My Staples Office Makeover (That Was Easy!)

This summer is going to be a time for change.  I’ve said it over and over that I need to start focusing more on me and less on covering-all-my-bases in the house.  Clearly, I’m not doing a good job of covering a little bit of everything (when was the last time I cleaned my laundry room?) so I need to work more at delegating and focusing more on myself.  Step one is getting myself into my home office and off the living room couch.

As mentioned in my previous post, my previous home office situation was not user friendly.  Apparently putting a desk in the corner of a room does not automatically ensure massive amounts of productivity, especially when the desk is too small and not functional.

So, when given the (amazing!) opportunity to do an entire home-office makeover courtesy of Staples Canada, I was beyond excited!  This way I could choose the items I wanted in my ideal office space without feeling the frugal pinch.  Of course me being me, I still looked for the best value and wanted to stretch my gift-card as far as I could!

Here’s a photo of my old home office situation – off to the corner you go, mom:

Seriously, just looking at that photo now makes me cringe!  How was I supposed to get any work done with no space to do it?  I switched sides of the room and got started.  After my shopping trip – THIS below is the amazing transformation!

My first step was replacing my old office chair, which I did with the help of the Staples Big Chair Event.  My new Manager’s Chair is big, comfy, and makes it easy to sit at the desk for long periods of time (note, when wearing my mommy uniform of Lululemon pants, you need to tilt the chair back just a bit, lest you slide forward in your fancy pants like I did!)

Here’s a better view of the Whalen® Legeant L-Shaped Desk from Staples ($269.99 regular price).  It’s so much bigger than it looks on the website, and heavier too!  It’s very sturdy and gives me a ton of space to spread out yet still tucks nicely into the corner of the room (with the window now behind me lighting up the area and my back is no longer towards the door!)

This drawer solved my filing problem!  I thought I would need to purchase a filing cabinet but since this drawer was already built into the desk (and can accomidate both legal or letter size files) it was the perfect solution!  The two shelves above can be adjusted to fit whatever supplies you have.  I think it’s great for storing extra printer paper, envelopes and other supplies.

I love love love this Winnable Poly Expanding File ($6.26) because it’s perfect for organizing my receipts!  Until now, my receipts always went into an envelope in my kitchen cupboard and then I’d be in a mess of receipts come income tax time.  I highly recommend picking one up!

My info center, this Quartet® Magnetic Combination Board ($41.19) is perfect for keeping me organized and on task as well.  I need visual reminders (which is why my dining room table is always full of product!) so this is a great way to accomplish that.  It’s all neat and tidy now of course, but I expect it to be loaded with press releases, business cards, and reminders of phone call meetings.  It’s big enough to fit everything I need and then some I’m sure.

The rest of my office makeover budget, beyond the big items, was spent on what makes me joyful – stationary and organization!  I picked up a few pieces from the Martha Stewart Home Office collection (how could I not, with blue and brown being the colors featured in this collection?) and also of course everything I need for the office like printer paper (card stock as well!), a pencil cup, magazine file (perfect for holding folders of press info received with products), envelopes, pens, tacks, paper clips, oh my!

I am so excited to have a space – a huge space – to call my own.  The huge desk, well organized with a filing drawer, and stationary products all help to keep me on task.  My new manager’s chair helps keep me comfortable and ready to work!  As I blog this review I’m sitting in my new space, grateful for it in every way, and to Staples for allowing me the opportunity to jump in and create the perfect home office!