Staples Home Office Makeover: The Big Reveal!

It’s going down in history as one of the WORST office chairs EVER.

Readers were horrified – and sympathetic – when I recently revealed the state of my home office. The ripped and tattered chair; the disorganization and disarray; the potential fire hazard. Okay, multiple fire hazards. And that’s just what you could see in the first photo.

Well, something had to be done. Thankfully Staples Canada swooped in to save the day; seeing that I (obviously) needed an intervention, they allowed me to pick out a brand new home office – on three conditions:

1) I purchase the goods from Staples (done!)
2) I ditch my old chair. Seriously, it had to be on my curb (done!)
3) I take the oath to De-Clutter and Prosper

Did you know: A recent survey commissioned by Staples Canada and AIR MILES revealed that an overwhelming 83% of Canadians agree that a cluttered or disorganized workspace negatively affects levels of productivity. Despite this fact, 26% of Canadians describe their own desk as cluttered. I, Lena Almeida, pledge to never let clutter or disorganization rule my workspace again! (done!)

And so… it’s the moment you’ve been waiting for…. my big reveal. Brace yourselves; it doesn’t look like the same room, but I promise, it is!

OH MY GOODNESS! Where to begin? What should I speak about first? Well, as you can see, I’ve taken much care in ridding my home office of all the paper junk. And toys. And chargers for electronic devices I no longer own. (And guess what, Mom? I dusted and vacuumed too! Just kidding – hubby did. But it got done!)

So, first things first, let’s discuss my gorgeous new desk. The model I selected was the Whalen Legeant L-Shaped Desk in Cherry, retailing for $259.99. I love the rustic-meets-modern feel and look of the desk, and the open compartments for storage, in addition to the filing drawer, provide much needed space for clutter necessary documents.

Other product details:

Reversible leg design allows desk to be used in a corner or the centre of a room
Open compartments provide convenient office storage; File drawer accommodates letter or legal sized files
Cable management cutaways
Quality engineered wood construction; Cherry Finish
Overall Dimensions: 60″W x 60″D x 30″H
Assembly required; 1 Year Manufacturer’s Limited Warranty

My husband put the desk together himself in less than 2 hours, which I think classifies this product as “easy assembly”. The desk feels sturdy, holds up well to curiously toddlers, and has already been used as a “road” for Hot Wheels :) No scratches or dings!

Next – the chair. Of course I bought a new chair! And my advice to anyone looking to buy one for their own home office – go to your local Staples store and sit on it. Then sit how you’d likely sit at home. And then walk away, and sit again. You see, I had selected a few chairs based on looks alone from the website, but once in-store, realized immediately that while they were a thumbs up aesthetically, they were terribly uncomfortable for my posture and frame. In fact, the lovely salesperson informed me that some of the least expensive chairs were the best sellers; it really differs from person to person.

In the end, I settled on this professional, ergonomic Staples Bonded-Leather Task Chair in Black – currently on sale for just $64.99! I originally purchased the chair for $129.99, and when it went on sale one week later for $99.99, having my price adjusted was a breeze. However, this is a STEAL! It’s 50% off until April 30th, 2013.

The chair includes a seat-height adjustment plus tilt, tilt lock and tilt tension settings. The padded, fixed armrests are very comfortable and it arrived ready to assemble – really, just 5 minutes of effort! Take a trip to your local Staples and try it out – for $64.99, you seriously cannot go wrong.

(You can also see my Fellowes Powershred 69Cb 10-Sheet Cross-Cut Shredder peeking out from the right corner. Exclusive to Staples, the shredder helps me effectively keep clutter at bay – and protects my identity!)

Did you notice that my dinosaur Dell computer was replaced by a much snazzier model?

You may recognize our Dell Inspiron One 2320 All-in-One desktop computer. We’ve had it for about a year and half now, but until recently, it was on our – wait for it – dining room table. Yup, I used to blog from the same place I served Christmas dinner. I finally decided to bite the bullet and transfer all my files to the Inspiron One desktop; not only has the ONE PLUG alleviated the fire hazard, but now I’m much happier with my streamlined environment. Plus, the memory/storage capacity on the Inspiron One rivals some external hard drives, so I never have to worry about my computer slowing down. And I certainly can’t resist 23″ of baby Reid!

Now I know that many of my readers were excited for the Martha Stewart accessories, and I promise you, they’re every bit as gorgeous as they appear on the website.

