I’ve followed Org Junkie's Roundup for a few months but haven’t uploaded photos of my progess. When I saw a post on OhDeeDoh! about Sharilyn’s beautiful drawer for her daughter’s dishware and a link to a tutorial for making boxes perfect for drawer dividers I knew I would make the effort this month.
Since my son was home with the flu, I decided to tackle my desk drawers. The whole area has become a dumping ground of sorts, and I knew I needed to deal with the insides so that the debris piles on the top would be able to find their homes. After popping in a copy of The Princess Bride and settling my son nearby, I set out to conquer the drawers before the final credits. This was a zero budget project, recycling items I already had or using Sharilyn’s tutorial for small containers if necessary.
The file drawer on the right is in good shape (if slightly under-utilized). The other three drawers needed serious attention.
The lower of the three is the computer stuff drawer. I found lots of CDs, a mass of earbuds and random cords for DH’s iPod and the Mac, Circa rings, index cards, paper clip holder, stroller accessories, empty CD holders, empty cassette holders, and white board with a love note from my husband.
After the sort, the following items were replaced in the drawer: cleaning supplies (anti-static wipes and spray), blank CDs, memory card adapters, and ZIP disks that look like they have archived photos (need to review and transfer if so!) I added a smaller basket with a lid to hold iPod cords, earbuds and headsets. The software for my computer was divided into two CD holders (operating systems/applications stored in the black case; recipe, photo, and tax software in the green one).
I set aside the Circa rings, index cards and container of binder clips to merge into another drawer. A never-used mini planner was put in the donate pile. Taxcut info from 2002, CD drivers for obsolete printer, software inappropriate for my kids was trashed.
The paper drawer When I pulled this out to sort, I found a receipt from January 1999 that had escaped and fallen behind the drawer. This drawer is supposed to hold miscellaneous paper supplies: note pads, index cards, stamps, mailing labels.
What goes back:
-Circa jotters and index cards. I'm recycling or donating the various note pads since they're really just there because I can't throw away a perfectly nice notepad. Why do those charity solicitations make me feel obligated to keep them?
-Roomba remote
-Dictionary and bird book
-Coinpurse with keys for desk, document safe and random small locks
-Sheet protector holding stamps and address labels
-Plastic sleeve holding bookmarks
I'm an index-card user -- my shopping list, addresses, and reminders get jotted on index cards that can be punched and merged into my Circa notesbooks or family calendar. Since they aren't bound, I decided to make a quick container to keep them from sliding around. I used some cardstock I had on hand to make a simple box roughly based on Sharilyn's tutorial. Somewhere in the depths of the dungeon, I do have heavy cardboard that will be perfect for building a replacement. For now, this works for me!
Now with everything sorted and pared down, I can use this drawer to toss my keys, phone and sunglasses when I come home. Let's hope this helps with the "Where could my keys be hiding today?" problem!
The center drawer Believe it or not, there once was organization underneath this! The top layer is random paper that I struggle with in all areas of my home. The top layer included copies of bank statements and insurance statements to file, grocery receipts, receipts for reimbursement by school, stickers to trash, checks to deposit, business cards to file, coupons for free pizza.
With that out of the way, there is some basic organization under here that gets deshelved by kids and time:
I have to admit I was distracted by Wesley’s declaration of his love for the lovely Buttercup at this point, and this drawer took another hour or so to finish. I keep a divided tray on hand for sorting small items (think Playmobil pirates, police and knights), and it came in handy at this point.
In the end, I wasn’t ready to get rid of the rocks my youngest son brings me, but a lot of other clutter was recycled, found a new home, and was freed from the drawer. Intermingled with the mess were three checks totaling $749.34.
I need to find a better solution for the Circa/Rollabind rings, but for now I’m leaving them in ziplock bags and tucked in the back. All in all, it was a good morning. I’m most pleased with having a convenient place to stash my keys and sunglasses. The deposit slip is ready to go for tomorrow’s errands!
