Why did you enter the contest?
Well, that is a really great question. I didn’t know anything about the contest, I was doing some work late at night, and I was sitting in the guest room because my office was so unusable. And it was about 1:30 in the morning, I think, and I was uncomfortable because I was on the guest bed for long periods of time. And I went to check Facebook before I went to bed and I saw a friend posted “Last day to enter the Messiest Desk Contest.” And I looked at it. I never enter contests and I never really think of those things, but I was so annoyed and uncomfortable and my work was everywhere! I got up, got my iPad, and started taking pictures and filled out the form, and I was done. I didn’t even really think about it. I just saw it, was annoyed at 1:30 in the morning, so I entered. I never thought for a moment that I might actually win.
What was your primary objective in organizing your home office?
I wanted space to actually work, that was somewhat clutter free, that didn’t have the noise of stuff everywhere. I wanted a place where I could spread out to do my work and be comfortable, be more efficient and focused, and maximize the amount of time I have in there, so I can get work done.
Did the process progress as you expected?
Yes, absolutely. Your team was fabulous about setting me up for the “this is the first step, and this is the next step.” You told me it would get worse before it gets better. And I fully expected it, and it did get worse before it got better. The more you brought out and the more you guys took care of, I kept thinking “I actually won all of this?” When’s the shoe drop? It was truly beyond my expectations. You set me up with more than I expected. The space plan was great, because that was during the messiest part; so it gave me a vision of what it was going to look like.
Were there any special challenges in the process for you?
Deciding to get rid of things. For the most part I knew I needed to purge a lot of things, but there were some things that surprised me that were difficult to get through. I don’t like to file, and then you sat next to me and said ‘here is what we are going to do’ and took it off my hands, made the decisions and did it for me; that was fabulous because I probably wouldn’t have done it otherwise. I probably would have just said, “I’ll do it later” and not get to it, which is how the room got that way to begin with!
What was the best thing about our process?
For me what I appreciated the most was that it was all very logical and thought-out; I didn’t have to do the thinking. You guys had a plan; you knew how to attack that kind of disaster of a space. I like logic. I like order. So knowing that these were the steps, and I first had to get rid of XYZ and then attack the next piece, to then get the final results, that was extremely comforting.
Tell us more about the scanning services you received.
That was one of the most exciting parts of the experience. Because in our initial meeting, I had talked about all of these binders from workshops from over the years. And a couple of days later, you came back and I got five 5 banker boxes worth of scanning, and I was over the moon because it cleared out a huge amount of space. It was by far one of the highlights of the whole experience. They would now be electronic, which means I would be able to use them so much better.
How did you feel during the process?
I was thrilled that after the first day I could see my desk! Quite frankly it was a relief because I just don’t have time to do it myself. I have a full time job, a part time internship, and a part time job on top of that, and a son and a husband. And, I go to graduate school. So with all of that, I just would not have got to it at all. The fact that I was only needed for a little bit and that I could trust that you all weren’t making any major decisions that I would feel badly about. That was a huge sense of relief, and I appreciate it greatly. Because there is no way I could have done it. If you would have told me, “okay, we cleared it out and we can see the top of your desk now, I would have been thrilled.” But you went far, far, far behind my wildest dreams. We had visitors, and I would go up and show them the room, and people were amazed. I kept saying “I know I can’t believe I won all of this.”
How do you feel now that it’s all complete?
Well, I can’t even express my gratitude. For instance today, I had a big interview to get ready for and a big exam to do. I didn’t have to worry about finding the space. It was a sense of calm, and it’s so organized and nicely color-coordinated. I could instantly get to work and actually do my work. And it left space so I have a little more room for my child to play. I could do my work and still be a mom.
What does your family think about your new office?
Everyone is thrilled. My husband is in there using it now. We just spent the first day in the office, looking at everything. My husband was most thrilled because he doesn’t like clutter. And again, you gave me enough lead time and communicated what the steps were and so unobtrusive. To feel like you’re not being intruded on, when someone is clearly in the middle of your things that is something that’s commendable.
What would you say to others?
If your space is in that state, you’re probably not going to pull yourself out of it. I mean I guess you can, but there is always going to be that stuff. If you don’t have the system for it (like my filing system for the bills), someone has to show or help you with it. Get help or dedicate a whole lot of time to figure it out.