31 Days to a Minimalist Lifestyle Day 19

I am writing every day in October--taking on the challenge set forth by The Nester for bloggers to write a "31 Days to..." blog series. I'm tackling Minimalist Living and you can click here to read Day 18's post.


We tackled mail/paper clutter that was problematic in my home  on Day 11. Today, we're moving into the source of all some a lot of my consternation. OUR OFFICE. It's the home to paper clutter, my clutter, Brad's clutter, the kids' clutter, clutter of clutter. ugh. It's pretty much where everything gets put when we don't know where to put it. I hate it!!! It's a nice, wide open space so OF COURSE, we must load it down with STUFF. Sheesh.

My minimalist dream is that the office functions for all 5 of us. Functioning for all 5 of us doesn't mean that we all 5 can use it simultaneously. I just want the kids to be able to work on the computer, or for Brendan to do his homework on his laptop at that open staion or for Brad to be able to pay bills at the tower workstation. In my fantasy, I'd like a big comfy chair and some good lighting and make a nice reading spot in here, too. I'd also like lots of hidden storage via shelving on the walls. I'd like all the cords to disappear, and for the printer to be on a shelf underneath the counter.

Source: ffffound.com via Dorothy on Pinterest

Mine would have either nothing on those shelves or USEFUL things on those shelves.

Or something like this:

Source: younghouselove.com via Dorothy on Pinterest

But here's the reality:

Work station #2, but it's piled with clutter on top, clutter underneath and my clutter that I'm selling in that bag on the floor. 

Work station #1 (mine). Not too bad, but I have a lot of clutter I could be better about. 

The UGLY truth....this is what the other side of the office looks like. There's even a Boy Scout backpack in my office!!!

In defense of some of that clutter piled up on the empty wall of the office, we are in the process of emptying out Brad's parents large home due to their sudden death this summer. Stuff comes to our house, gets plopped in the office and then sits until we are ready to deal with it. 

BUT--that Boy Scout backpack? Yeah. That can't be pinned on emptying a home. The piles of papers are just because we hate to file.  So, I started by going through all of the clutter in the office, looking for paperwork that should be in a filing cabinet. Here's the 6" tall pile I came up with:

After I flied everything that I could file, I put all of Brad's stuff to go through at his workstation:

I made Brendan deal with his backpack, went through the boxes & pitched the things I could, tidied it up and left the rest for Brad:

In my dreams, those tubs o'stuff are replaced with a cozy chair, a reading lamp, and a small bookshelf. 

I then filed all the paper I could. While I was in the filing cabinets, I pulled out all the stuff that should be shredded/recycled/thrown away:

Here's a few "after" shots, on the road to a minimalist office:

My workstation!

Both workstations.  A big improvement!

Before someone goes all crazy about "how can that be a minimalist office if you have 2 filing cabinets, a set of drawers and 40-leventy-seven Longaberger baskets?!" If everything in here has a function and can't be taken away without losing functionality, then I think it's pretty minimalist. I'd like to streamline the filing to just 1 filing cabinet and get the desktop empty except for some basic office supplies.

If you aren't the owner of a full-fledged office space, you could sort through whatever place you keep your papers. File things, purge things and enjoy a clean space =)

Day 1 email

Day 2 magazines

Day 3 kitchen tools 

Day 4 junk drawer

Day 5 bathroom counter

Day 6 first aid & medicines

Day 7 kitchen sink

Day 8 plastic containers

Day 10 spices

Day 11 mail

Day 12 linen closet part 1

Day 13 linen closet part 2

Day 14 donate!!!

Day 15 outdoor spaces

Day 16 bakeware

Day 17 pantry

Day 18 laundry