Who invented the in-box? I’d like a word with them. In our house, my in-box is where everything gets piled. This piling into my in-box doesn’t count as “home organization” either. Once it goes into my in-box, everyone thinks they are absolved of all personal responsibility. Wrong! We had a serious discussion about my in-box, that’s located in our “Tower of Power.”
What is the “Tower of Power” you’re wondering? It’s a tower of shelving. It’s in the kitchen – where we spend a lot time – and the tower is the center of our activities. The name began as a joke – and it rhymed so it stuck.
School calendars, phone directories, schedules, lists, phone, mail – it all happens right here!
Brad snapped this of me. He couldn’t fit behind the shelving unit so I had to squeeze back there – and then he took a picture of me!
Our “Tower of Power” had been ignored for too long.
Home Organization Project 10
- This week’s project. “Tower of Power” or kitchen/phone spot.
- Small. It seemed like a small project but took several days to actually complete. Everything came out and got sorted through.
- Clear and clean. We pulled the shelving unit out and cleaned behind it. Blah!
- Get set. Paper got recycled and filed. The kids grumbled when I put their in-boxes on the dining room table and told them to get to it. (Yes, someone keeps their retainer case in their in-box but I’m not saying a word about this!)
- Stop buying. I didn’t buy anything new but I used a metal pen holder (well, that’s what it is now!) from the basement. It connected onto my shelving unit. The big container of pens will go into the office – once it’s mini-makeover is done. We also hung the kid’s hand-prints from kindergarten. Sweet.
- Less is more. Just having more space between the shelves – and having more order makes it so much easier to find something when I need it. Having empty spaces is under rated!
It feels so good to have another home organization project completed that’s been driving me crazy for awhile! It was time to get rid of last fall season’s sport schedule, wasn’t it? Next, we’re working on the office re-do (I found a very cool desk today – if you follow me on Instagram – we hit the ReBuilding Center and scored!) but we’ve been sorting through books, too. Our house looks like a tornado hit!
Do you have an in-box? Does it get overwhelming?
Go Gingham related links:
Our basement chalkboard – it’s an old classroom chalkboard and finished in wood trim
Toilet tank slipcovers – I know this is wrong but I couldn’t help myself
A tray table with a slipcover – because tables need slipcovers, too
As part of our New Year’s resolution, we’re cleaning out a different area of our house every week this year. Find all of the “weekly home organization projects” – or click the image below.
Go Gingham 
Seriously, you and Jeff are so often on the same wave length it’s a little wacky. He just cleaned out his inbox yesterday, too! Now to get the rest of the office finished!
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Erin, you’ve married a real genius! LOL! Love it. Our office is getting painted as I type this. Brad is teaching our 17yo son to paint – a skill everyone needs to know.
Tell Jeff ‘hi’ from me and tell him awesome job!! š
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Do I spy a landline, an answering machine, and the same reading glasses I have (well, one of several cheapie pairs scattered in different places around the house for when I might need to read small print)? Perhaps we are twins separated at birth. š Your new-and-improved tower of power looks great and you have been inspiring me to dig through (sadly, when I say “dig”, I mean it!) my disorganization and create order. Eventually I would like to paint our back entry and hang folders/hanging clips for the never-ending school projects because that seems to be the hardest thing for me to keep up with. But first, the desk, bedroom, and basement need to be attacked.
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Guilty as charged! Perhaps we were separated at birth š The school projects do slow down as the kids get older. It’s hard but we’ve recycled more of them as the kids have gotten older. Artwork in garage sale frames is another inexpensive option – although I like the wire with clips on it, too.
Good luck on your project! It’s hard to get started but once I do – look out!!
Thanks for writing in, Kris.
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