Roving Desk Organizers & Going Pink

Welcome to the 590th Metamorphosis Monday!

Running a tad behind this morning due to internet issues. We changed cable/internet providers after my son’s previous provider couldn’t deliver anywhere near the service/speed promised. Unfortunately, the technician for the new provider arrived this morning just as we all sat down to work at our computers.

We (the 3 adults in the house) are back up and running now and looking forward to consistent, faster speeds. I can’t help but wonder if AT&T is having issues keeping up with everyone working from home right now. Hopefully, things will go better with the new service. Anyone else seeing drops in their internet speed since so many folks are now working from home?

I have a very small “Before and After” to share today, but it struck me as kinda funny so I thought it was worth sharing. When the whole stay-at-home thing began, you may remember that my daughter-in-law and I set up “home offices” in our bedrooms. When I first realized I would be heading to Ohio to help out with my grandsons, I hurriedly purchased this desk online since it was designed to hold a CPU tower. Once I arrived and assembled it, I did enjoy it, but my one complaint was lack of surface space for resting my arms while typing.

Desk for working at home during Coronavirus Pandemic

 

In the meantime, my dil found this beautiful desk for her home office space. (Desk is available here: White Desk.)

Design a small office area at home

 

Not being entirely satisfied with my desk due to lack of surface space, I decided to order the same one. We both love our desks and have had fun decking them out.

Desk for working at home

 

You may remember I purchased this rotating desk caddy/organizer for holding my pens, pencils, etc… I have a similar one back home and use it every day so it was a must when I set up my home office here. Initially, I purchased a black one since that was the color of my desk.

Pen, Pencil, Marker Holder Caddy for Desk

 

Once I changed out my desk for a white one, I wasn’t loving the black caddy. They make this same organizer in two more colors: Gray and White. I had a feeling the white would be too white since my desk is more of a cream color, and I’m not too fond of the color gray, but I decided to order the caddy in both colors just to see how they looked.

Desk for working at home

 

The white was a tad too white for me, but Nancy loved how it looked so she’s using that one on her desk. (Photo below was before she added the white caddy.)

Design a small office area at home

 

Here’s a close-up of how the white organizer/caddy looks on Nancy’s desk. It works great with her desk but looked a bit too white on mine. Maybe it’s the lighting in the room.

White Desk Organizer for pen and pencils

 

Though I’m not normally a fan of gray, I like the gray organizer a lot better than the black one. This gray is a soft gray, so it works well here.

 

So what happened to the black organizer? At first, it ended up here in the living room holding the always-roaming TV remotes. Nancy loves it for keeping the remotes rounded up!

Since my son is now working from home (his office is in the basement) I asked him if he needed an organizer for his desk. He liked the idea so I stole the one from the living room temporarily for his desk. I ordered a new one when I did that, but in the meantime, Nancy was like, “Hey, what happened to my remote holder?!”  Hee, hee.

It only took a couple of days for the new black caddy to arrive so the remotes are back in their home again. So, this house that once had no organizer caddies, now has four! This whole organizer-caddy thing cracked me up as they moved all around the house from room to room, so I thought you would find it amusing, too…and maybe even a bit helpful.

If you need an organizer for your desk, art supplies, or remotes, you’ll find the one we’re all using (in 3 colors) here: Organizer Caddy.

Black organizer for desk or TV remotes

 

The whole “white-desk thing” has been like a can of worms! Once I ditched the black organizer caddy, I wanted to get rid of all the other black “stuff” on the desk, or at least as much as I could. I started shopping online to see what color tape dispensers and staplers came in. Spoiler Alert: You can get them in a bunch of beautiful colors!

Desk for working at home

 

Nancy loved the pink tape dispenser and stapler I found for my desk. (Pssst: The aqua color is gorgeous, too…I had a hard time choosing!)

 

So Nancy went with the same pink color for her desk. It really looks good with her pink desk mat which you can just see at the bottom of the picture below. I love the sign Nancy has on her desk. That’s basically our main goal around here these days. 😉

If your heart yearns for a pretty, colorful tape dispenser you’ll find the brand we purchased (and love) in pink, aqua, lime, white, blue, hot pink, and a lot of other fun colors here: Tape Dispenser.

Staplers are available in the same pretty colors here: Staplers.

Funny how little things (like pink staplers) can make work just a little less like work. Know what I mean?

