  Clean the empty area and create a plan for putting it all back together.

Step five:  Put it all back together.

So what did I come up with?  Well, I finally gave up on trying to keep it pretty.  Functional was the name of the game all the way.  So the first items to go to a new home elsewhere were my wedding bouquet, and the two statues on the buffet.  They were taking up too much space.  In their place I dressed up some magazine holders.

Here's a side by side before and after comparison.

I've been pricing out pretty magazine holders, and decided to just two that I already had (here they are in the last photo on the post) and dress them up.  I picked up a pillow case from the dollar store, and finally joined the club, and bought some of the Martha Stewart bookplates.  I figure there are enough tutorials out there for covering things, you probably don't want to see another.  I just traced out the holders, added about 2cm extra (about half an inch) cut out and glued in place.  Added the bookplates and was done.  Best part, the pillow case was $2.00 and I only needed half of it, the bookplates were $4.99 for 6, total cost cost of updating the magazine holders was http://orgjunkie.com/2012/11/favorite-organizing-links-command-central-decluttering-tips-free-printables-more.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed:%20ImAnOrganizingJunkie%20(I'm%20an%20organizing%20junkie!)http://orgjunkie.com/2012/11/favorite-organizing-links-command-central-decluttering-tips-free-printables-more.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed:%20ImAnOrganizingJunkie%20(I'm%20an%20organizing%20junkie!)under $2.00/each.  Love that!

Since I was already on a DIY roll, I dressed up some empty coffee tins with scrapbook paper and ribbon that I already had on hand.  Added some stick on labels, again that I already had, and instantly had pretty holders for my sharpies and scissors.

And here is what the buffet is looking like now.

I moved the file-box off my desk.  I wasn't using it as often as I thought I would.  It was taking up valuable work space.  I still need access to the files, but not often enough to warrant desk space.

The peel and stick calendars really help fill in some wall space.  More importantly they'll help keep me on track.  Right now I'm testing having one for household stuff, one for blog stuff, and am using the middle for our actual schedule, kind of like my own copy of our family calendar.  Hopefully it will help me plan out my time better.  These were another Staples buy, I found them in the clearance section.  Regular $14.98 marked down to $9.99 with an additional 50% off because they wanted them gone.  Total cost $4.50 before taxes, I don't think I could have DIYed 3 dry erase calendars for that price.  And if they don't work out in the office, I have a few other homes picked out for them.

Inside, I changed things up a bit.

Since I stole our paper storage (magazine holders) I needed to find a new way to keep our paper neat and tidy.  I opted to use the drawer.  I can find what I need quickly.  The box on the left hand side is holding some odds and ends.  It's mainly there to help keep the paper from sliding around.  Down the road  I plan to pick up more trays like the black one.

Inside the cupboards I moved things around, some items found new homes elsewhere in the house.

I already had these white containers, I just popped on the bookplate so I can label them.  They're holding spare notebooks and paper samples.

With the extra space I was able to fit in our accordion file and my scrapbook paper storage.  I love that they are now tucked away, but easily accessible.

This little rolling cart has been moved over to the window wall.  All I really did with this was dress up an old magnetic board with some left over pillow case fabric, and put in on the front to hold some extra little office supplies.

They're now within easy reach.

And last, but not least, my desk!

I am in LOOOOOVE!

Remember my Office Inspiration post?  Well, I picked up my first item off my wishlist, this pretty little mail sorter from Martha Stewart Home Office.  It's holding everything I need and use daily. It can also stack onto other items from the same line, which means that down the road I can add to it.  Gotta love an organizer than can grow with you.  It was the biggest splurge at $14.99, but let me tell you, I wandered down the office storage aisle at our local Staples, and similar products were more expensive, or were made out of that cheap, ugly black plastic, and would have ended up costing me around the same after DIYing them.  So, it was well worth it!

I tucked my pens into a pretty cut glass vase I already had.

I needed to raise the computer up a bit, it was too low sitting on the desktop. The little wire shelf was one I already had on hand.  The bonus with the shelf is that it frees up some space underneath.

I already had the little wooden tray and I picked those little bowls up for $1.25/3 at the dollar store.  They're perfect for holding the little items I use most often.  Paperclips, binder clips, and then in the center are page flags, post-it notes, as well as some stick on divider tabs.  They're right where I can get to them.

