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Value This Life

Value This Life

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Bedroom Home Office Makeover

For years I worked at home in a corner of the living room, at a desk bought from a garage sale. We still had 8 kids at home and the youngest two were preschoolers. I needed to keep an eye on them so I worked in the midst of everything going on. Years passed, we moved, and for a few brief months I had an actual designated room for my home office. Then someone moved back home and that was the beginning of college students in and out of our house. The season for our family had changed and for the first time, I had a master bedroom home office.

Bedroom Home Office

When we moved, we purchased a corner desk and it worked fine for a few years. But eventually I needed something better. The configuration of the desktop left little room to spread out work and it had a single small drawer. As part of a year-end evaluation of my business, I decided to start looking for a new desk. It needed to have room for my desktop computer, have decent storage, and fit the style of my bedroom.

After several weeks of searching for the perfect desk for the office corner in my bedroom, I ordered a white Hemnes desk from IKEA. It arrived in three boxes and sat in the living room until the next day. That night several of the guys in our family came over for tacos and a building party. They got it mostly built that evening, and a few days later my husband finished the project. At last! It was time for a bedroom home office makeover!

before makeover

The good, the bad, the ugly: BEFORE

The “before” photo shows the small area with a corner desk with limited desktop space and storage. I’m not saying that the new desk will never get messy, but it’s easier to keep a clean desk when it has adequate storage to begin with. The lack of storage in the desk created the need for a bookshelf and stuff on the floor. It wasn’t horrible, but it looked cluttered and that wasn’t the look I wanted for my bedroom….or workspace.

Of course moving out the old desk meant emptying the drawers and dragging out All The Things. For a few days my bedroom was chaos! But it was a good time to sort through, declutter and discard. I kept thinking about what I used daily, what I didn’t need to have at hand (or at all), and how I wanted it to look when it was finished.

In the midst of the project, the biggest surprise was discovering how much STUFF had been stored in my bedroom home office that was not being used frequently. No wonder it felt crowded and cluttered! I made a rule for the new desk that ONLY frequently-used, important items would make the cut to be stored in the desk. That may sound obvious but from the amount of junk that was discarded or moved to a non-prime storage area, apparently it wasn’t!

File drawer makeover

The file drawer was also reworked during the makeover. New files were set up for January to December and a small number of “other” files: Banks, Medical/Dental, Vehicles, etc. Items will be filed in the month during which they come in, except for the “other” file items. A large black trash bag was nearly halfway full by the time the files were purged and decluttered, and it felt good!

Streamlined file drawer

Solutions for No Wall Space

This bedroom home office has no available wall space at eye level for a marker board or wall calendar so I had to come up with alternatives. I’m happy with how it turned out:

Many people use marker boards in their home office for to-do’s, reminders, strategy and more. I actually prefer the feel of pen on paper, but wanted a way to keep tasks visible nearby. A removable adhesive hook was applied inside the desk hutch and a pretty clipboard hung there for this purpose. We super-glued the hinged hook part because it moved with the clipboard, making it hard to remove from the hook with one hand.

Clipboard hung next to computer monitor

I like having a legible calendar near my desk so I can glance at dates for scheduling work events without having to swipe my phone to find the calendar app. A wall calendar is the usual solution but there is literally no place to put one. Instead, I found a large clear desk mat at Office Depot. Besides protecting the white desktop and being a place to display photos and reminders under the plastic, a small calendar page fits here, too. The calendar was purchased at the Target dollar spot for $1, and the next month’s page will be removed from the calendar, trimmed and switched out at month’s end.

Clear plastic desktop mat

After Makeover

The finished project is way more organized and efficient! And pretty, I might add. It’s important that our workspace be inspiring so that it’s a place where we want to spend time. I found plastic “lace” baskets and a matching trash can at Ross (the trash can was $2.99!). The pink boxes came from Hobby Lobby (2 for $4.99 on sale), and they hold stationery, stickers and pens.

The finished project: AFTER

Of course a nice new desk is awesome, but the previous workspace could have been greatly improved without one. Clearing out unnecessary office supplies, notebooks and books goes a long ways towards creating an efficient space. Use what you have, think about how you can improve what’s not working.

