I thought about just updating my last post with the new stuff like my desk...but I decided to keep that one the way it is for posterity and just make a new post with everything updated...and a little more detailed about the materials I use in case anyone is interested. I have updated this post since I first posted it, though.
Here's what my office [mostly] looks like now (I've added/changed a couple things since this picture that was taken 4/26/26):
Right next to my office door is Johnny's old desk. I used to have just the top hutch sitting on the floor as a bookcase, but when I got my new desk, I moved his desk to be under the hutch. Pretty much everything stored in/on the hutch is personal stuff...our cookbooks, my artbooks from my aunt, my non-fiction books, the decorations from our wedding, etc. Oh...and there's also the "Word's Best Mother" wooden plaque that Aubry gave me for Christmas when she was in elementary school. :)
My paper cutters on the desk. Johnny had this paper cutter before I moved in and that's what I'd been using for years. But this year I got a 400-sheet paper cutter kind of like this one to use for making notepads and sticker books. I actually put the top to my old art desk on top of Johnny's desk (it was next to the desk in the photo above). His desk is pretty shallow and I needed more room for the paper cutters. I have one of these LED light strips attached to the bottom of the first shelf on the hutch for more light. I have random stuff stored in the drawers of the desk. I also have two plastic drawers under the desk...one to store legal-size paper and another that just holds mail and documents that I need to file or scan and shred. Next to the drawers are some plastic boxes that have cords, old cameras, and other stuff like that in them. Those are really just there for lack of a better place to put them right now. I'll eventually get the office closet organized better and they'll probably be in there.
Next to Johnny's old desk is an armoire entertainment center that we got from Johnny's sister-in-law. I used Command Strips (I obviously really, really like Command Strips lol) to hang up a mail holder I got over a decade ago. I couldn't even find anything on Amazon like it...but I guess this would be the closest. On top are a whole lot of shipping boxes in different sizes (which I don't go through very fast). In the main cabinet, I have my cold roll laminator. I have it attached with command strips so it doesn't move around while I'm using it. You can see the LED light strip in this photo...it's definitely too dark in there without it. The shelf at the top of the cabinet holds the Oraguard 215 Matte and Glossy laminate that I use for my stickers and magnets. I have felt squeegees (which I run over the page after laminating) in a holder kind of like this one attached with command strips. I also have a command strip hook to hang scissors. And you can't see it in this photo, but I use this Slice tool to cut a strip of laminate backing to stick the laminate to the page before running it through the cold roll laminator. Then I use the cabinet below for storage...mostly shipping supplies like rigid cardboard mailers, less rigid mailers, larger envelopes, Priority Mail envelopes, shipping boxes, some acrylic display trays that I rarely use, etc. On the wall next to the armoire I have this hanging file organizer with some miscellaneous laminating sheets...mostly different styles of holographic laminate that I pretty much never use. And in front of the armoire, I have a bunch of white plastic storage drawers. The ones I bought back in 2011 have been discontinued, but they're similar to these. I have a lot of miscellaneous stuff stored in them...tape, post-it notes, all the Happy Planner stickers I'd collected over the years, and stuff like that. One of the middle-size drawers I use to store magnet backing paper after I've used it (which I later use for sticker books) and a lower one is where I store my 8x10 adhesive magnetic sheets (and a smaller one above it to hold scraps and smaller magnetic sheets). I also store my 11x17 matte and glossy sticker paper and 12x16 magnets in the first large drawer. There are two drawers that I'm actually able to turn and face toward my desk which is really convenient. In the middle-size drawer, I have a few rigid mailers, small Priority Mail envelopes, and my little label maker. A small drawer on the top holds some measuring tapes and rulers, my digital caliper, single hole punches, and some other miscellaneous things.
Oh and on top of those drawers, I have this dehumidifier that we previously had in the basement (it wasn't big enough for downstairs). Sticker paper has a habit of curling when it's humid and our house tends to have high humidity after we got our new HVAC system. Then next to that, I have a new thermal label printer that I use for shipping labels. I'd previously been using these two-per-page shipping labels that I was printing with my regular printer, but I am busy enough that it's time-consuming to keep cutting them down to 4x6. But I still highly recommend them for anyone who doesn't have a thermal label printer...they worked great for me for 5 years.
My printer stand is next to the plastic drawers and faces toward my desk. I needed one that is sturdy enough to hold my heavy Epson ET-16650 printer but is compact enough not to take up much space...and this one works perfectly. It has two shelves that I use to hold extra glassine bags, quarter-letter envelopes, and half-letter envelopes. I used to keep them in the armoire, but I go through them fairly quickly and it's easier not to forget to reorder more when they're right there where I can see them. I have a small paper shredder kind of like this one on the roll-out shelf and this small trashcan for the tiny strips I cut off of the laminate. There's a little cubby on the end of the printer stand that I have extra printer ink in. On top of my printer, I have my 12" sticker storage binder. 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. I have another one with sheets that have (6) 4x6 pockets that I'd planned to keep my sticker sheets in, but the pockets are just a bit too tight to be useful. Now I am using these 5x7 pages in a regular 3 ring binder for sticker sheets.
Then there's my desk...which I've had since my mom got it for me for my birthday in 2004. The drawers on the left have small post-it notes and tabs in the top, miscellaneous stuff (like command strips, spare parts to furniture, index cards, etc) in the middle drawer, and then hanging file folders are in the bottom drawer. The cabinet on the bottom right of the desk has computer stuff in there like replacement screws and parts for repairs, DVDs and software, old hard drives, etc. I also have some of my art supplies like my colored pencils, drawing pencils, charcoal and pastels...stuff like that. On the shelf just above that I store corrugated cardboard sheets that I sometimes use to make bubble mailers more rigid or to make my small rigid mailers thicker so they can be sent as a package. I also cut a couple of the cardboard sheets down to use as cut templates for sticker sheets.