And here is the space as a whole.

I've still got things I want to do.  I have some plain sheets that I'm hoping to dress up with fabric paint and turn into a desk skirt or cover to make the folding table look pretty.  The rolling cart is going to get a few coats of spray paint, and I'm toying with ideas for the window, and new window coverings.  Right now I'm thinking a faux roman shade might do the trick, but we'll see.  And the blank wall needs some sort of storage system, perhaps a book case or two, I'm not sure yet. I plan to dress up some clipboards to hang up on one of the small walls by the buffet, and possibly do a memo board on the other.  So, I still have a ways to go, but I'm getting closer everyday.

And you know something?  I'm totally in love with it.  Once I gave up trying to use the top of the buffet as more of a decorative space and embraced it as essential office real estate  it freed up so much more space on my desk and inside the buffet itself.  Now this space is really feeling like an office.  More, it's feeling like MY office, and I'm loving that.

Total cost to get it to this point:  $27.23 (plus all applicable sales taxes)  It's a win all around!

Do you have a space you just can't leave alone?  Do you ever find yourself changing things up alot until you find what works for you?  Any suggestions what to do with the window?

Linking Up at:

The Organizing Junkie

New Nostalgia

Organize & Decorate Everything

An Early Christmas Present

Hi there everyone, Happy Halloween! There's a ton of stuff happening around here today.  I'm putting the finishing touches on our Halloween decorations, working on the printables for next month, and spending some time planning office organization.  A few weeks ago I shared pictures of my home office space (I still feel giddy just thinking those words)  and then I shared some of my ideas and inspiration boards in this post.  I had a lot of fun putting those inspiration boards together, and I've noticed that they're really helping to keep me focused on my goals for the space.

Until it's done, or at the very least, until I get a desk put in there, I'm content to set up at the kitchen table during the day, and take it all down before dinner.  It's not the best solution, but it's kind of working for now.  I'm still having fun tweaking things in my work area though, and to that end, I've made a few minor changes, starting with this!

I did say minor changes.  Travis helped me move the buffet over to the other wall.  I know, not all that exciting, but you see, this past Saturday, Travis and I popped into our local Staples while we were out and about running other errands.  Him and Dad were in there when my parents were visiting and they noticed that our Staples had a great selection of desks, and some of them were very nicely priced.  Travis just wanted to get an idea of what direction I was thinking of going with my workspace, so we had some fun browsing, discussing features we liked and didn't like.  That little trip gave me a lot to think about when it comes to my desk.  Part of me still wants to hold out until Spring when the garage sales and flea markets start back up again.  Part of me wants to wait until I take the plunge and we head off to Ikea (can you believe I haven't gone yet?) Mostly I don't want to rush into making a decision that isn't going to be something I'm happy with.

After looking at the desks I wandered through some of the other aisles and Travis found me looking at my newest addition to my office!

I should probably explain huh?  You see, after looking at all the desks, and not really seeing anything that screamed "Take me Home" I went off to browse organizers and storage boxes.  As I was turning around the end of an aisle I spotted the folding tables, and wandered over to take a look.  I've been saying for some time now that I would love to get a folding table or two for barbecues, kid's parties, crafting, Christmas baking, my list could go on.  I really  like that they add an extra work surface, but when you're done you can store them away.  As I was looking at the folding tables I had the thought that one of them would be the perfect stop gap while I'm figuring out my desk.  It would give me a surface to work on for the now, and down the road, when I'm ready to commit to a proper desk, or find a desk I absolutely love, I won't feel so guilty because the investment in the table isn't that much ( $35 for a 4' x 2') and I already have alternate uses planned for it

I had just had that thought when Travis found me.  I shared my thoughts with him and he totally got where I was coming from, and to my astonishment picked up the table right then and there.  Despite my protests that I didn't mean that we should pick it up that day, he got the table anyway.  You see, while I've been content to set up on the dining room table, Travis hasn't been content watching me do it.  He found it painful to watch me pack everything up at the end of the day only to have to bring everything out again the next morning, knowing that I'd be spending at least a good half hour getting everything put back so I could get back into the flow of the day before.  It's been really bothering him that I didn't have a work space to call my own.  His reasoning warmed my heart.  I know, that after all these years I shouldn't be surprised by these little surprises and thoughtful gestures, but every single time he does something like this, my heart melts and I am reminded all over again what an incredibly lucky woman I am to be married to such a thoughtful  loving, generous man.  It really is the little things, the thoughts and intentions behind the gestures, that mean so much.  I have the Best. Husband  Ever!