I went into the project determined to simplify and “productify” my workspace. I love this new version of my bedroom home office so much, it has inspired me to apply the ideas in other areas of my house!

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About Charlotte

I'm a grateful wife & mom of 12 amazing persons. I love to inspire & teach busy women to find beauty in everyday life by caring for themselves, creating comfortable homes with their families and living out ordinary days with grace and gratitude. I'd love to encourage YOU!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Rhonda says

    January 25, 2019 at 8:13 am

    Wow! I love the pink and white! It looks great and would inspire me as well. The soft colors are relaxing and refreshing.

    Thank you for sharing!

    Reply
  2. Pat Schaeffer says

    January 25, 2019 at 7:45 pm

    This was so beautiful and encouraging to look at because having a makeover takes, time, thought and creativity! even the wastebasket looks so pretty and the whole area is lighthearted so the work done isn’t burdensome! I am so very happy for you and blessed to get to know you more! Thank you for sharing your life with all of us ladies who want to learn!!

    Reply
  3. Swi Sevilla says

    February 6, 2019 at 6:58 am

    Charlotte, as always, in everything you share you are a blessing to us all. Wonderful ideas that’ll help us. Great makeover!!! God bless you!! Hugs.

    Reply

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I'm a grateful wife & mom of 12 amazing persons. I love to inspire & teach busy women to find beauty in everyday life by caring for themselves, creating comfortable homes with their families and living out ordinary days with grace and gratitude. I'd love to encourage YOU! Read More…

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valuethislife

valuethislife
It’s not so much having a lot to do and many res It’s not so much having a lot to do and many responsibilities....it’s over-committing and the energy of “not being enough” that leads to burnout and adrenal fatigue. Your body will cooperate until it doesn’t.  Check in with yourself: What is driving all this doing? What’s behind all the striving, pushing, proving? Sit with that....and then STOP being so hard on yourself, sweetie. Give yourself a break. See where you can simplify. Think about what refreshes you and bring more of that into your life. 🌱
Day 8 of city-water-shortage-after-frozen-pipes ha Day 8 of city-water-shortage-after-frozen-pipes hair. Today they gave the go-ahead for dishwashers and clothes washers, so this girl will be washing her hair without guilt. A week ago it was snowing and -26 windchill, today it’s 71 degrees and sunshine. Don’t tell anyone, but I like variety so Oklahoma weather suits me.😍
Family favorite: No-Bake Cookies! Our recipe is ju Family favorite: No-Bake Cookies! Our recipe is just right, both chocolate-y and peanut butter-y. We like to eat these while they’re still warm and gooey!  Best No-Bake Cookies  1 stick butter  1/2 c. milk  2 c. sugar  1/2 c. cocoa  Mix in a saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring until melted and combined.  Boil 1 1/2 minutes only! Remove from heat and stir in:  1/2 c. peanut butter  1 tsp. vanilla  3 c. oats (either quick oats or old-fashioned)  Drop by spoonfuls on waxed paper.  Let set and enjoy!
Living and loving with your whole heart.💕That s Living and loving with your whole heart.💕That sounds lovely but exhausting. Maybe it’s because we’re zoomed out, looking at the whole day and our whole life. 
.
God is not asking you to do it all. Especially not all at once. His yoke is easy and His burden is light. 
.
Zoom back in to this moment. Do the next thing, but do it with your whole heart. 
.
While you’re doing the thing, stop thinking about all the OTHER things you have to do. The most important things WILL get done, but not all at once.❤️
Pretty college student on her 21st birthday. Our 1 Pretty college student on her 21st birthday. Our 10th child. Straight A student. Absolute delight. And when I found out I was pregnant with her, I couldn’t see how it would work out. All I could see was the current circumstance, the feelings and the fear of the future. Maybe this will encourage you today about a situation in your life. There’s a lot of good and hope in your future.🌱
Snow is rare where I live in Oklahoma. Today it’ Snow is rare where I live in Oklahoma. Today it’s still at the pretty stage, when it covers bare ground and sparkles in the sun. Stray snowflakes are falling like glitter. The melting gray slush is coming, but for today it’s a fairy landscape. Reminds me that we can’t stop time or hold on to life’s moments. We can look for the good right where we are and trust God for the “different” good coming.❄️
A good word for when you’re tempted to be mean t A good word for when you’re tempted to be mean to yourself ❤️
Nobody sittin’ on this garden bench in two degre Nobody sittin’ on this garden bench in two degree weather today!🥶Unusually cold, with rare snow and more to come in Oklahoma. This weather event has disrupted “life as usual.” Prayers for those without power, water or heat right now—rolling power blackouts have begun...
Have you ever procrastinated about doing something Have you ever procrastinated about doing something, with thoughts of dread and overwhelm?😬And then done the thing,  finding that it was easier and faster to get done than you thought it would be?🥴Yeah, me too. Note to self: The dreading and putting off costs a whole lot more emotional energy than just doing the thing. 😊
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Looking For Something?

