I love taking before and after organizing glam shots for my clients. After organizing, it's so easy to forget what your space used to look and make you feel. Seeing before and after pictures of your space is a wonderful way to take pride in your progress and hard work! Here's some photos I took of my clients' spaces. I'd like to thank my clients for sharing these and inspiring others!
The Home Office:
Before
We removed all the items on the desk and used the floor around the desk to make smaller piles. We assigned the living room coffee table as the spot for magazines and catalogs and re-assigned desk drawers for different supplies. We're still working on the desk drawers and filing system. Stay tuned!
After
Each section of the three tiered shelf is used to hold active paper in three areas: Personal, Career and Financial. The Active papers and mail can easily be divided when brought to the desk area. The smaller upright divider is used for papers that need to be read or require research. This easy system will keep your desk surface clear and keep active papers in easy reach. A desk is for work, not for storage!
Before
It's so easy to pile up active papers and files around the computer so they're right in front of you. It becomes challenging to track these papers when they pile up.
After
We divided all active papers by different life areas (Personal, Career, Household, Home Renovation) into separate magazine holders labeled.
Once a paper is dealt with, it should be shredded or recycled or file. A "To File" magazine holder holds all of your inactive papers. Magazine holders easily keep your papers in sight but because they have a finite, small footprint, they have have a limit on how many papers you keep. Once your "To File" magazine holder gets jam-packed, it time to file!
To keep track of your active papers, create running To-Do lists that corresponds with each group of paper in your magazine holders. If you can write all the info down on your To Do List (ie "Call Bill at 555-555-5555 about estimate), throw out that piece of paper!
Keep a garbage/recycle/to shred cans underneath your paper processing area of your desk is a great way to help make quick decisions about what paper to pitch.
We moved the printer and paper storage to the shortest section of the desk.
The Kitchen:
Before
After
We moved glasses and dishes that are used daily to thelower shelf and put items that are used occasionally like vases and stemware on the higher shelf.
Before
After
We re-assigned the cabinet above the sink as the "tupperware zone." We cleared out those plastic bags and recycled them at the supermarket. Many supermarkets like Vons and Gelson have bins out front to recycle old plastic bags.
We discovered some reusable bags underneath the plastic bags in the cabinet and moved them to the front of the closet door in the hallway so they're easy to grab when running out to the store.
Before
Every home has a clutter trap. Kitchen counters are easy place for family members to place items brought into the house after a long day.
After
Assigning surface space with a purpose is a great way to combat clutter. After clearing the counter, we turned it into a food prep area. The only items on this area are related to food prep only: cutting boards, knife block, scale, and food storage containers.
Cords, cords, and more cords:
Before
Cords and old electronics can take up a lot of space. Cords and phones that are no longer in use were separated to be brought to a recycling center. Click here for my post on how to recycle electronics. Remaining cords were organized by type and tied together with twist ties.
After
Memorabilia:
