Before + After: Reclaiming the Desk and Mudroom

Moving cross country with babies and toddlers is no easy feat. Unpacking takes 10 times as long, so I’m glad I was able to help my friend make some headway in their mudroom/office space.

We discussed goals for the space and a plan to work through over time, which included some layout shuffling, minimizing, moving all the books that didn’t serve a purpose here down to the built-ins in the basement, and creating a cheerful aesthetic. I love how this space is coming together over time!

BEFORE DESK


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AFTER DESK

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BEFORE MUDROOM

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AFTER MUDROOM

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We said goodbye to the corner bookshelf, everything on top of the lockers, and now even that coat rack pictured above with baby slings is gone (bittersweet!) and hooks have been added to the IKEA SKOGSTA shelf.

Paperwork is the biggest job in this space, and that takes time. We created a sense of how to handle more current and urgent paperwork on built-in shelves over the desk and talked through how to approach larger piles of paperwork that can feel daunting. The categories I recommend for current items are:

ACTION ITEMS | phone call needed, RSVP, follow-up

BILLS TO PAY

REFERENCE | tax reference, home maintenance reference, kids information

Other paper tips…

  • Have a way to RECYCLE mail as soon as it comes in the door.

  • SCHEDULE a time on your calendar to tackle the bigger piles - when the kids are in bed or a couple hours on the weekend.

  • Start with a QUICK SORT so you can weed out the obvious trash right away

  • Then really dig in and create general categories as you SORT. Use temporary sticky notes to keep track of your piles

  • Automate as much as possible so you have less paperwork coming in.

  • LABEL and ALPHABETIZE the files you do keep, to a point. (BANK, CAR, HOUSE MAINTENANCE, RETIREMENT, etc). One of my personal exceptions is that I keep a file for each kiddo near the front so I can quickly access with medical, school and financial info.

  • Start UNSUBSCRIBING from mailings + catalogs

  • Keep an ART BIN for incoming kids artwork and sort through whenever it’s full, transferring favorites to a KEEPSAKE BIN.