valuethislife

valuethislife
It’s not so much having a lot to do and many res It’s not so much having a lot to do and many responsibilities....it’s over-committing and the energy of “not being enough” that leads to burnout and adrenal fatigue. Your body will cooperate until it doesn’t.  Check in with yourself: What is driving all this doing? What’s behind all the striving, pushing, proving? Sit with that....and then STOP being so hard on yourself, sweetie. Give yourself a break. See where you can simplify. Think about what refreshes you and bring more of that into your life. 🌱
Day 8 of city-water-shortage-after-frozen-pipes ha Day 8 of city-water-shortage-after-frozen-pipes hair. Today they gave the go-ahead for dishwashers and clothes washers, so this girl will be washing her hair without guilt. A week ago it was snowing and -26 windchill, today it’s 71 degrees and sunshine. Don’t tell anyone, but I like variety so Oklahoma weather suits me.😍
Family favorite: No-Bake Cookies! Our recipe is ju Family favorite: No-Bake Cookies! Our recipe is just right, both chocolate-y and peanut butter-y. We like to eat these while they’re still warm and gooey!  Best No-Bake Cookies  1 stick butter  1/2 c. milk  2 c. sugar  1/2 c. cocoa  Mix in a saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring until melted and combined.  Boil 1 1/2 minutes only! Remove from heat and stir in:  1/2 c. peanut butter  1 tsp. vanilla  3 c. oats (either quick oats or old-fashioned)  Drop by spoonfuls on waxed paper.  Let set and enjoy!
Living and loving with your whole heart.💕That s Living and loving with your whole heart.💕That sounds lovely but exhausting. Maybe it’s because we’re zoomed out, looking at the whole day and our whole life. 
.
God is not asking you to do it all. Especially not all at once. His yoke is easy and His burden is light. 
.
Zoom back in to this moment. Do the next thing, but do it with your whole heart. 
.
While you’re doing the thing, stop thinking about all the OTHER things you have to do. The most important things WILL get done, but not all at once.❤️
Pretty college student on her 21st birthday. Our 1 Pretty college student on her 21st birthday. Our 10th child. Straight A student. Absolute delight. And when I found out I was pregnant with her, I couldn’t see how it would work out. All I could see was the current circumstance, the feelings and the fear of the future. Maybe this will encourage you today about a situation in your life. There’s a lot of good and hope in your future.🌱
Snow is rare where I live in Oklahoma. Today it’ Snow is rare where I live in Oklahoma. Today it’s still at the pretty stage, when it covers bare ground and sparkles in the sun. Stray snowflakes are falling like glitter. The melting gray slush is coming, but for today it’s a fairy landscape. Reminds me that we can’t stop time or hold on to life’s moments. We can look for the good right where we are and trust God for the “different” good coming.❄️
A good word for when you’re tempted to be mean t A good word for when you’re tempted to be mean to yourself ❤️
Nobody sittin’ on this garden bench in two degre Nobody sittin’ on this garden bench in two degree weather today!🥶Unusually cold, with rare snow and more to come in Oklahoma. This weather event has disrupted “life as usual.” Prayers for those without power, water or heat right now—rolling power blackouts have begun...
Have you ever procrastinated about doing something Have you ever procrastinated about doing something, with thoughts of dread and overwhelm?😬And then done the thing,  finding that it was easier and faster to get done than you thought it would be?🥴Yeah, me too. Note to self: The dreading and putting off costs a whole lot more emotional energy than just doing the thing. 😊
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