Anja works at home, which is on a farm with a bicycle business workshop, too. She would like her office to look as minimalist as possible. To “illustrate” her point, she showed me the Airbnb space next to it. It looked welcoming, though spare. That would be our goal. It would take two three-hour sessions together. In the second one, we were joined by nine-week-old sibling kittens. As we worked, Anja named them Ping and Pong. They were lots of fun to watch!
I suggested that we start with one spot in the large room, then work our way around it. First up – the closet. Its shelves held coffee cups, vases, a small non-working appliance. On the small table sat a small, dorm-size, fridge. A vacuum was on the floor.
We removed the cups and vases for rinsing or washing, set aside the appliance. We dusted the shelves and vacuumed the floor space.
Next, we looked at a high shelf, which was mostly empty. Excellent! It practically “begged” to be used. Would it be too high for Anja to reach? No. Also excellent! We would place things there as we worked our way around the room.
We organized the marble table surface. Anja explained that she likely will hire someone to work with her so that, when the time is right, having that space clear will be a big help. We separated papers to discard, file or recycle.
We next focused on Anja’s desk, which faces the marble table top. We put some things away in its drawers and in others, which were under the printer. Easy peasy!
Moving our way around the room, we organized the top of the three-drawer filing cabinet. Anja uses those in the box on its top very often, so she wanted to leave it there. Okay! The top of the antique wood storage piece held some binders, which we placed on the high shelf across the room. We set aside books for recycling or to go into the house. When the top was cleared, I suggested that Anja consider placing a big, low-light-tolerant plant there – to prevent clutter’s return. (I did that on part of my kitchen counter a long time ago, to control my own behavior. It works!)
As we finished our work around the office, it was much neater. The high shelf was half-full. Anja was smiling, and Ping and Pong were still delightful.
Where will we work next? That’s to be determined. It will be in a few weeks.
About De-clutter Me!
De-clutter Me! offers non-judgmental, competitively-priced and confidential assistance to help clear clutter in your home and/or business. We’ve been changing chaos to calm since 2013.