An office to work in

For years, the so-called "office" was anything but. Despite our best efforts at organization over many years (see: 2017 closet redo,  2018, and 2020), it was impossible to keep it looking like an office with toys in it. It always resembled a messy toy room with a desk in it. Here's a view two walls, a few weeks after we broke ground on the addition but way before they had to start coming in the house (and therefore also before our crown molding project):

The other side is no better (probably worse). You can see that we are still using the 2017 closet system, but really had trouble containing all the kids things.

In the end, there really wasn't a magical solution except adding more space. By building the addition, we were able to give each kid a bedroom (more on those updates in future posts) and that gave them the space to move the toys to their rooms. Are their bedrooms magically neater and better organized? Of course not! But now at least the mess is their problem. Admittedly their rooms ARE much neater than these office pictures, because they have more storage space and fewer toys (items are divided across two bedrooms and also they are just growing up and keeping fewer toys, *sob*). They also think twice now about accruing stuff--at one point, I almost shed tears of joy when one child said: "I want this, but I have nowhere to put it."

So with the toys out, how did we decorate? I'm so glad you asked! We knew we wanted to create a kind of hallway to divide the desk area from the path into the addition, and found a cute barrister bookcase in an antique shop with two layers. Because of the modular way it is constructed, it was easy to dismantle and bring home. The top needs resurfacing, but otherwise it is in pretty good condition and creates a room divider that doesn't leave either side too cramped, because it's only about chest-high.

With that purchased, we knew that the other piece, that would go on the now-empty wall across from the addition, ought to match and be a medium wood without too much trim. We perused a bunch of mid-century modern shops and set up keywords in various online marketplaces, but it was clear it was going to cost a lot to get something we liked. UNTIL we lucked out and found someone selling a piece on Craiglist for $50. True, it was almost an hour away and, true, it seemed impossible to get home, but D was up to the challenge. It was completely modular and D managed to tetris the whole thing--two bookcases with cabinets, into our SUV in a very impressive way:

The piece, made in Yugoslavia--apparently a popular place for "cheap" MCM furniture in the 1970s and 80s--is absolutely amazing. This might be one of my favorite pieces of furniture now, made especially sweet by the thrill of the hunt (I think that's also why I enjoy perusing antique shops). This is really the view from our bedroom now, so it's important to me that it looks nice, showing off books I enjoy without being overly cluttered.

We also bought a new filing cabinet (and printer stand). Nothing too exciting, but it's nicer than the cheap medal filing cabinet that was so flimsy that it dented if we opened it by pulling on the draw itself and CERTAINLY nicer than the milk crate stack holding the printer.

And that's our office!

Empty (?) Basement

We briefly tried keeping tools in the garage, once. But separated from the house by 3 locks and a messy breezeway that required shoes to pass through, not to mention a coat, meant that we never wanted to go out there. So we would bring in what we needed - a screwdriver, hammer, etc. - and then it would in the kitchen or otherwise inappropriate spot for weeks before we finally put it back. That got old quick. So when we acquired a fancy tool chest, we agreed we would use it more if it went in the basement.

Now that the garage is so much more accessible to the rest of the house and separated by only a simple toggle lock, we wanted to start making more use of it. And thanks to our new attic over the garage, we've been able to clear out some space. That meant the tool chest could finally migrate to its rightful place.

We love it there, and it makes so much more sense. D even hopes that with better organizing and as we move more upstairs, he can really start to use the work bench area along the back wall. It's already been built, we just have to clear it out.

And that suddenly meant more room in the basement, too. We cleared out the additional drawers (and moved what we couldn't trash out to that oh-so-spacious attic) to create another totally empty basement wall. Plus not having a giant metal tool chest full of sharp tools made the room a lot more child friendly. So what did we do? Immediately buy a gigantic jungle gym.

