November 11, 2011

Finding a Space

I have struggled for the past two years to come up with one spot in my house that I can call my own.  I wanted one room to be my office, sewing area, couponing, scrapbooking and craft area.  However taking over one room of the house isn't practical for our family. 

The den was going to be part office/part den, but my son uses that room to study.  He doesn't want me in there while he is studying and frankly, I can't work while he is in the room studying.  I like to listen to dvd's while I am working and he needs quiet. 

I decided that studying and getting good grades trumped my need to have an "office" in that room.   Before going further I need to explain what I mean by an office.  I need a spot where I can have a table and chair for when I need to type on my laptop and do my volunteer work, blog and a place where I can put things such as notes, papers and things for me to look over at a later date.

We have a tiny bedroom next to ours in the upstairs of our house.  And when I say tiny, I mean tiny.  We have lined the walls with bookshelves and technically it is more like a library than anything else.  Tonight I was able to rearrange book shelves so that I freed up enough space for a small desk (actually a rectangular shaped card table) and a file cabinet.  This is perfect for my needs.

Outside of this room is an alcove area where I have my sewing table with my sewing machine on it next to a file cabinet that contains notions and sewing supplies.  I also have plastic drawers that contain my fabric, patterns and my cross stitch supplies.  This area is perfect as a separate sewing space.

Around the corner from this is our bedroom and it contains another small alcove area.  Okay - perhaps I need to define alcove area - this is the area where the peaks meet in the gabled ceilings.  The ceilings are about 5 foot high in the center and then slope to a point where these areas have minimal use. 

In this area in our bedroom we have our old round diningroom table and I am making it my scrapbook, craft and couponing area.  Now when I want to leave my craft supplies or coupons out on a table, I can.  I don't have to move them when I need to do "office" type work.  I am hoping that over the next few days I can get all of my work areas pulled together. 

I am sooo tired of being disorganized and the frustration that comes with that.  It will be good to have a couple of areas where I can do my work and leave it undisturbed as needed.

Do you have any type of space in your home to call your own?  If not, seek a space.  I found mine in little places around my house.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

That sounds wonderful. I took over the alcove in our dining room this year and put in a small desk(a hand me down from a friends son). This has my laptop and school work on it. Behind it I have a couch table(used to go behind couches so same hight) and I have my coupons, and bills on that. It works great for me.

My yarn though is all over the place..sigh

Judy

Dani said...

Martha - Have you thought of moving all the books out of the tiny room next to yours and putting shelves up in the (sewing) alcove and in your bedroom for the books? That way the tiny room could be ALL yours, with everything you do situated in ONE place, as opposed to scattered in three places.