So now I get to play around with the office set up, figure out the best way to use what I've got.  And I'm totally loving being able to walk away from a project and not have to pack everything up. Not only did my fabulous husband give me the gift of a surface to work on, he fed my addiction for new things to organize.  I can't wait to start putting in some new systems, and playing around with things.  For now though, I'm going to head outside and get working on the Halloween stuff.

One more peek at my "desk"

Don't forget to drop me a line and let me know if there are any printables you're wanting to see in the Holiday Planner, Personal Planner, or for the Home Management Binder!

What gestures warm you heart?  Do you ever find yourself feeling incredibly grateful for the simple things?  Ever made the choice to go with a temporary set up while waiting for the real thing?

What Works for You: Home Office Part 3.2

~~  I'm not sure what happened to my post!  I wrote it up and had it set to post yesterday, but something happened.  I don't know if I hit the wrong button, or if there was a hiccup with a Google, or the computer, or what . . . but the post is gone!  All I was left with was the first paragraph.  Weird!  So, I'm really sorry that this post didn't come out yesterday as planned.  ~~


So, after the other day's longer than planned post, I opted to break the Bringing it All Together into a couple of posts.  Yesterday I showed you some pictures I found around the web, to give you ideas for how to make a home office work for your space and your needs.  This is all about what will work best for YOU!  I'm just sharing my thoughts on matter.  Today, I thought we'd jump right into more fun stuff, organizing your supplies and the equipment you need.

I mentioned in the first post (here) that I used two lists to figure out what I would need.  The first is by tasks. For example:  One of the things I need to do in my "office" is to keep track of our family's schedule.  To accomplish this I need:

• HMB
• Planner
• Family Calendar
• Pens
• Dry Erase Markers
• Paper Clips
• School Notices

I also need to be able to plan our meals.  For that I need:

• Kitchen Binder
• Planner
• Family Calendar
• Pens
• Shopping List
• Dry Erase Markers
• Paper Clip
• Folder of New Recipes to Try

Next step for me, is to compare all the lists to figure out what I use most to least.  Using the above examples I know that the most often used items are:

• Planner
• Family Calendar
• Pens
• Dry Erase Markers
• Paper Clips

These are items that need to be at my finger tips or in a centrally located area.  They're going to get the prime "office" real-estate because I'm going to be using them more often than any of the other items.  The next items to get assigned space are the ones I know I don't use as often, but still get regular use, like my HMB and Kitchen Binder.  These need to be easy to get too, but they don't have to be front and center.  If I was using shelves above the desk, the first group would be on the desktop or in the top drawers, and the next items would be on the first shelf up.  After that, it's a matter of a) frequency of use; b) my own personal priority system and c) who else in the house will need to use the items.  Everyone will have their own way of figuring this out.  Just remember, the more you use an item, the easier to get to you want that item to be.  The ones you use rarely can be harder to get too.  

Now it's time to figure out how to store those supplies!  Think outside the box here too, and find storage solutions that function for you AND reflect your style.  Don't forget to think about the "how" (post is here) when looking into storage solutions, if you're a piler like me, maybe add pretty baskets to your list.  Maybe you're a filer, and you've been itching to really get those files organized and color coded, in which case add colored file folders to you list!  There are no right and wrong solutions, whatever works for you, is the way to go!

Check out some of the photos and links below for some visual ideas!

Source: BHG

These mailboxes could be used for notebooks, papers, as in and out boxes, or whatever else you can dream up!  Would be great for small spaces, where you want to keep your surface as clear as possible.   You could paint and customize them anyway you want.

Source:  BHG 

Love this idea for storing magazines and newspapers.  

Source: BHG 

Repurpose unique items into In and Out boxes, or even just for storing smaller items

Source: BHG

Absolutely LOVE this idea!  I've tried it myself, and it worked really well.  It's a great way to repurpose an unlikely item found around the home, and it takes up very little space.

Source: BHG

Turn a caddy into great office storage.  You could even take it a step further and have a different one for different tasks.  The best parts about this idea is that its versatile, portable, and makes it oh so easy to just grab and go.  

