We all have them: those areas of our home that we use for unfiled, unsorted, building up to-dos that eventually become the mountains of paper we are unwilling or unable to face. I know of couples that have moved several times dragging a bunch of junk along with them until it feels impossible to knuckle down to the task and clear it all out. For us that place, that no-man’s land, is our home office.
Before I had kids I had an alphabetically organised filing cabinet and several neat, pretty boxes with clearly marked contents. I even merged my husband’s and my filing systems so that I could take care of them both – I am a bit A-Type that way – forgive me.
Then I had two gorgeous little men invade my life seventeen months apart and the wheels, well, they fell off. Since then, I have managed to keep the essentials (birth certificates, immunization records etc) reachable in amongst the quagmire of filing that invaded the room that was supposed to be our home office. But everything else went to pieces. The extra cupboard that we were SO thrilled to acquire slowly became a dumping ground that even I feared to look inside. Our helper started adding to the piles of junk inside because, to be fair, she had no idea where anything went. Neither did we. It’s not that it didn’t bother me, I just had no capacity to even think about tackling the insane mountain of paper and junk that our ‘study’ had become.
Last week Friday was my D-Day. I was absolutely covered in the most beautiful shade of grey paint, elbows deep, with some ending up on the walls. I painted the office, myself, in about three hours, then moved the shelves into place and started to create some sense of normalcy in a space that is fast becoming my favorite room in the house… have a look at the before and after photos to get some idea of the change – and please, don’t judge!
Our Home Office: Before and After
The point of all of this is that I have realised that having clear physical space is paramount to having clear head space and, no matter how impossible it may seem, it is possible to get back to the clean and organised environment you enjoyed before kids – at least in some rooms of the house. The other bonus is that I’m definitely more efficient with my time now that I know where everything is… and my son’s OT got her forms at last.
Thinking of you all, and hoping you’re having a great week
The Working Mothers Expo, brought to you in partnership with MiWayLife, brings together everything working mothers need under one roof. 4-6 November 2016. Sandton Convention Centre. Meet our MCs, Elana Afrika and Claire Mawisa, at the Speakers Corner.
If you would like to inquire about sponsoring or exhibiting at the event, please email us and we will send you all the details you need.
Tickets available at Computicket