Pink Stapler, Pink Tape Dispenser

 

Looking forward to all the wonderful Before and Afters linked for this week’s Met Monday!

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Comments

  1. I love the well organized desks and pretty practical accessories! Thanks Susan!

  2. Brenda Lawrence says

    I do love the changes of accessory colors on both your’s and Nancy’s desk. I looked at the same desk when I was looking for a desk, but then realized that I didn’t have room for a desk, so went with a narrow buffet table in my living room. I think the white looks nice in Nancy’s room because she has the dark walls and it absorbs the light, making the white holder look good on her more creamy white desk. Where as your walls are light in color, so the color can bounce around more making it look to white for your desk. Yes, I am loving the blush, teal and mint colors of the tape dispenser and stapler! lol Funny how things snowball! Please keep the tiny humans alive!!!! lol Hugs, Brenda

    • Yes, about the snowballing! Too funny! Reminds me of the book, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie.
      I bet you’re right about the light and dark walls. It looks great on her desk!

  3. Hahaha I love your sign! 😉 And you new desk accoutrements! Thanks for the tips – it’s so nice to have a pretty place to work!

  4. Anne Shaheen says

    Have you ordered take out from DLM? Their posts make me homesick. All events at Frazee Pavillion cancelled for the summer so I probably won’t be in Dayton-Kettering this summer

  5. Roxanna LeBon says

    After reading about your new desk set up and since we are now working from home also, I ordered the pink desk pad. I absolutely love it. Thanks for all the great tips. Enjoy your time with your family.

  6. Oh my Susan you are so OCD but in a good way. Such a cute story and I love that “…keep the tiny humans alive” sign. XXOO

    • lol It’s true…I fully admit it! I told Nancy that since I’m not home where I can “decorate” I’m decorating the heck out of my desk. Ha, ha! 🙂

  7. Elinda Turner says

    Susan, We switched to Spectrum years ago with our phone and internet service. Best thing we ever did. During this pandemic our speed is still very fast no issues. We were with AT&T for years, internet service was just too slow.

    • That’s who we just switched to, so hopefully it will be a lot better. I can’t believe how much wasted time we’ve spent with AT&T technicians and the speeds were still all over the place, one second fast and 3 seconds later, horrible. They never could explain what was going on, much less fix it. So far, Spectrum is working great…hope it keeps up!

  8. Lucille Armintor says

    I love the desk. The size looks perfect for me. However, I would like it in a different color, perhaps beige. I have searched the Internet but so far all I’ve found are much larger than I want. I may just have to go with the white..still thinking about it.

    • It’s not a stark white, more of a softer white. The color is really pleasing to me. Lucille, hope you can find one in the color you want. I know how frustrating that can be. I often have that issue with handbags. 🙂

  9. Susan,
    Thanks so much for continuing to host during this health crisis, spreading beauty, laughter and information!! Stay Safe, Healthy and Happy!!
    Hugs,
    Debbie

  10. Sandra D in Joliet says

    I’m having trouble with my AT&T Uverse tv going bonkers. I’ve had to “reset” it twice this week by pulling the plug and letting it go through it’s thing. They want to get rid of Uverse and if they do, I’ll be getting rid of them because I do not want a dish. My friend is moving out of state and offered me her small oak roll top desk which I absolutely love and unfortunately, try as I might, had no room for it. Another friend will get it. I’m still so sad but it’s just stuff, right? It’s just stuff, right? It’s just stuff, right? I’ll convince myself one day I didn’t really need (maybe).

    • Sandra, I just saw this comment and I totally understand. It’s hard to pass up on a pretty roll top desk. I hope you’re having better luck now with the Uverse. My son had to ditch it at his house, they never could get it working properly.

  11. KC Posner says

    Susan, what’s the mercury glass ball thing..just being nosey.

  12. Hi Susan,

    You’ve really made me want to set up a nice home office here!!! I love the white desk you and Nancy chose, and your pink office supplies are great! They look like that pretty “Blush” color. I bet it’s a real adventure with all three of you working at home and keeping up with two boys, as well. 😀 They’re so lucky to have you there to help out!!

    Thank you for hosting the party, and I hope you have a great week!

    Hugs,

    Denise

    • Thanks, Denise! It was crazy every day and the days flew by, but we had fun. I’m sure we’ll never forget this period when we were all working from home with two rambunctious boys at home all day.

