Okay – I’m going a little crazy in my home office ever since I had to move out of my work office earlier this week. I had to move all of my books and files home and the chaos is making me nuts! I have a lot of books and files – as do most people in the academic world – and finding room for them in my home office (so thankful I have one!) is harder than I thought. As a result, I’m not being as productive with my organization as I’d like to be. And in the midst of all my reorganization I get mad at myself for (a) having too much stuff and (b) not being able to find a spot for it all in my 1200sq foot apartment. (Honestly – how do New Yorkers do it!?)

So here’s a peek at what I’ve got so far…

In one desk drawer I have my supplies organized in this handy drawer divider. I’ve used mini clear plastic bags to organize little items like band-aids, file labels, and batteries.

In the office closet I have stacked these clear plastic bins to organize everything from office supplies (how many supplies does one girl need?) to books to Christmas decorations to picture frames (Does anyone want small picture frames? I have a bin of them!). Everything is labelled because (a) it looks organized and (b) I love my label maker.

I only have a long two drawer filing cabinet (that I painted white, of course). I think I really need a four drawer cabinet but I’m scared of filling it up. I have designated one drawer for personal things and one drawer for work files.

About ninety percent of the binders I use are white. They are much more appealing on my open bookcase than a colourful group of binders would be. They are filled with PhD-related things (aka my dissertation – no big deal).

Finally, I use IKEA’s magazine folders and labels for current work-related projects. They are lined up and looking good on my bookcase.

I think one of my main problems that I have is that everything is half-size – 2 drawer filing cabinet, short bookcases, shallow desk drawers – so I feel like there’s just not enough room to fit both work stuff and fun stuff in this one space. I was sad when I had to empty all my bookshelves of my for-pleasure books and fill them back up again with work books. Sigh.

How do you manage to have both work and personal items in one space? What rules do you follow to get rid of things?

I’ll be reading Mo + Mo’s advice again this weekend – always a source of minimalist inspiration!

Have a great weekend!

Photos by Jordana.