Organizational Challenge Update

I spent a great deal of time this weekend going through piles of stuff.... On the first trip through, I unloaded 4 bags of trash. Once that was gone, I decided to go through each pile again - I ended up unloading another 3 bags of stuff. I was so into de-cluttering that I started late Thursday night (right after a forbidden shopping trip) and didn't stop until Friday at about 8pm when I fell exhausted into bed.

It was Thursday night when I begged my daughter for some decorating advice. She is really savy about decorating and I really needed some help here. We went on a trip to Walmart and started looking through all the organizational aids they have in stock. I must admit, we found several things that interested me. That was when we decided on a theme. Our theme is centered around The Beach. Here are the items we purchased:

I will probably need to pick up a few more items - such as primer ( I didn't realize I needed it). My desk is laminated press wood and I read online this past weekend that I need to sand down the desk to rough up the surface, then primer it, then sand it some more and paint it, sand and paint it again....so one coat of primer and two coats of paint to get it to look natural. I am planning to leave the wood color alone and only paint the black portions of the desk - provided I have enough time and the weather cooperates.

Here is a scanned copy of the floor plan I would like to have for my room - remember, its just a pencil sketch and nothing is to scale (obviously).

Here is a brief overview of each lettered area:
Letter A - This is my trash can - I have a huge trash can for this room. I also have a small trash can for my desk but the large one will remain near the door as a quick and easy reminder to remove the trash as I leave the room.

Letter B - This is my sewing desk. I have a cool idea for a shelf that will hang above the sewing desk - provided I can find someone to cut the wood for me and the weather permits for painting and sanding. It will be a two tiered shelf with dowel rods and hooks for holding thread, lace, and ribbon as well as baskets and storage boxes for sewing supplies.

Letter C - In this spot I found a really cool storage system that I believe I can build myself. Here are a few thumbnail photos of the type of storage that will belong here (isn't it really beachy feeling!)

I am certain I can sew the canvas bags - and the hangers look like dowel rods attached to a board that is screwed onto the wall. It doesn't look all that difficult at all.

Letter D - My desk. I plan to paint the black to a navy blue (weather permitting) and reassemble the desk in the corner. I found a really awesome lamp for my desk that really fits with the Beachy Theme.

Letter E - My printer station - I have an all-in-one printer that eventually I want to update. Currently it isn't compatible with my new pc. I have it plugged into our old pc that we use as a file server. The cord is short so the file server pc will sit below the printer and I will access the pc from my wide screen monitor with its serial port. I still have yet to locate a printer stand for the printer. Hopefully I will find a good 2nd hand used one.


Letter F - This is a window seat that I currently don't have either. I want to build one that will wrap around to the printer stand. My cats love to sit on the window ledge and sun bathe - and if I can plan one correctly, it will have a good hunk of storage space below with a soft smooshy cushion on top. This probably won't become a reality for the 28 day organizational challenge but will be added later down the road.

Letter G - Book Shelves - Currently, I only have my bulky light blue shelves but my goal is to replace it with an awesome book shelf that will fit neatly between the two windows in the room. Imagine the boards that form the back of an Adirondack deck chair - the shelf will have three boards of differing heights on each of the ends to form the short edge of the shelf unit. Then 10 boards of varying heights from 48 to 52 inches will make up the back of the shelf - four shelves 14 inches apart will hold all of my books. The book case will be painted in distressed sea foam green to match my see thru curtain panels. Since I rent, I can't paint the room - so I want to paint my furniture in sea foam green with the exception of my desk which will be a dark blue.

Letter H - This will be a sea foam green metal shelf that will be home to our internet modem as well as storage boxes and more books and other decor. I have the shelf in the garage but just need nice weather so I can paint it.

As for the closet, I currently have a single plastic shelf in there along with boxes of books that will eventually come out and be placed on my book shelves once I finish removing the desk and rearranging the furniture. Can't wait for trash day! This weekend should hold the key to the majority of my furniture rearranging and hopefully some painting (weather permitting). That's where I am at the moment....feel free to make comments and give some tips if you have any! The more ideas I can get the better!