I started rearranging my office Tuesday because the original plan was that I was going to get a desk from my grandma. It had been in her shed, and I thought it was going to be a perfect spot to put my new Romeo, my Cricut Maker 3, and my paper cutter. However, the clearance between the desk and the shelf wasn't tall enough. :( Since the desk was pretty big, I didn't want to limit my already small office space even more. So I decided to just rearrange everything that I already had...with a couple new additions. Here is what my office looks like now:
Compared to what it looked like right after I got the Romeo:
I still have my main desk/hutch that I received as a birthday gift from my mom back in 2004 and the armoire that we got from Johnny's sister-in-law in 2017. They're both really heavy and I don't know where else I'd even put them...so they stayed where they are. Basically everything else was moved around, though.
Originally, I had my printer and paper cutter on an old desk of Johnny's and I had my Cricut on the "table" that I made using the top from my old art table that I had in high school on top of the Sterilite modular drawers that I got back in 2011. They've since discontinued the ones I have, but these are kind of similar. I had two sets each facing outward that had a large bottom drawer, two kinda square-ish drawers, and then three smaller drawers.
When I got my Romeo, I had to put it on the DIY table by itself, so I had to find a new place to put my Cricut. I settled on this little cart and it's worked out pretty good. It's on wheels, so I can store it in a convenient place and then move it more in the open when I'm using it. I haven't decided what else--if anything--to store on it. I know I don't want to put heavy stuff on it, just because it'd be harder to move around on the carpet. I also have a ring light similar to this one for some extra light when taking product photos. One thing I haven't really figured out in my newly rearranged office is taking product photos...but I may just do it on the floor in front of the window. I have laminated background images that I attached to a piece of plywood that I take my product photos on.
When I was rearranging, I decided to put my Romeo on Johnny's desk and turn it 90 degrees from the way I had the DIY table. It's parallel to the closet doors...and I have it out a little more than the length of the closet doors when they're folded open. I use the closest for storage, so I don't have to get into it very often...so I didn't want to leave a lot of space in front of it but I wanted it to still be accessible. Next that desk I have another set of paper storage drawers. I couldn't find the exact one on Amazon, but it's similar to this one. Then I put the paper cutter on top of those drawers. Oh and I have my trash and recycle bins underneath the desk. The short top drawer has some of my cutter supplies. The other three drawers have cardboard sheets, tissue paper, and then the bottom drawer is just miscellaneous stuff that I don't know what else to do with.
I decided to stack the two sets of modular drawers on top of each other next to my desk where the other paper drawers used to be. Some of the drawers are currently empty, because before I rearranged the office, I didn't really use the drawers that had been facing the closet because they were kind of a pain to get to. Two of the drawers that are fully exposed from the side of my desk, I am actually able to turn those around to face my desk while the rest of the drawers face the armoire. In the small drawer, I have some rulers and tape measures that I use frequently, this digital caliper to measure the thickness of my packages, and some hole/corner punches. The larger drawer has the rigid mailers that I use every once in awhile when I send sticker orders as a package instead of the kraft envelopes. They used to be in the armoire cabinet, but since I package orders at my desk, they'll be more accessible. One other thing I have in that drawer is this little label maker that I love...because I love labeling everything. ;) LOL. Now that I've rearranged everything, I need to print some new labels. ;)
On top of the modular drawers, I have the board that I use for product photos. I also have this small dehumidifier which helps a lot...especially in the summer. If there's a lot of humidity, papers tend to curl which is a huge hassle.
Then next to the modular drawers, I have my printer. When I first made plans to get the desk from my grandma, I wanted to get something smaller to put my Epson ET-16650 printer on than the desk I'd been using. I had to search through a LOT of different printer stands to find one that was big enough and strong enough to hold my big, heavy printer. I finally settled on this one. I like that it has support in the middle since my printer is so heavy...it made me feel a little more secure about it holding the weight. It's also nice that it has a plug-in on it. I have a small paper shredder kind of like this one on the roll-out shelf and I ordered this small trashcan for the strips I cut off of the overlaminate backing. Then I just have unopened reams of paper and miscellaneous stuff on the other two shelves.
I also have my sticker storage binders on my printer stand. For my die-cut stickers, I use these 9x9 pages. I have 2", 3", and 4" size options for reach design, so the 3 columns of 4"x4" pockets works great. Then I have these 4"x6" top-loading pages for my 4"x6" sticker sheets.
The armoire really just has my cold roll manual laminator in the open space and I store a lot of shipping materials on the shelves underneath. Oh and I use this slice tool to cut a thin strip on just the backing of my overlaminate to stick the laminate to the top of my sticker paper to start. On the wall next to the armoire, I have this hanging file organizer where I store different types of overlaminate.
Some of the things I have on my desk...
- I have this LED light strip underneath the top of my desk (and in the armoire) to provide extra light.
- I have this LED light strip underneath the top of my desk (and in the armoire) to provide extra light.
- I have this organizer that is actually an elevated shelf for computer monitors. I use it more to take advantage of vertical space. The drawers in it actually fit underneath it...so I have 6 storage spaces instead of just 3. I put my packaging envelopes and full-page cards in the spaces where the drawers went and my half-page cards in the drawers underneath.
- I have a cover like this one for my Samsung Galaxy S6 Lite tablet. I also have this wall mount where I keep it when I'm not using it for drawing. I like watching Netflix or Hulu on it while I'm working.
- I have these hanging organizers which I really like. It holds my packaging stickers, sheets of stamps, and other little miscellaneous things that I use while packaging orders.
- I use this postage meter and I've never had any postage adjustments.
- I have these clear organizers that I store my door sign stickers and magnets, oopsie stickers, books of stamps, and other miscellaneous things.
- On top of my desk I have these drawers where I store all different kinds of cardstocks, sticker papers, etc.
I think that's about it. :) I really love the way everything is arranged now. It feels like a lot more room...and laid out in a more functional way.
I think that's about it. :) I really love the way everything is arranged now. It feels like a lot more room...and laid out in a more functional way.
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