Last month I showed you the black hole that is my craft room. Remember THIS post? I guess I should have been more specific when I called it my black hole, and I should’ve named it “The Black Hole of the Upstairs.” Because I also have another problem area downstairs — the desk in my kitchen!
I am embarrassed you are even seeing this! This is the catch-all landing spot for everything! Mail, school work, lists, magazines, craft supplies … you name it, it lands here!
This black hole isn’t as easy to conceal from guests in my home; it is all right there out in the open, so organizing this space is a project I’ve been wanting to tackle for months now. I do go through this mess quite often, actually, but it is hard to keep tidy because this space is lacking an organizational system and organizational tools.
So you can probably imagine my excitement when I got a big package in the mail a couple weeks ago that was full of goodies from the Martha Stewart Home Office™ with Avery™ collection.
It was like Christmas here in my home; even my daughter thought this package of goodies was the coolest stuff ever, and she is only 6! Not only was this box chock full of office supplies and organizational tools, it also came with some fabulous Holiday wrapping products — beautiful shipping paper, tape, padded envelopes, and printable mailing labels that are durable enough to mail and pretty enough to go right under the tree.
So I got to work the very same day the package came and made my home office area clean and organized. First, I cleaned, sorted and wiped everything down. Then, I organized the space using my new products, and here is what my desk looks like now-
Ahh … much better!!!! Take a look at the products I used:
Chalkboard Labels — you can write on these, erase, and then write on them again. They are removable and stick to most smooth surfaces and peel off cleanly. I stuck a couple of the chalkboard labels to these fabulous Shagreen Pockets to help keep some clutter off counter tops. They have expandable pockets for easier access and retrieval of contents.
I used the Vertical File Folders and label stickers to make a folder for each of my kids so I can sort and organize their paperwork everyday. These folders fit nicely in the magazine file.
The Magazine files and this desktop organizer are pieces of the Stack+Fit™ modular system. Each piece is designed to fit perfectly atop or alongside the rest of the pieces, and I love the Shagreen finish — it is so pretty and sophisticated, but it’s durable as well. I’d display them anywhere!
The Martha Stewart Home Office with Avery is sold exclusively at Staples stores and most of the products are also sold at Staples.com (holiday wrapping/shipping products are in-store only). For more information on all the products available in this line, visit Avery.com or follow the Avery Facebook page.
DID SOMEONE SAY “GIVEAWAY”?!?!?
One lucky winner will receive their very own $100 Staples gift card!
This giveaway has ended.
Congrats to Korine and Janice Cooper!
The Official Rules are available here.
This sweepstakes runs from 11/14/12-12/14/12.
Be sure to visit the Martha Stewart Home Office with Avery page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggers’ reviews and find more chances to win!
About Stephanie
Love love love this! How delightful to have everything organized! Could use this to get my craft room organized!
Good luck everyone!
I ♥ those Shagreen Pockets! Great ideas
My desk area is such a mess and with 5 of my 7 kids in school we get tons of school papers along with all the other normal stuff from day to day life with a family of 9. I could really use all the products you used and I know these would totally get me organized….I love it!!
My desk looks a lot like that , if not worse! I LOVE these ideas!
I have a couple of spaces in my home that look just like that. I just call it “that counter top with the piles”. I go through it all the time, but never seems to stay organized. Now I know why….I don’t have all the cool “Martha” Supplies!!!! I would love to have my spaces look like that! You Rock!!!
Wow! I cannot even imagine what my office (disguised as my kitchen counters) would look like. The growing number of paper stacks would suddenly disappear, pens and pencils would no longer be homeless, and I would actually have a handle on my kids’ schedules (just last week, I forgot that my children had an “early out” day – - let’s just say that explaining to my 7 & 8 year olds why I was 2 hours late was part pathetic, part heartbreaking, and part humiliating.) I need your stuff Martha!!!!!
Here’s my tweet
https://twitter.com/marlermedia
I would love to try more of these products. I’m enjoying the desk organizer and stackable tray on my workspace.
i love how neat and organized everything looks. will save time looking for that item now that you know where it is.
i would use the avery wall pockets to organize my office at home. my office is a total mess
https://twitter.com/thomasmurphy40/status/277566411088474114
Hey, my desk looks like your “before” picture. Augh! I think the Avery wall pockets would be really helpful in getting organized. Thanks!
I can use help organizing my bills and paperwork especially with a set so coordinated.
tweet
https://twitter.com/leedhowell/status/277627482625167360
I love all of Martha Stewart’s Home Office Supplies from Avery! I really, really, need those “Magazine Files” badly!! I have abag (well, shopping tote – large) full of folders…..I just have no where to store my files with important receipts, documents, etc….And, I have a lot of good magazines which I rarely throw out, as I use a lot of them for reference. The labels would be so great to see clearly what I have wrote….Your desk just looks so wonderful, I’d give anything to have my papers, files & magazines organized once & for all!
Thanks for this review & giveaway!
Tweeted on Twitter; my Twitter name is @Susan051. Here is the URL: https://twitter.com/Susan051/status/277722204605652993
LOVE the Chalkboard Labels – so clever and useful. I have so many storage containers that have labels on top of labels as contents change.
The Shagreen Pockets would be great to organize mail.
Went to Staples last night looking for the adorable red shipping labels. This stuff is flying off the shelf as much was out-of-stock. My home office could use a lot of help from Martha.
I need these because anything that helps me keep organized and is cute to look at is a win-win (win)!
I love how clean and sleek these are. The biggest thing, is it would help keep all those papers organized!
https://twitter.com/thpracticalmama/status/278812230705885184 my tweet
love the labels, it allows you to change it up if you decide to repurpose the use later.
I love the sea foamy green/blue color of them and could really use the day planner and notebooks to help stay organized schedule-wise and list-wise!
I tweeted here: https://twitter.com/MsTofuFairy/status/279269452057563136
I need the magazine holder and desktop organizer because right now we have all our “office” supplies, bills to pay, etc stuffed into an overflowing basket. Not working very well.
I love that they are designed to use together instead of a hodgepodge of unmatched pieces. I’d love to get my office organized with these.
I like their design and usage and they will look good in my home office and help me get organized better.
Tweeted: https://twitter.com/rhoneygee/status/279811727254773760
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