How I Made My Organized Office Then and Now

This post was originally written in 2015, and it showed how I organized my home office in a 10 ft x 10 ft space in my family room. I partitioned my Family Room to make room for my office since the kids only used the space on the weekends. It was a perfect space for my office since it was a long and narrow room; I was able to take half of it easily.

This post will also include the changes I made since then so you can see that adjusting your home office as your business grows and changes is perfectly fine. I hope this inspires you to relook at your home office, see what isn’t working, and modify it. Let’s begin.

How I organized my home office in 2015

I am going to go through my office to show how easy it is to create a very functional space in a less than 10-foot x 10-foot space.

My office space is a part of my family room. I created a wall by using a 3-foot wide armoire to divide my desk (Affiliate Link) area from the rest of the room. The armoire stores my piano keyboard and other blankets for the family room area. I used the back of the armoire for my markerboard (Affiliate Link) (see how I made it here) to jot notes down on it. I also have a small fridge. These two pieces helped divide my space from the family room.

Storage cabinets

I purchased tall IKEA cabinets years ago and placed them around the window. These IKEA cabinets held lots of storage. I also added locks to protect my clients (Affiliate Link) and my privacy since the kids would use the space on the weekends. These cabinets also held my other hobbies, like home movie making, scrapbooking, sewing, and crafts. It also held some office supplies as well. Check out the image and the way I set it up by clicking this link.

I went from a regular desk (Affiliate Link) to a standing desk (Affiliate Link), and now to a treadmill desk (Affiliate Link). The one I have now has an up and down switch to allow for easy adjustment in my office. I forced myself to stand more when possible.

Then, I added a 4 drawer filing cabinet (Affiliate Link) to store on the side of my desk (Affiliate Link) to hold current to-do papers. It also gives me extra surface space. Check out my post about how I transformed this cabinet from OK to fabulous.

For my long-term files, I store these files in another filing cabinet (Affiliate Link) in my walk-in closet. I also have a bookshelf that held my organizing tool bag and other office papers and supplies.

Organizing My Office in 2020

Now, I have revamped my home office a bit. My focus has changed a bit where I have modified furniture pieces to use them for my DIY Crafts on my organizing blog. Visit the numerous DIY organizing crafts posts on Sabrina’s Organizing blog.

First, I repurposed my armoire, so it now houses my scrapbooking supplies as well as some of my craft supplies. I then reorganized one of my taller IKEA cabinets and now use that as a divider in my office. Behind this taller cabinet, I added photos and my goals for the current year.

Added a Divider

I also added a divider that I made for my Craft Organizing Friday post series, here it is if you want to read it. How to create a DIY Fabric Room Divider I really like it because it blocks my 32 in screen monitor and my various laptop cables. From the family room side, you can’t see my office at all.

I had a foot injury and couldn’t stand as much at my desk (Affiliate Link), so I bought a sturdy bar height chair (Affiliate Link). Then, I place it directly on the treadmill when I can’t stand, and it can be removed easily. I did, however, modify the desk (Affiliate Link) itself. I change the top from a half-moon shape to an IKEA rectangular shape from their standing desk (Affiliate Link) collection. My husband and I screwed in the new desktop to the existing legs. It gave me more room to hold my to-do papers, laptops, and planner. It was a needed solution.

Added a cubby system

I also added a small IKEA four-cube cubby bookshelf with legs that I found at IKEA some years ago. It works great to hold my stapler (Affiliate Link), sticky notes (Affiliate Link), and an upright folder for current-year papers.

My filing cabinet (Affiliate Link) is still being used, but now it holds my Cricut Machine, which I love using when doing various craft projects. (If you click through with the image below, it is an affiliate link through ShareASale. At no additional cost to you, I will receive a small commission if you purchase this item.)

I also added a large monthly dry-erase calendar and dry-erase markerboard (Affiliate Link) film to the wall so I could quickly write down my projects and ideas. I found it online some years ago, but I am unsure of the brand, so I found these similar ones on Amazon (affiliate). Visit my post here about the Secrets of Making a Great Whiteboard Wall.

All the other things in my office are still in use and have worked out nicely.

Office Update in 2025

Another 5 years have passed, and I want to share a glimpse of my home office. It has evolved as I have been doing more virtual work, from adding a time tasks board to adding a DIY idea board to adding a backdrop to the wall behind my desk (Affiliate Link) when I have virtual calls. It has become more attractive and enjoyable to work here.

My Time Tasks Board

This area was featured as a DIY post on my sister site, SabrinasOrganizing.com. I shared step-by-step instructions on how to make it and why I needed it. Feel free to check out the complete DIY post here.

Beautiful Backdrop

I have a wall behind me and wanted to dress it up after we painted the wall a pretty mauve color from our shabby yellow last year. Here is what the wall looks like behind my desk (Affiliate Link).

My new desk layout

I enjoy looking outside, so I moved my adjustable desk (Affiliate Link) so that I could see the outdoors. It was too deep to be close to the window so I moved it right before the door to my closet.

I repurposed another desk (Affiliate Link) from my daughter’s room. I repainted, resurfaced, and added it to the front of my window.

The armoire, which houses my craft supplies for my DIY organizing projects, still separates my office from our small family room/den. It keeps my place private.

Well, there you have it – my modifications to my organized office in the last five years. What do you think?

I hope my home office evolving space inspires you to relook at your office space and see if you can make it more organized and functional. Remember if your office doesn’t work for you, you must modify it. What is your favorite part of your office? Please leave a message below.