Spring Cleaning Accountability

Spring is in the air! And so is my itch to get organized. I have to admit, being well organized is not my natural tendency. I am pretty scattered with my items, and my desk is a mess. I leave my clothes on the floor (although I blame this on a lack of closet and dresser space...can I do that?), and honestly, I just don't often see the cardigan I left on the couch two days ago. I'm not really painting myself in a very good light here. But what can I say? I'm just being honest!

All that to say, when an organizing itch kicks in, I really have to take advantage of it. Paul and I live in a fairly small 1-bedroom apartment with minimal storage space, so we try to hold ourselves back in terms of collecting "stuff." And yet, we're Americans, so we have a lot of stuff. Sometimes I feel like I bring boxes and bags of stuff to Goodwill or the resale shops and it hardly makes a dent in my home's clutter! What's up with that? It kind of makes me feel sick. Why do I have so much stuff? Which brings me to my point. Spring cleaning!

Now I need some accountability in this area, because my desire to organize and clean comes and goes with the breezes. I'm famous for starting to clean my room, but then finding a stash of old pictures and looking through them for an hour only to be inspired to make a scrapbook and greeting cards with said pictures and by the end of the evening my room is messier than ever! So. I need some help. Some focus. And to be humbled. And what better way to be humbled and to hold yourself accountable than to post your embarrassing habits on the world wide web where literally anyone who wants to can see them? There is no better way. And so, behold, I give you the first targeted disaster area, my desk:

Oh gross. There's something about seeing a picture of this area that makes it even worse! And look at the dust sitting on my printer! Good heavens. To think, this is where I sit 8 hours a day working. You would think I could poor a little more TLC into this area. Well, I am now planning to do just that!

My sweet friend Stef is preparing to work from home after her baby is born, and she has been pinning all sorts of beautiful home/work spaces as inspiration. It's been encouraging me to maybe find some ways to spruce up my work area. The big question I find hanging over my head is, do I have too much stuff, or not enough storage? Hmmm. Anyways, here are some of my inspirations:

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Obviously this would be the ideal amount of storage space, but not really practical for my apartment. Still, maybe some book shelves or cubby holes could be a good solution.

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You can see from my photo, that I sit on a hard kitchen chair at my desk. So not only is this room extremely lovely, but I'm drooling over that comfy (adorable!) chair.

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Hoping I can use some of my leftover pegboard from our headboard DIY! I love how this is painted a strong color too :)

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Right now I have those clear plastic drawers on wheels (annoying) and although they fit perfectly under my desk, I don't like how you can see everything inside – looks so messy. I like how this sweet office area has lots of storage drawers that aren't clear!

So, I hope that someday in the near future, I can come back and report an "AFTER" photo of my workspace :)