Take Messy Spaces to Inspired Places – Quickly!

This is my desk space.

I know, right? It's a bit of a mess but everything I have on my desk is essential to my daily work. Not only my actual work but the stuff that inspires me to work and be the best person I can be. I need to surround myself with photos of the people I love, inspirational quotes, and gifts my kids have given me. I spend a good six hours a day at my desk so it's important to be inspired and motivated. Only my inspiration and motivation should have taken that left turn in Albuquerque because right now those two things are lost amongst the mess that is my work zone.

These are the items I want to be able to see or have easy access to:

A) A picture my husband surprised me with. It represents my writing and his love for me. 

B) My exercise calendar that makes me accountable. It needs to be front and centre so I can see the days I did and didn't work out STARING ME STRAIGHT IN THE FACE.

C) Photos of the people I love.

D) This is a framed printout with the five rules to a good relationship. My husband made it for me when we were dating and 18 years later I still want to be able to see it every day to remind me to focus on what's important.

E) My iPod and heart monitor that I just throw on my desk after a workout because I have no place to put them.

F) The horse my son gave me to keep me company while I work.

G) Oh, and see those two envelopes and jumble of papers to the right of the image? One envelope is my tax receipt filing system which is not going to change because I'm 45 years old and it works for me so why would I change it. The other envelope is my workout payment system. Each time I exercise for 30 minutes, I pay myself $2.00 and into the envelope it goes so I need it to be easily accessible.

Disaster, right?

Not anymore!

I was sent some Elmer’s Freestyle Stationery Clips, Repositional Hooks, and Repositional Stick ‘Ems to makeover my work area and turn it from a messy desk to an inspired space.

My desk is a built-in and it's the first thing you see when you walk into my house.  Screws, nails or any permanent fixtures are not an option because repairing any holes or damage would be costly. Elmer's Repositional Hooks and Stationery Clips were the perfect answer to my problem.

I used the Elmer's Stationery Clips to hang my favourite photos and was able to make use of the wall space that had been empty up until now.

I then utilized the inside door space to the cupboard where I keep my hard drive and used the Elmer's Repositional Hooks as a place to hang my iPod and heart rate monitor and the Stationery Clips to hang my tax receipt filing system and my exercise payment system. Both within arm's reach when I need them.

Now that I no longer had those envelopes and papers shoved beside my printer, I could move the printer over and fit in the framed relationship rules my husband made.

The whole process took less than an hour and I changed the position of the photos at least eight different times. The Stationary Clips and Repositionable Hooks left no marks and were easy to take on and off. 

Oh, and here's a bonus idea for all of you:

I'm not sure what the cup/glass situation is in your house but in our house, my boys would grab a new glass every time they had a drink. It drove me absolutely crazy so we established the rule that they get one glass per day. When they weren't using that glass, it stayed on the counter. Only what happened then was that they would never know whose glass was whose which led to fights which led to me losing my mind.

Not anymore.

Now everyone gets their own little Elmer's Repositional Stick ‘Em with an initial and I am able to keep my sanity.

Thanks, Elmer's.