The cabinet on the top left of my desk has my notepad and sticker book supplies. I have a box of binding coils in a lot of different colors for my sticker books. Then I have padding compound, paintbrushes, and this wooden book press for notepads. There's a shelf just below it...I usually just toss my packing slips there after I've printed on both sides. It's a convenient place to put them while I'm packaging orders...then I use them as scrap paper and/or shred them.
On the bottom left and the shelves on the right, I have some acrylic drawers. I have this set that I store all my door sign stickers and magnets, some regular magnets, and my sticker book covers, pages, and completed books. On top of the acrylic drawers on the bottom right, I have my postage meter for calculating postage. I have both sizes of my envelopes with my packaging inside and stickers/label outside so that I can just add my stickers or magnets with the sample envelope to know how much postage it needs before actually packaging the order. Then on the top two shelves on the right side of my desk, I have this set of acrylic drawers that hold different sizes of the notepads I make. On top of the drawers on the top shelf I usually just have either things I made for family members that are waiting to be picked up and things I've made but haven't photographed and listed yet. Then on top of the drawers on the second shelf I have my notepad
There's also one section of the acrylic drawers on the main part of my desk that I have some stamps, binder clips, labels for my small label maker, and other random stuff in. I have this monitor stand which I use for a little more vertical organization. I actually removed the drawers and they fit perfectly underneath. I use it to store my order packaging supplies...the glassine bags, the cardstock cards I print and include with my orders, etc. I have two sets of plastic drawers on top of the monitor stand kind of like this 5-drawer one and this 3-drawer one. I keep pens and pencils in them...I have lots of different kinds. My favorite pens include Inkjoy gel pens and ballpoint pens (including the mini ones), RSVP, iBayam, Tombow, FriXion markers and pens, and several different kinds of Sakura Gelly Roll pens. And I prefer to use Bic pencils. Oh and I have an Amazon Echo Dot that I listen to music on while I'm packaging orders. We actually have the old 3rd generation model that they don't sell anymore...we got it for free several years ago as a bundle with the security cameras we bought.
Next to my desk, I have my
light grip and
strong grip cutting mats hanging on the wall. I use white curtains on the window so it still lets natural light in when I'm taking photographs. And I have this awesome set of
folding shelf brackets that I put a piece of plywood on and then it's covered with a piece of
12x18 cardstock that I printed, laminated with matte laminate, and attached to the shelf. Then I have my
ring light to provide a little extra light when I'm taking product photos on the shelf. I love that I can store the shelf down against the wall so it doesn't take up any room (like the first picture in the post), and then just lift it up when I'm taking photos. Plus it makes use of that short wall under the window that I wouldn't be using for anything else.
Next to the window, I have a tall set of plastic storage drawers that Johnny has had for, like, 20+ years. They're kind of like
this set (with 4 shallow drawers and 3 deeper drawers) but it doesn't have the organizer on top. I store scraps of cardboard and chipboard in the top drawer. I have thermal laminate in
3 mil and
5 mil plus
4x6 pouches that I use for the cover of my sticker books. Then I have
22pt chipboard,
30 pt chipboard,
20lb paper (in the first deeper drawer) that I use for office printing,
28lb paper that I use for notepads, and to store the extra reams of
80lb cardstock because I go through it pretty quickly for packaging cards in all my orders. On top of those drawers, I have
these four storage bins. They hold leftovers of other brands of matte and glossy sticker vinyl I've tried and then I have my "oopsie" stickers and magnets in the other two. Oh and there's an outlet under the window where I have
this surge protector.
And now to my new desk which is making a HUGE difference in my office. I bought
this one because it checked off all my boxes. I wanted one that was just the right size to fit my large
Siser Romeo 24" cutter and my new
Epson Workforce Pro WF-4833 printer (which is also greatly improving my workflow) printer without much extra space. The size couldn't be more perfect. And I also wanted one that had an upper shelf that went all the way across the desk but didn't have a support bar in the middle (so it wouldn't get in the way of the cutting mat on the Romeo). It also had to be high enough so that I could put my
Cricut Maker 4 on the shelf without the Romeo being in the way of the cutting mat for the Cricut. And as a bonus, the height is perfect enough that the cutting mat for the Cricut actually rests on the Romeo to help prevent the mat from bending...so I don't have to use my
mat extender anymore. The desk also has a very large fabric drawer with a shelf above it. I keep my
bubble mailers in the drawer so they're handy when I'm packaging orders. On the shelf above the drawer, I have my
thermal laminator and my
cinch binding machine. I have room underneath the desk to store my
old laptop desk that I can pull out to stabilize my 12x24" cutting mats for the Romeo so they don't bend (curved mats tend to cause random cuts as it moves across the sheet because the page hits the blade when it isn't flat). Next to it I have two
10 gallon trash cans (one for trash and one for recycle). This desk also has a fabric cubby on the end that I don't really know what to do with...right now it just has an extra
maintenance box for my ET-16650 printer.
Behind those plastic drawers I have a wooden shelf that I got at a garage sale, like, 15 years ago. It's about the size of this
bookshelf. It fits perfectly in the small space that is behind the closet door when opened. It has all of my grandma's books that I got from her after she died. On top I have a couple little stuffed animals that I've collected (like a tiger from the community college I went to, a stuffed Eeyore that I got a long time ago. etc). Then there's a short little dvd storage shelf where I have some of my paperback books and some books from my childhood. And then the closet is stuffed full of stuff we've been storing for the last almost 10 years...which I hope to clean out sometime in the near future.
And...I think that's about it! :) Here's the video I took:
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