My home office drawer organization

February 26, 2019

For the most part I've felt like this house is getting organized nicely. No one tells you quite how long it takes to get settled when you move into a new house. Unpacking is the first hurdle...organizing the drawers that you threw crap into while unpacking is another. Ha!

My office and my husband's (his is in the basement) are my final frontiers. I feel like the rest of the house is sorted and organized really well. My husband's space is going to take a week or two (just because of the years of teaching we still have boxed up) but I figured mine would just take an hour or so.

I finished building my last office in our loft the year before we moved out of our old house:
Farmhouse style office with shiplap and large desk with cabinets

I built it from the ground up to serve my needs as an office, but it also functioned as a craft space and an area where we could all get work done. It had the perfect amount of storage (window seat, bookcase and all those cabinets!) for all of my craft and office supplies. 

Fast forward to moving into this house, and I have a lovely space -- it's plenty big and I just love it! But there's not much storage yet so most of the stuff is still in the basement. The dresser is the only spot I have to keep office supplies and EVERY time we looked for something in there it drove me crazy. 

The first few months we lived here I stuffed things in wherever they would fit. Or...not fit. I made them go in there: 

Purging and decluttering KonMari

Even though closing the doors was a challenge. ;) It was a disaster. Even so I didn't think it would take that long to sort through. 

That is until I took everything out: 
Purging and decluttering office supplies

This isn't even all of it! I started the day before this picture and had already tossed a bunch of stuff. 

This isn't a big dresser...I can't believe how much I had stuffed in there! I like purging and organizing but this kind of stuff -- the random things like cords, office supplies, papers...I do not enjoy. It's SO tedious. 

THREE hours later I had an cleaned out and organized dresser -- finally! It only took me 16 months. And three hours: 
Using a dresser for storage in office

I didn't use anything new to organize -- in fact I got rid of so much stuff I didn't even need all the bins we had in there. 

I found these organizers years ago at HomeGoods and still love them for little stuff: 
Fabric separated bins for office supplies

I've said it a million times...when spaces aren't organized, we overspend on stuff we already had. I notice it over and over and over in our own home. 

We have at least 15 notepads...
Organizing office supplies

And that doesn't include the ones I got rid of! OH, and did you see all the tape in the office supply drawer? We have at least ten rolls in there. 😂

I got rid of so much (and moved some things to files in the basement) that most of the drawers are only halfway full. Just the way I like it!: 
Decluttering and organizing office supplies

I put this off for so long and now I'm SO HAPPY to have it done! Yay! 

I keep things I need handy on my desk in a tray: 
Tray on desk for often needed items

Tray are the best right?? What would we do with all the little junk without trays? :) 

I went with a floating desk in my office and so far it's been plenty of space for working: 
World market wood desk organization

I'll share a source list at the bottom if you're interested in anything!

I can't remember the name of this plant but it's so fun! I almost killed it but it came back nicely: 
Plant on desk

I haven't done much with the walls because I have big plans in here -- the back wall will be built in bookcases: 
Floating a desk in the middle of the room

I get asked about those grids a lot -- I found them at Goodwill years ago and still love them. They were window grids from an old house: 
Light and airy office

Neutral plaid drapes

They fill in that big wall a bit until I get those bookcases built.

The next big project we've been budgeting for is hardwoods in here -- the dog has destroyed the carpet in a couple spots (thankfully you can't tell in these photos) and I can't wait to pull this up!:
World market wood desk in office

I can't start the built ins until I get the floors down, so once the floors are in I'll be rolling on those! Can't wait to get started. 

I have a big project planned for the wall over the dresser in the meantime and I hope to share that with you soon. I'm really excited about it! 

Until then, I'm enjoying this newly organized space:
Floating desk in middle of office

It's a simple space but I love this room! The natural light is wonderful. :) 

Sources for this space (affiliate links included):  
Wall color: Agreeable Gray 
Chairs, pinboard, drapes and butterfly tapestry: HomeGoods
Grids, desk tray and magazine holder: Goodwill






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Comments

  1. I think that I have a magazine holder almost like yours! I picked mine up at a thrift store as well. I took the legs off because it looked top heavy to me. Love what you've done so far.

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  2. Everything looks so good after the organisation! The new space is beautiful. Thanks for being a constant source of inspiration! 💕

    Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog
    http://charmainenyw.com

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  3. I like the whole Business cards in a jar thing! Cool way to use an empty jar!

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  4. Pilea Peperomioides (Chinese Money Plant). A local nursery had it on their IG feed yesterday.

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  5. What a great place to work, Sarah! I absolutely hate organizing paperwork and files....it's my nemesis, for sure. Looks great!!

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