I am going to be spending most of this week working from home, in my home office and in my studio. I always love this type of week, but it does take me a day or two to really get down to business and feel like I am accomplishing something. The first few days I am very easily distracted and all over the place, even though I have an agenda to follow! Today is a perfect example. I thought I’d go out and get some poster board to do some prep work for some sample boards I need to make. My daughter decided she would go to HomeGoods and Target, so I decided I’d rather tag along for that! I did buy a file cabinet that was on my "To Do List" for this week, so accomplished something! 😉 Now, I’ve shifted gears for the day and decided to work on the many piles of filing that await me. I hate filing.
My goals this week are get organized: clear out some unwanted clutter, file away those piles I have stacked up, go through my glazes and paints and weed out those that have expired, update my promo materials, and try to make my studio a little more efficient. Yikes, I’m tired just listing all that needs to be done!
My home office is all over the place at the moment. I have a nook in my kitchen that I use for most of the office, but there is limited storage there, so my files and some reference materials are in my bedroom in my closet and on a bookshelf in there. For large projects, where I need to spread out, I’ve been using my dining room table. That is all about to change. My daughter is in the final stages of moving into her first apartment after college. Happily, her new place is only 5 miles from me! I am happy to see her enter this new phase of her young adult life, but… of course, I am sad to see my baby leave the nest. I own a 2 family home with one of my brothers and I live in a 2 bedroom apartment on the first floor. With mixed feelings, I will turn my daughter’s bedroom into a guest bedroom/office. I’ve told her that anytime she wants to move back, her room will be hers again in a heartbeat. 😉 My plan is to move my long, wooden library type dining room table into the new office for my desk/work table. I will eventually take my love seat from the living room, which has a sleeper in it, and put that in the office/guest room. I’m taking all the office supplies, file cabinets, and the bookshelf with reference materials that now live in my bedroom and moving those to the new office, as well as any office supplies that are in my kitchen nook. Of course, first I need to do some fun painting on the walls in my new office!
Over the next few months I will be making a lot of changes in my living spaces, but right now I need to focus on de-cluttering and organizing. I wish I could say I have a lovely studio in my basement, but I am grateful that I at least have a room of my own down there to play in. I love the fact that I don’t have to leave my house to do sample boards, work on furniture, and store my supplies. I’m often down there in my PJ’s early in the morning, doing a quick base coat that can be drying while I’m having my morning coffee and getting dressed for the day. The down side is that my basement does get a little wet at times when we have heavy rains or lots of melting snow. It’s not a finished basement, so it sports those lovely cinder blocks for walls and cement for the floor. The electrical outlets are questionable and the lighting is not the best. Also, no utility sink down there. Yes, all this could be upgraded… but remember… I just finished putting my daughter through 4 years of college and this Fall I need to replace all 13 of my windows in my apartment. A sump pump is high on my list though! As my father used to say to us all the time "Money doesn’t grow on trees, kids". So, I will make some minor improvements for now that will make the space more efficient and I will do a lot of discarding of supplies and materials that are no longer useful.
I guess when you are both a homeowner and a business owner the projects just never end. I do hope to have this phase of projects done by the end of October though and am making a pact with myself to undertake no other projects until after the first of the year. It will be nice to just enjoy a home that is not in a state of repair/organization for a few months!
Cre8Tiva
yes, the projects never seem to end…but i am happy for this new time in your life…it will be melancholy though…emptying the nest always is…i know an office will make you feel better…good luck organizing…and simplifying…blessings, rebecca