We have lived in our house for about 4 1/2 years.
Selling our old house and moving into this one happened much more quickly than we had anticipated, so the packing and unpacking process took place rather hurriedly and without any sort of plan or order.
It really affected how this house was organized.
Or not organized.
What happened that first year we moved in is that everything just got dumped in the office.
The mess would ebb
and flow.
It would rotate positions.
The mess shuffled itself around,
sometimes with a little help, but it always remained.
Eventually I added another table so I would have a place to “organize.”
That just increased the surface area for messes.
Before Number 6. was born, I resolved to get everything cleaned up.
I did the same thing before Number 7 was born.
Then, I wrote a post in June, 2012 (you can read that here) declaring that I would have it cleaned and organized by September.
Of 2012.
Well, I may be 14 months late, but,
I did it.
I finally did it.
The condition of this office has been hanging over my head and weighing me down for a long time.
Years.
It has always had a lot of unrealized potential.
It’s kind of a loft, and it overlooks our living room/play room.
Being up here while the kids are down there has always been a challenge. I really wanted to set things up so that while I’m working in the office, the kids can hang out too.
Well, now they can.
I finally finished last night at 11:15.
It took me 3 days, but I did it.
When the kids woke up this morning, they found me in here.
One by one, they trickled in.
Number 7 came first.
She went right to the new kids’ corner.
Yesterday it looked like this:
Now it looks like this:
Number 7 approves.
So does Number 5.
Number 6 came next.
He’s discovered the joys of the computer. He loves it. So much so that I may have discovered the thing that will get him to poop in the potty on a regular basis.
I didn’t spend any money on this. Everything I did was with things we already had in the house.
It’s amazing how toys become much more appealing when you just move them into a different space.
They played with these same old toys they’ve always had for over 30 minutes.
Jokester.
They all had room to play and work.
And so did I.
6 of us coexisted easily in this space that, three days ago, couldn’t really even accomodate one person.
Yeah. I have centers in my office.
That table that I added to the mix but just ended up as another place to pile stuff is now a functioning work space for four kids.
And I didn’t ask them to do that. After they played with their “new”, old toys, they all just kind of ended up there.
On a Saturday morning.
So civilized.
No chaos.
Order.
Calm.
Cooperation.
Creativity.
I hate to say it, but I think the state of the office and the house in general was affecting my children’s behavior.
I know the novelty of the new space will wear off eventually, but it will never totally lose its appeal.
I love my new office.
We all do.
It’s a new beginning.
Not just for me.
For all of us.
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Susie,
So proud of you. I like you have been living overwhelmed by disorganization and chaos looming over my head. I run two small startup craft businesses from my home. To say that it is overtaking every available surface in our house right now is an understatement. To top it off, because I am trying to ready myself for two christmas shows, (in hopes they will help provide a Christmas for my 3 children) I have been slack about the rest of my house. This morning even though I have orders hanging over my head and dozens of pieces to create for our shows, I stopped, cleaned my children’s rooms with them, straightened and vaccumed the 1st floor, did the dishes and just now am sitting down to work. While I’m a long way from being organized, at least it’s peaceful, it’s clean, and everyone is much more calm and happy. I still have my office (err I mean my bedroom… my dumping ground) but I can’t wait until that goes from the before to the after like your office. Thanks so much for the inspiration. You keep writing… and I’ll keep reading (& voting)!!!!
Marla
For me ( 7 kids under age 9, still at home, plus four grown kids), the MOST IMPORTANT thing that helps keep my home clean is to insist that all food/drinks stay in the kitchen, on the kitchen table. Always. I noticed cheerios and sippy cup in your new office, and I thought I’d mention that strategy for survival. I also have a laundry basket in each child’s room, and each child age 5 and up does their own laundry (not sorted by color, but who cares). They each have a hook on the back of the door to hang their towel, that they use all week and add to their laundry basket on their laundry day.