The Great Decluttering

If you read my last post, you know that my office is one of my goals for the summer.  It is b-a-d-l-y in need of some organization and restyling.  Yesterday I decided to get started on it.  Just as a flash back, here is what it looked like.

A couple other pictures so you can understand what I was dealing with here.

Needless to say, it was a mess!  I started by pulling the baskets out that I had previously used for sorting.  

If you interested in the sorting signs, you can get your own over at A Bowl Full of Lemons.  Just click here and it will take you to the post with the link.  Or there are some bright ones available at I Heart Organizing.  Click here for the post featuring the download.

By sorting into baskets, it allows me to focus on the room I'm in without leaving to put something away in another room.  When it comes to cleaning and organizing I'm a lot like Doug the dog from Up!, all it takes is one distraction and I'm off on something else.

At the end of day one, after sorting, shredding, tossing and moving out of the room, this is what it looked like.

Is it perfect?  No!  Can I actually see the top of my desk?  Yes!  Progress has been made.  Among other things, I still need to file the kids' school papers (See that pile of stuff on the left side? Yep, that!), move the blue patterned chair out (it belongs in the living room), finish shredding, file papers, organize the cabinets, get that old Dell computer out, paint, install ceiling fan, and lots more.

I'm also thinking about moving the desk.  After much research and deep thinking (aka. spending hours on Pinterest), I found lots of examples of a desk being placed in front of the bookshelves or against the wall looking out the window.  We are thinking about rearranging the desk in front of the shelves to see if that layout works.  I will post pictures once we try it out.