We don't really intend to make the basement into "the playroom."  We'd rather have the kids playing up on the main floor and don't want the toys stored on a separate floor where we'd have to haul them up and down. But it is a really nice space right now to let her climb and run and spin and get out the energy that, this time of year, she might not be able to exhaust by playing at a playground.

Find new space, fill new space.

We really have to start clearing out from what feels like a massive accumulation phase.

What is to be done?

I'm trying not to hyperventilate when I look at the toy disaster in the office and trying to find it funny that one of the only times I got no comments on a blog post was my last post when I asked for help on how to organize it. I take this to mean that no one has ever found a good solution to the chaos created by small children (except making one room a "play room" and just ignoring the problem).

We had one or two ideas since then, turning, as usual, to Ikea. We thought about using a Kallax (successor to the ever-poplar Expedit) and baskets, to as least corral the small toys, books, and craft items. Since we also want to make this a usable standing desk space, we are considering getting this unit (plus a few more to each side two or three squares high).

The problem then is that the desk sticks out into the room. D has argued that we could put larger toys underneath, but that doesn't keep them out of sight (my goal) and takes up an awful lot of the floor.

I suggested sticking just to the Kallax, on its side, and then a converting standing desk for a laptop like this:

But D thinks they are ugly (I don't really care how they look, but I appreciate that he does).

So, toy storage plus standing desk. No more ideas. Between that and the linen closet upstairs that is a complete mess, I've been debating paying money for professional help, like this from the Container Store. I'm still not sure how I feel about that though - paying someone else to come up with an idea that I can probably do myself (eventually) with the help of Pinterest and other internet decorating sources. Has anyone ever paid professionals to help them organize? I'd be interested to hear about your experiences. Also still seeking ideas for the problem area itself, if you have any thoughts.

Disaster Zone - suggestions needed

In the spring, if you'd have asked, I would have said our office space was a disaster zone: a mess of random papers and other junk that made the desk unusable (which was fine because no one needed to use it anyway). It wasn't for lack of trying. We have had a decent file cabinet and workable filing system for a while, plus we try to print and save as little as possible. But sentimental knick knacks, a cardboard box of baby photos from our parents, old cables and hard drives that aren't quite trash (or needs to be destroyed/wiped first), well, it takes up space:

With Herculean effort, we cleared the desk in anticipation of giving it to someone else who needed it more. We mostly found homes for everything (or stacked things in the corner) and gave some of it away (seriously how did we have at least 5 packages of lined paper?? do people even take hard copy notes anymore). And we did give the desk away. At least, we tried. It got halfway out the door and then gave up the ghost for good. It was a Craigslist Ikea find that had already moved from our old apartment, so one more move was apparently too much. So we moved it to the curb for trash pick-up then, instead of to its intended recipient.

So did our disaster zone improve? Not one bit. It just transformed. During the work on the breezeway (a room we have now taken to calling the "sun room" since it's beautifully sunny in there), we had to move all of the toddler's toys out of the living room. And so they migrated to the office, where they promptly become "out of sight, out of mind." It's quite nice having no toys (ok, who am I kidding, let's says *fewer* toys) in the living room. But now the office is a mess!

The small things that can be categorized are more or less "away." There's a train box, a puzzle box, a lego box, etc.

We could use perhaps a little more space for boxes like these, but the real problem is there are also tons of big toys. Toys that don't fit into cabinets. Multiple strolls around Ikea have failed to provide inspiration. Pinterest searches haven't helped. And so my question o you is how do we organize the toys so that this room is not a giant mess. We have one almost empty wall and would love to hide these toys in or behind some kind of furniture to pretend like grownups are still making the decorating decisions around here.

So put your ideas in a comment and help us out! And yes, while "throw the toys away/donate them/hide them in her bedroom" might seem like good options, they're not in the plans right now. So let's assume we are keeping them and just need a way to store them more efficiently in the office. Bonus points if whatever organizational system you suggest is also toddler accessible, to avoid having a constant stream of "mommy, can you get me my X?" "daddy, I want Y." and also lets us make *her* put them away.