Ode to my Office

"A Journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."

-Lao-tzu

This is the quote I kept saying to myself this week. I had a BIG DREADED journey ahead of me, I will let you take a peek:

So, this is what the Christmas holidays + a sick pregnant me does to my office! I was so sick and pregnant for all of the months of December, January and February, it was rough. I have been feeling better for like a month now, and just dreading and procastinating cleaning my office. But this was the week I decided I would fight the office and win the battle. I am not joking the above quote inspired me, I had a whole day set aside to clean it, and I kept telling myself, "just STEP in to the office"... baby steps....

I didn't want to be guilty of only posting things on my blog that make me look good. So here it is, the real office. I kept the door locked so people wouldn't HAPPEN upon it. I had multiple parties where the whole house APPEARED clean to the guests... but little did they know, lurking behind the locked door, was the beast of my office!

SO, I stepped in to the office, and one by one started picking things up and actually putting them BACK where they belonged in all my spacious cabinetry, imagine that! After FOUR hours... I gave birth to a new office! When it was almost clean, Lily (age 3) walked in and excitedly says, "ooo, is that a bed??" I cracked up that for months she has probably just thought it was a really big pile of stuff! Ha Ha! Wow, how embarrassing that it was so messy she didn't even remember the bed there.

I have to show, WHEN THIS ROOM IS CLEAN, just how masterfully planned and multi-functional it is! When we bought this house, this was the only bedroom downstairs, 4 upstairs. We walled off the closet (to make the laundry room bigger) took out the carpet, added all the shelving and made it in to an office/everything room:

#1 It has a bed, so is our guest room. Bruce's parents/family from out of town come and visit, and though this is not fancy... I know they appreciate having their own bathroom and room FAR away from the rest of us upstairs!

#2 One of our libraries of many books and pictures (in the black boxes)

#3 Office supply room. The 4 bottom drawers are hanging file folder drawers, love that!

#4 Sewing Room. This is where the sewing machine lives, though not used often, handy when needed.

#5 Geo Track home. Notice we keep all the Geo Track trains here, because look at all the hard floor space (when clean) to build master train towns!

#6 Craft room. All my craft supplies are in the corner cabinets.

#7 Game Closet. All the family games are in the bottom corner cabinet. (which is, by the way, also how it gets so messy... the kids love to get the games out... and since the room has so much great stationary and crafts, Emma loves to play school in here!)

and what lies in all the tall cabinets....

#8 Food Storage... ofcourse! Though, don't you worry, with the 6th child on her way, this is NOT ALL of our food storage...

#9 Exercize room. This is our fold up tread mill

I LOVE this room. And part of the reason I post it, is one, to brag on my husband, who put all the shelving up himself (Go Bruce) though measured and designed by me (Go ME) and two, as I've talked to people about where we are putting the new baby, people will say, why don't you move a child to your downstairs room.... WHAT??!

Do you see now how much I NEED my office/storage/food storage/craft room, ESPECIALLY with 6 children!

Cherryl + My clean office = Love