Arlington homeowner, Tecla Murphy, on reorganizing her home office with Kacy Paide.
Why did you decide to renovate your home office?
The space for my home office is small, but I needed a lot of storage and room to spread out my work. My vision for the room was of a very functional space. Even if I replaced the furniture I didn’t think I would get the work surface I was craving.
What made you decide to contact a professional organizer to begin the home office project?
I needed someone to help me power through the layers of papers that were cluttering the office. I knew from prior projects that just moving out the papers and memorabilia and moving them back into the renovated space would not be successful; I would end up more disorganized. I also wanted someone with experience with paperwork issues, and with an eye for workflow to help me decide what to store where and whether the office design I had in mind would really work. After we had worked for awhile, Kacy did recommend some adjustments to the storage shelves that were an improvement.
What were some of the most challenging tasks Kacy asked you to do? What were some of the easiest?
Kacy started out by wanted to hear what I was hoping to accomplish. She asked me to describe the problems I was having and give her a sense of what I thought was lurking in the piles. It was easy to talk with Kacy. I loved that she didn’t express judgment about the state of my office.
The challenges were to get homework done between sessions without someone there to keep me working. Kacy was realistic about that, but it was obviously to my benefit to make some progress on things between organizing sessions. The other challenge was those last few papers that I was keeping out in the open—all sorts of half completed to-do lists and random papers that seemed to need to be addressed but hadn’t been, and didn’t have a home. Kacy gave me some ideas about that but I had to decide what would work for me. That’s still a challenge, so I don’t have a totally clear table, but it is a 98-percent improvement from where things were before.
What do you like best about your new space?
I love the long work table. That was something that I wanted from the start and it really works for me. We have two computer stations right now and there is still room between them to work on a larger project, keep files temporarily or just have lovely clear space. I also love having so much storage. With built-ins you can really maximize your storage as compared to furniture. I loved that there was enough storage space that I was actually able to declutter part of another room by utilizing the new storage.
You have a standing desk from Stand Steady—how is that working out?
I learned from my physical therapist that it would be good to spend more of my work days that are spent in front of a computer standing versus sitting. There are very complicated systems available but my Stand Steady desk is simple, relatively lightweight, inexpensive and matches with the light modern look of my new office. I have it in place at one of my computer stations and if I don’t want to stand, or someone else is using the space and doesn’t want that feature, it’s very easy to move it out of the way.
What makes you most happy with the new space and how it’s organized?
I love coming into the space and having a clear view out the windows. New paint and the light wood tone exude a calm feeling. And I do love knowing that if I keep up with my paper filing (that’s still work) I can retrieve things I need much more easily.
(August 2014)
