As I’ve mentioned, I recently went back east (Williamsburg, Virginia to be exact) to stay with my Mom for 10 days after she had a hip replacement.  After moving some things around (thanks LA County for letting me postpone my jury duty…again) I booked the trip, packed my carry-on (read my packing tips here) and hopped on the plane.

Before I left, she told me she wanted my help organizing her office and boy was I surprised!  I’m not sure where I get my organization tendencies, but it most certainly is NOT from my parents.  My mom is not particularly neat, nor organized, which can drive me a bit crazy.  I typically spend at least some of my time tidying up a section of the house when I’m with her.  She doesn’t ask for this help and I think it drives her a bit crazy…like I’m critiquing her living space.  But, I just want the best for my Mom (which to me, means recycling magazines that are over 6 months old and organizing like things together in the pantry…sue me).  I recently told her I wanted to organize her closet, and let’s just say she didn’t react with much enthusiasm to the idea.  So, I was beyond excited when she asked for my help organizing her office.

My Dad passed away over two years ago (from lung cancer…seriously, no idea why people still take up smoking these days).  While alive, he manned the downstairs office.  If he was awake and at home, he was usually in that office.  My Mom, on the other hand, kept her office in the bonus room over the garage.  Some months after he passed, and with a steep set of stairs acting as impetus, my Mom decide she wanted to move into the downstairs office.  About a year and a half later, this is what the space looked like when I got home last month:

     

Needless to say, it wasn’t the ideal, peaceful place my mom needed to get things done.  She uses the space to surf the web, work on her volunteer projects, manage her bills and email, store reference materials for her volunteer work, contain miscellaneous sentimental items (like old greeting cards and photos) and as a storage place for important papers.  She even has a big, comfy, leather chair that she can use to snuggle up on, with her dogs, and read a book.  I wanted to give her a calm place to work and not feel overwhelmed (so basically the opposite of what she had).  At the time I was there, she hadn’t sat down and looked at her email for over two weeks and I’m sure the cluttered space had something to do with that.

Following my standard organizational process, I started by clearing everything out of the office.  This made for a messy breakfast room and living room but was necessary to really see what we had to work with.  While I started clearing things out, my Mom started pairing like things together.  My goal was to create a functional space for her, so her involvement in identifying what she needed to keep, and how things needed to be grouped together, was critical.

The first thing I wanted to tackle were the papers.  For all the reference items not related to her volunteer work, we took the time to go through her existing hanging folders, evaluate everything in them currently for timeliness, shred or recycle what wasn’t needed, and then file everything else into it’s appropriate folder.

For her volunteer reference materials, since she needs this information in spurts of times depending on what project she is working on, we decided to keep most of the information grouped in separate bins that were then stored in the desk.  Materials she wanted to keep but would likely not use often were contained in binders and stored in the bookcase.

 

My Mom has a thing for post-its.  Post-its and labels.  Yet, she constantly can’t find any and often buys more.  This was a constant theme I found when going through her drawers.  While sorting, she commonly said, ‘I didn’t know I had that already’ or ‘I didn’t know I had more than one of those’.  Looking at her desk drawers before, it’s no surprise she thought this way.  It was clear she needed designated locations for specific items in her drawers, so she knew where things were and could easily determine if she was running low on something.  To help with this, I bought bamboo organizers that fit the drawers, and created zones for her office supplies.  The desk my Dad used has a pull-out keyboard drawer that my Mom does not use.  I wanted to utilize that space, since it was basically wasted, so I added bamboo drawer organizers there as well.  Now everything has a location and like is with like, so she can easily find what she needs and easily put things back where they belong (the real key to maintenance).

 

The credenza in the office was used mostly by my Dad and basically had not been touched since he passed.  I think it was hard for my mom to address this location, but it was really time and many of the items had lost the sentiment they held shortly after he passed.  He kept miscellaneous items that we easily donated (like the Shadow box collection on DVD and materials for his beta fish…RIP Rusty), and other items we knew we would keep, but didn’t need organizing per se (like the greeting cards he kept…he loved a greeting card and never let a family birthday pass without giving or sending one). The shelves in the credenza are not deep, but I was lucky to find woven baskets at Home Goods that fit the space nicely.  I stored loose photos in one bin, greeting cards in two others, loose electronics like backup hard drives in another, and my Dad’s old camera he loved and used so much in another.  I displayed some treasures like pewter cups that represented my Mom and Dad’s college days (shout-out to Wake Forest and Fordham) and a minion figurine my mom didn’t want to part with.  The space is now clean and contained with room to grow if necessary.

In the end, I had a great visit with my Mom.  She is doing fantastic after her surgery and I, like always, loved spending time with her.  I was honored she asked, and happy to help her create a calm workspace that is functional for her.  She was truly grateful and excited to show her friends who, I hope, will keep her accountable in maintaining the space.  I try to sneak in a few glances during facetime sessions just to keep her on the organized path as well.

Additional After pics:

   

As always, I hope you found this post interesting, informative, inspiring, or entertaining (I’ll take any one as a success).  If so, please let me know in the comments section.  Also let me know if there is anything you’d like to see on this blog by writing me at feedback@theorganizingblonde.com.

 

XOXO,

The Organizing Blonde