Above: Martha Stewart Home Office With Avery Stack+Fit Shagreen Drawer with Inbox and Martha Stewart Home Office With Avery Stack+Fit Shagreen Organizer: A modular system that you can mix and match to fit your space and storage needs. Store paperwork, receipts, coupons, or supplies in the drawer and place to-do items or mail in the inbox. Create your own organization system by stacking an organizer, tray and boxes, or small item holder on top. Martha Suggests: Make a drawer for each family member and keep in the entryway for homework.

Above: Martha Stewart Home Office With Avery Large Shagreen Double File Pocket: A convenient, easy way to keep clutter off countertops. Hang shagreen texture pockets in a variety of places with either the built-in adhesive or grommets and included push pins. Their stylish finish makes them pretty enough to use in the kitchen, office, or near the front door.

Martha Stewart Home Office With Avery Stack+Fit Shagreen Pencil Cup: Always have the right tools at hand with this pencil cup. It can hold pencils, pens, highlighters, scissors, rulers, and other small desktop items. Use the cup with other Stack+Fit products to make a perfect organization system.

Above: Martha Stewart Home Office With Avery Dry-Erase Weekly Planner: Keep everyone’s schedule up-to-date with this pre-printed weekly planner. Use dry-erase markers to make quick changes and additions. Sticks on many household surfaces (including dry wall, stainless steel, glass, and plastic). Flexible sheet conforms to flat or curved surfaces; removable and repositionable adhesive leaves no residue. Smooth, erasable surface works with dry-erase and wet-erase markers.

Above: Martha Stewart Home Office with Avery Notebook: Stylish cover design for wirebound notebooks. With its vibrant aster design, these spiral notebooks add a touch of style to your everyday note taking. The plastic front and back cover and double-coil binding provide durability, while the inside pocket helps keep small notes in one place. 100 narrow-ruled sheets; perforated pages tear out easily.

Above: I’ve got this handy calendar affixed to the back of my office door. I love its peek-a-boo effect; only I know what’s going on, and when. The Martha Stewart dry erase calendars and planners wipe clean away with absolutely no residue. Now I just need to take Martha’s advice and colour code my weekly planner by using a marker of one colour for single events, like birthday parties, and a second colour for recurring activities, like swim class and ballet. (Or in my case, Twitter Parties!)

Finally, I thought long and hard about the wall decor in my home office. Specifically, what did I want to look at? What would motivate me, calm me, inspire me and get the creative juices flowing? Suddenly, I had the answer: Memories. And vactions. And happiness.

So, I picked up seven of these Quadro 8″ x 10″ Standard Document Frames ($12.96 each) and created a perimeter around my office, at eye level, displaying my favourite photos from our recent vacations. I proudly hung photos of the New Fantasyland Grand Opening, the Allure of the Seas cruise ship, and more. Looking at them as I blog reminds me that for every hour, every day of hard work… another vacation is around the corner. Just keep plugging away.

So that’s it friends! I have officially de-cluttered and prospered! Now that I’m so very organized, I don’t think I could ever go back to working amidst chaos. You’ll have to keep me on the straight and narrow – I insist that you hold me to 3-month checkups!

Once again… a before/after shot!

A very special thank you to Staples Canada for outfitting my beautiful new home office. Everything was so simple to find, and the quality is impeccable. Should I say it? Okay, I’ll say it. That was easy!

And… you didn’t think I’d forget about y’all, did you? The winner of my Staples: “Clear the Clutter” Giveaway is… Danni G! Congratulations! You’ve won an amazing Staples Canada prize pack, including: $100 Staples Gift Card • 100 AIR MILES Bonus Miles • Assortment of Patterned Martha Stewart File Folders • Stack+Fit Martha Stewart Desk Accessories: Shagreen Drawer with Inbox and Organizer • Martha Stewart Large Shagreen Double File Pocket • Case File – Accordion File with Handle • Martha Stewart Home Office With Avery Dry-Erase Weekly Planner, Red and Grey • Belkin Conserve Valet – Smart USB Charging Station • Fellowes SmartSuites Monitor Riser Plus • Fellowes Powershred 69Cb 10-Sheet Cross-Cut Shredder

Thank you to everyone who entered! And now… who’s up for some Spring cleaning? Time to De-Clutter and Prosper!