More than eight years ago now we moved into our home. At the time, we had two children and my marvelous middle boy – who was my youngest then – was in 2nd grade. I unpacked and took my time getting everything just so. I had one room left to unpack – my office. But life threw me a curveball and I didn’t get that office unpacked and organized as planned. And then life threw me another curveball and after years of hoping, my darling youngest finally joined our family. So my office was still not unpacked and organized. My husband unpacked most of the boxes and just put stuff wherever, which he thought was helpful. 😉
Fast forward through lots of normal busy life moments to today. I am happy to report that my office is finally unpacked, dejunked, and organized. And it’s a completely different space today than it would have been eight years ago. You see, eight years ago I hadn’t yet inherited all of the boxes from both of my Grandmas. So now all of those treasures are in one place and more easily digitized, archived, preserved, and protected for generations to come.
My husband occasionally suggests that it might be time to stop working on something and “sharpen the saw” so that all tasks happen more quickly. That is exactly what I have done for myself.
Here is a little of the completely-unusable-“before”-chaos:
And here is the beautiful after (for now):
There are still plenty of things to do, but it is now a wonderfully workable space, also known as Genealogy Heaven! And yes, that is closet completely full of completely full boxes of photos, scrapbooks, journals, albums, histories, documents, and other memorabilia. Like I said, HEAVEN! ❤️
Happy Tuesday, if you need me, I’ll just be in that room ☝🏻 working away! xoxo
Wow! What a difference!! Your “before” pictures look like my husband’s desk! I am not sure how he does anything. For better or worse, I have not much in terms of “physical” documentation; most exists only on my computer. Even so, I manage to make piles and piles, thinking I am sorting! Good luck keeping everything as it looks right now. 🙂
Thank you, Amy! It has made an awesome difference for me. I would have loved to do it sooner but I knew I would make a bigger mess for a while before it came together and my little one was just too little to stay out my “mess” until now. So happy it’s done!
Beautiful! There’s nothing like a well-ordered space in which to work. Heaven indeed.
Thank you, Leslie! Yes, it has been wonderful. <3
Good work! I’m sure the before would have driven me bonkers. Makes me jittery just seeing the pic. But your son is so adorable!
Oh it made me completely crazy. I just kept the door shut, haha. My little one was finally big enough to stay out of my piles that had to move out into the hallway in order to get everything organized. Thank you, I think he is plenty adorable too. <3
Heaven for sure! Looks great! Love all the family photos displayed so attractively. I just bought new shelves for my office and got things organized but I’ve still got to get all the family photos displayed. Thanks for the inspiration!
Thank you, Sue! I need to update a few of them… they were put in frames about 13 years ago, haha. But it’s a great start and I love it! Good luck with your own project!! 🙂
Thank you for this great blog. You have inspired me to do something about my possible genealogy space. I have been too busy, but need to just do it.
Oh! Thank you, Nola. I’m so glad I was able to inspire you. I hope your project brings you as much joy as mine has brought to me. And, I can totally relate – I was too busy, but taking the time was worth it. I just had to wait until my little one was old enough to not mess with my piles. 😉
I love the transformation!! Enjoy the newly organized space.
Thank you, Eilene!! <3
The AFTER looks wonderful!! Congrats on getting it done. It’s been nearly two years since my little room was wallpapered and new shelves set up. It looks good but “things” which still need to be organized are stashed in Ikea boxes on the shelves and in a built-in closet. I guess I don’t go in there often enough.
Thank you, Cathy!! I have lots of things that still need attention as well. For instance, I have three short filing cabinets that I would like to replace with three tall filing cabinets to help get more things off of the shelf & floor, and out of the closet. But at least it is functional now!! 🙂
The room looks great. I wish I had one. Organization is a class I have never taken, nor was I born with it. However, I did have one cleaning lady who praised my closets. Your talents encourage me so much & I am grateful to you for sharing!
Thank you, Nancy! <3