Pam, one of my readers who isn’t a blogger, emailed me recently to ask me how I would go about organizing this desk space she has in her kitchen. Here are a list of the challenges she has:
1. I need a space for my husbands mail (he is a visual person so needs to see it each day)
2. I need a space for my purse (I need to be able to access it and getto it quickly – as I run out the door)
3. I need a space for my calendar as it goes with me everywhere I go butI have it out on the desk (or the side of the desk – see picture) during the day
4. I need a space for my church bag (it goes under the desk to the leftside – see picture)
5. I don’t like the cords from the cordless phone (why do they call it”cordless” anyway J) OR from my cell phone charger
6. We don’t use the chair as this desk is more of a catch all than a”work” desk – maybe we should put the chair elsewhere and use the space underneath the desk (?)
7. I need a new catch all system. The basket (to the left in thepicture) is a CLUTTER catch all (in it now are my keys, wipe for our eyeglasses, husband’s cell phone reference guide, husband’s whistle for soccer, 2 business cards, eyeglass lens cleaner, push pen, baby pin, ring, hair scrunchy, extra key which I have no clue to what, 3 Halls cough drops, 2 chap stick tubes, 5 tokens to a game room at our favorite restaurant). I’m finding my husband uses this mostly when he comes in from work and empties his pockets.
8. I’m not opposed to making the cabinets above the desk part of the functional work space however right now they have kitchen things (breadbaskets, food saver, etc.). We use this desk as our main a drop off/launch spot. I want something fun,functional and fabulously creative so that we will “take care of” this space better. Do you have any suggestions for fun tools of the trade?
Whew that is quite a list but completely do-able considering the great space she has here:
I’m going to assume this desk is near her door because most of the items she wants to store there are ones she needs easy access to as she is heading out (ie: purse). So let’s see. She has four drawers and two cupboards….plenty of room! First, it sounds like she needs an area for her husband. She knows how he operates and rather than trying to change that behavior lets try to come up with a solution that will work with it and yet still be organized. Here is what I’ve found that I think will work perfectly….I found it online here. This will solve her hubbie’s mail dilemma as well the drawers can be used for the “catch all” space without being visually unappealing.
Now lets address the drawers. The bottom drawer looks like a bigger one and provided they fit I would use this space for both my purse and church bag in order to keep them tucked out of the way. If they don’t fit, my second suggestion would be to remove the chair (which I think should be done anyway if it isn’t being used) and finding a cubbie of some sort that would slide underneath the desk to hold her purse and bag.
Now for the cell phone and cordless phone. I saw the neatest idea on a TV show the other day where they drilled a hole into the back of a drawer for the charger cords and then ran the cords out the back to plug them in. This way you can just open up the drawer and plug the cell phone in whenever you need to and it is out of the way. Isn’t that great. As for the cordless phone I would leave it on top of the desk and not on the wall so the cords aren’t seen. It doesn’t sound like the desk top is needed for working at anyway.
The second drawer down I would use for another “junk” drawer….perhaps considering adding a drawer organizer or small baskets to keep everything divided.
The middle long drawer I would probably use for “important” paper storage.
I wasn’t clear from her email if Pam didn’t want to have her calendar out on the desk or not. If this is something she refers to all the time than I don’t see a problem with leaving it out on the desk.
I’m not sure if Pam has other items she needs to have handy at the door but I would certainly consider the cupboards above the desk for this purpose in order to keep like with like. For instance I have a space by my front door for things that need to be returned to a store, to a friend, to the school etc… So a basket on the first shelf might be a good place for something like this that she could check as she goes out the door each day.
Also one other thing that would be a neat idea would be a magnetic board on the backsplash behind the desk.
Well these ideas might not be too fabulously creative I do hope it is helpful.
Thanks Pam!
See Part 2 here….
momrn2 says
You come up with the most amazing ideas!! I love the idea of having a space for things that need to be leaving the house, returned somewhere.
Our’s always end up sitting by the front door (on the floor of course) to grab as we head out. I may have consider what I can do to come up with a “Org Junkie” plan! 🙂
Thanks for all the tips and tidbits you share with us to make our lives a bit more organized and manageable!!
Your place inspired me last week to clean up a corner on my kitchen counter and 2 drawers. I took pic’s and may have to do a post… in honor of your place and the energy you give to my organizing desires!
Anonymous says
I love that little wooden organizer box! I need something like that for the junk that gets piled on top of our entertainment center. You have great ideas!
warpie says
That’s pretty cool. One thing I like to have in a visually obvious spot that is also a catch all it somewhere I can quickly put everything on the item into to clean up quick for visitors. Visual clutter is really distracting to me and makes me depressed. Hmmm, I should get something for the guest room…
One of the worst is a bookcase in regular visual range that is poorly organized, over stuffed and cluttered.
Air Force Family says
You have awesome ideas! I have entered the 30 Day Organizational Challenge, but I’m not planning on posting any pics until it’s all done. However, I do have a question. My bookcase has 5 shelves, and now that I’m almost done, it’s very bare. Any suggestions on how to use the empty space? And next week, it will be even more empty, b/c all the Christmas presents will be going with us to CT. Thank you so much.
Denise says
Hi Laura, I’ve been reading your blog for over a week now, I’m hooked:-) I am really in the mood for organizing right now but am kind of in limbo because we will be moving house next month, possibly 2 weeks before Christmas (if we’re lucky). Anyway, I linked to your blog on my blog this morning, so I thought I better take the time to say hi and introduce myself. Thanks for all the great tips and ideas for organizing, I can’t wait to put them in to practice.
Denise
http://www.deniseschulz.com/blog
Barb says
Pam is one smart lady to come to you for help with this. You should be starting a business, you’re so good at it.
Until I met you, I thought I was the absolute queen of organized and I’m still pretty organized, but you humble me.
shannon @ rocks in my dryer says
Very timely for me…I’m in the process of reorganizing my kitchen desk!
truth says
I wish I could hire you to come to my house.
Anonymous says
That is an amazing wonderful idea….when do you come up with this stuf…I barely can get my hair curled.
Jennifer says
Wow–this looks like my space, and she seems to have similar wants to mine, but I have open space above it (more of a shelf than a cubbard which I don’t like), and only two of the shallow drawers. Hmmm.
Blessed Beyond Measure says
I’m with you – why DO they call it cordless, like why do they call my computer wireless when there are wires coming out all over the place!