January Cure project

As part of Apartment Therapy's January Cure I had to select a trouble spot in the house and document the mess with pictures. I was going to cheat and not do it, but then my friend Ruth stepped up and posted her pictures, and I knew I had to too.

This is my desk and dresser, which turned into a dumping ground for suitcases, mail, tax forms, scarves, and anything that didn't have an established home.

So I made a list of all the things I wanted to have available on my desk, and measured them. I was about to build my own organizer when I found a great one on Target's website, and decided that was a lot easier. I would have loved to find one in a thrift store, but people just don't donate desktop organizers (especially nice ones). 

Look how beautiful and friendly! I even have my planner open to this week.

The scarves are now hung on the door, which brings color and pattern to that side of the room and makes them a lot easier to sort through.

I had already made these binders a few years ago out of scrap fabric. I just sewed covers to fit the plastic and secured it with hot glue. It was fun to have personalized binders in school, and now they're cute on my desk.

I paid more for these file folders than I would normally, but it was the only way I could get myself excited about filing receipts and bills. 

Viola! Pretty and usable. Totally worth the effort.