I’ve calculated that I spend at least 35-hours a week in my home office.

When I’m not working from home as part of my full time job, I’m putting in the extra hours at the weekend and at night working on this blog.

So as you can imagine, when you spend most of your working day in just one room, it’s gotta be a good one.

My creative space

I’ve recently redecorated my home office; I repainted the walls in silk paint (grey) to bounce the light around the room – and I treated myself to a new Chesterfield-type sofa.

The colour scheme is grey and features a fuchsia pink backdrop and accessories to match in a bid to spark creativity (important for what I do of course!). The vibe is fun, laid back and slightly industrial.

However, what I do have a problem with is paperwork. I like making lists and I tend to leave bits of paper lying around everywhere.

I’ve always tried to live by the idea that ‘a tidy desk means a tidy mind’; I’m quite orderly by nature (some would say anal); I like making lists and I get immense pleasure from having a tidy house.

So what I really needed for my home office was:

• A good clear out
• Some decent office storage

The big tidy

In terms of seeing to (a), I’m good at tackling a good clear out; in fact I aim do this on a weekly basis anyway to try to keep

on top of the scraps of paper (and my anxiety levels low!)

And for (b), Cox and Cox came to the rescue! In its spring 2017 range I chose a Wire Magazine Rack for £30 which measures 87(H) x 32 (W) x 19cm (D) to take care of the storage dilemma. (The company sells a similar one here for £45)

If I’m honest, I didn’t pay too much attention to the measurements when I ordered it, so when it was delivered it was much bigger than I had anticipated, which of course was a good thing – the bigger, the more storage!

I set to work straight away, tidying, cleaning and organising – and before long, all my scraps of paper were sorted out and files were created to keep organised in the rack.

A real motivator

Once the rack was on the wall, it looked great and fits in with the room’s vibe brilliantly.

I’ve stored all my A4 reminders, notices, bits of information etc…into sleeves, which have then been stored neatly in the rack.

I even had some space for my diary and some of my favourite interiors mags too. This has meant that my desk has finally become free of clutter!

In fact, dare I say it, it looks eerily like one of those ‘showhome’ office mock-ups you see in places like Ikea as you walk round (and you think to yourself how fake it looks – as no home office looks that neat, tidy and organised!)

But right now, mine does. And here’s the evidence….

 

 

 

 

 

What I really wanted to do was file away all the loose papers of school notices, reminders, tickets etc that were pinned to my clipboards.

You see, underneath all these bits and bobs were inspirational quotes, pictures of my kids and well, just nice things to look at.

The transformation worked a treat; now when I’m sat at my desk I’m no longer staring at the MOT reminder for my car; instead I can read quotes that inspire me to follow my dreams.

Oh, and not forgetting pictures of the kids of course; after all, they’re my biggest motivation for working my little socks off!

Cox & Cox provided me with an item of choice from their 2017 spring range in return for an honest review of their product.

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