I decided the time had come.  It was time to strip my office to the bare bones and do an office purge.   With spring just around the corner (Yes, I swear, it’s just around the corner; really), I had a little bit of spring fever set in this past weekend.   My office was to get my full attention.  For the most part, I think I’m pretty organized, however the past few months, my office has been getting less attention and the clutter has been starting to build and build.  

It wasn’t only about the clutter, but the lack of storage and the fact I’ve had the same office furniture for the last 10 or so years.  It’s funny, because I wouldn’t even think about working on a computer that’s 10 years old, yet its fine for me sit in the same chair for that long.  It’s a little tattered, the back support is almost nonexistent now, but I’ve held onto that thing in the same way a man holds on to his favourite lazy boy chair. 

The first step in the office purge process was to get a clear picture of what I wanted to achieve, what would be the end result.  Okay, so the list looked like this:

• More visible floor space (yes, the floor was starting to shrink due to all the boxes everywhere)
• More storage cabinets (to hide all the crap lying around-okay maybe the better term is to “organize” my important items)
• An additional working space (Because apparently one desk just isn’t enough for me)
• A new chair (yes, I was finally giving up my old buddy)

So, now I had my list I trekked out to the nearest Business Depot and started my search. First off let me say Business Depot is one of my favourite stores.  I love shopping there and normally can find everything I’m looking for.   However on this particular occasion, it wasn’t coming easy (where’s that darn easy button).  I was surprised at some of the furniture they had on display.  Glass desktops with chrome accents, it was beautiful, but whoever designed it must not spend much time at a desk.  I guarantee you; I would have that lovely glass desktop shattered in a week.  The moment my coffee cup comes down on that thing, it would be a lovely glass chrome desk with no glass.  Seriously, it was the most non-functional design I have ever laid my eyes on.  It would be great for a show room, but not my work room.  So needless to say, I didn’t walk away with a new desk.  But I did manage to come away with a new chair and some odds and ends to help me get a little more organized.  

I ended up getting a desk and two storage cabinets elsewhere and made my way home to start the purge process.   The process was simple, anything I hadn’t laid my hands in 2 years was chucked.  Let’s just say I ended up with two garbage bags and 2 recycling bins full of paper.  My every colour of the rainbow stationary caught up with me and as I was going through it, I realized I had a paper fetish.  I think I had at least one of every package of stationary that Business Depot sells.  Some of the most hideous looking paper on the planet, I owned.  I had cute little bear paper, paper that had winter scenery, even paper that had watermarked tulips in the background….not sure what the heck I was thinking when I bought all this useless crap, the problem was I wasn’t thinking.  In the recycling bin it went. 

The big job was my filing cabinet.  I had papers in there that were at least 10 years old, scribbles of writing that must have been important back then, now I have no clue what it all means.  I didn’t want to take the chance of just ditching those files in the recycling box, so I spent two hours going through every file and piece of paper and shredding those that may have been remotely useful to someone going through my garbage such as contact information, my old billing information, etc.    Not saying I have some strange person picking through my garbage, I was just being overly cautious with my files.  So, if you ever do an office purge, make sure you have a good shredder. 

While I was working overtime with the shredder, my husband was cleaning out the office closet, assembling the furniture and listening to me complain about “all this crap, what the heck was I thinking and how did that end up there?”.   He’s a trooper my husband, always there to lend a helping hand and listen to me bitch. 

The office purge took the entire weekend, but let me tell you it was so well worth it. Walking in my office is like walking outside on a spring day and breathing in fresh air.  So now, I sit in my new chair (which I have to admit I wish I had bought years ago, my butt is loving it) writing to you all, from my new workspace and clutter free office.   I’m one happy, productive and distraction free lady!