Source: BHG 

Muffin tins for drawer dividers!

Source: BHG 

 Cover tin cans with pretty paper for holding pens and other tools.

Source: BHG

 Soap dish and tooth brush holder for desk organizers!
 

Source: BHG

 Antique glasses, mugs and dishes make for a pretty and functional desk top storage.

Source: BHG

Egg cups for smaller items!  Great idea.  A ceramic egg tray would work also, and could be tucked into a drawer.

Source: BHG

Use glass jars to hold smaller items.  Affix lids to underside of shelf or cabinet to clear the work area!

Source: Home Made Simple

Glue mason jars together in a pyramid to crate a unique desktop sorter.


Be sure to click the links in the captions of the photos to check out some more great ideas for organizing and storing your office supplies.  They all have some wonderful ideas that reuse items around the house, or are inexpensive.

Next week, I'll share some ideas for storing and organizing paper, and I'll share with you the ins and outs of our old home office.

How do you organize and store your supplies for your office?  Are you thinking of changing things up?  Do you have a solution that seems totally off the wall to some people but makes perfect sense to you?

I hope all of you are having a wonderful weekend!

What Works for You: Home Office Part 3

Remember those questions I talked about in the first post (here) and then again in the second post (here)?  Well, this is where we bring it all together.  We take those answers and lists and create a home "office" that works for us!

Start by taking a look at where you typically work in your home.  Is that space working for you?  Is it easy to accomplish what you set out to do?  If not, take some time to think about where in your home you would like to have an office.   If you're like me, and you don't really have the space to set up a desk, it's time to think a little outside the box.  Here are a few ideas to get the creative juices flowing:

No Room?  What about a Closet?

Cloffice from iHeart Organizing

Jen from iHeart Organizing turned half her master closet into an incredibly functional, storage packed office space.  You can hop on over to her blog here and check out, not just this project, but the tons of other projects she's shared.  Her site is FULL of amazing information, inspiration and organizational ideas.

Maybe you don't have a spare closet, or you do, but it's just not something that floats your boat, or it's in the wrong room or what have you ... how about squeezing an office into an armoire?  

Armoire Office from Making it Too Perfect

Katie from Making It Too Perfect condensed her office into one armoire!  How fabulous is that?   You can hop on over to her blog here to get all the details.  You have to check out the before and afters for this project!!!

Source: BHG

Better Homes and Gardens is a vault of inspiration for re-purposed armoires!  When looking for inspiration, you cannot go wrong browsing through their site!

But, maybe you don't want or need that much space.  Perhaps all you need is a place to keep your files, and maybe a few odds and ends.  What about a storage ottoman or a trunk?

Filing Trunk from PB&J Stories

Pamela from PB&J Stories turned an old trunk into a filing cabinet that works for her.  Hop on over to her blog here to see the transformation.  You might want to grab a drink of your choice and settle in for a while, because she has some AMAZING stuff on her blog!

Ottoman File Storage from BHG

BHG shows a great way to hide away your files until you need them.  As I said above, it is a great site for finding inspiration!


Maybe something a little more portable would work for you.  These next pictures are great options if you like work in different areas of your home, or like me, you work in the dining room and need to be able to put your stuff away for meal times, or would like to hide it away when company comes a calling.

Office Cart from BHG

Office Cart from Real Simple

Storing your often used items on a cart is a great way to create a portable office space.  These two options from BHG and Real Simple are great examples of packing in storage and function into a small and versatile space.

Maybe something smaller would work better, why not try an office tote?

Office in a Tote by BHG

Another BHG find. But a great idea for those who just need a little space for often used files and items.  You could work from anywhere with something like this!

So, even if you don't have a room to dedicate to a home office, or even if you do, but want to keep your home management stuff separate from your other office tasks, there is a an option and idea out there for you!  It's a matter of figuring out what YOU need in a home office, and coming up with a solution that works for you.

I'm sorry this post turned out to be so long and picture heavy.  I just kept finding more and more great ideas for "offices"  and I just had to share them with you.   There's more to come.... but as I just scrolled up and realized just how LONG this post already is, I think I'll save the rest for tomorrow.

Did any of the pictures inspire you to create or tweak an office space?  Anyone else in awe of all the fabulous ideas out there?

I hope you'll check back tomorrow!  Until then, I wish you all a fantastic day!!!!