  13. franki parde says

    That pink is perfect!! A few fresh flowers (and caramels)…well what more can I say…franki

  14. Susan, your desk is a dream, so pretty and organized. May I jump through my screen and work in your home office instead of mine? And we might then both jump through your screens and sit on the porch of your beautiful “wallpaper” home! Lol
    Our cable is through Spectrum and they’ve had issues due to everyone being at home and online at the same time. We love Spectrum, been with them for years, but I think it depends on the lines/infrastructure in each area, how well they’ve been updated. Spectrum’s customer service is very good, and will give you credits for outages when you ask for them.

  15. Hi Susan,
    I like your desk setup and pen holder. The sign was so comical.
    I googled and found a Tshirt which will make a great Father’s Day Gift for my brother.

    https://www.etsy.com/listing/619871623/eat-sleep-keep-the-tiny-humans-alive?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=todays+goal+keep+the+tiny+humans+alive&ref=sc_gallery-1-7&plkey=fccf3d7d06899494358c8262b4d37f643adb67e8%3A619871623&frs=1&col=1

    Thanks for hosting the party!

  16. Hi, Susan ! I was planning on ordering some of the Cutemol skin cream you talked about in your May 12th post. Before I do , though I wondered if it was greasy at all and would then be a concern about getting on clothes. Also, wondered if you had started using the 8 Greens supplement and if it “sat well” with your system. I’m considering ordering that also. Your posts are a bright spot in these days that offer concern to us all.

    • Thanks, Gail, appreciate that so much! The Cutemol isn’t greasy but it takes a few minutes to dry. Once it’s dry, you’re good to go. When your hands get wet, it doesn’t get greasy then either because it creates a barrier that holds moisture into your skin.
      The 8greens came and the only thing I don’t like about it is that it’s sweet. You drop the 8Greens tablet into water and the drink it makes is sweet, and I don’t really care for sweet drinks. My daughter-in-law loves it, though and doesn’t think it’s too sweet at all. The only beverage I enjoy drinking that’s sweet are Cokes, they’re my downfall. But otherwise I do not like sweet drinks.

  17. Donna Nance says

    Love your new pretties for your desk! There are so many options for office supplies that there’s no reason to be plain and dull. I may have to order the organizer for our remotes. We have Xfinity for our internet service as AT&T is not good in our area. So far we haven’t noticed any change in the quality of the signal. How are your cute little grandsons taking this prolonged isolation?

    • There really are! I had no idea they came in such pretty pastel colors. I’ve seen red staplers, but never aqua, hot pink, etc…
      We’ve seen a huge improvement since my son switched away from AT&T. He’s very pleased. It was stressful for him trying to work from home and being dropped so often and the speeds being so random.
      The boys are taking it all in stride. It’s harder on the days when it’s raining all day outside. It will be nice when they can play with their neighborhood friends again…not sure when that will be, though. Thanks for asking, so sweet of you to ask! I hope you guys are doing well!

  18. After seeing your post from a few posts back I purchased the desk blotter…pink/silver. LOVE it ! Had it on the silver but switched to the pink and it makes my desk look – Thanks for the tip!

    • Ann, I’m so glad! I just ordered another green one for my desk at home. I love it! It matches the chair I have in my office here at home. 🙂

  19. Cecilia from Georgia says

    I just have to tell you how entertaining your post is about the traveling organizers! You are such a thoughtful MIL and I’m sure your son appreciates the wonderful relationship you have with his wife.

    • Thanks, Cecilia! I thought it was funny how the black one from my desk ended up in three different locations. 🙂 Awww, thanks! I feel very lucky to have such a great daughter-in-love! ♥

  20. Hi! Love the sign Goal for Today…Keep the Tiny Humans Alive. Can I ask where you all found it?

    • I just checked with her and she said it was a gift from a friend so she isn’t sure where she found it. Maureen, I just Googled out of curiosity and a bunch of items with that saying popped up including signs, t-shirts, mugs etc… Just Google “Today’s Goal Keep the Tiny Humans Alive sign” to see them all.

  21. Love your desk and accessories, but love the sign on your DIL’s desk even more. She has a great sense of humour. A necessary trait when raising children.

  22. Thank you so much for hosting! This week I am excited to share Week two of the one room challenge which includes window treatments and the new bed frame! I hope you are having a great day and are staying healthy and safe!

  23. Lol @ Nancy’s sign. 😀 And Pretty is always good. Love the colors. The pink and aqua you liked remind me of the colors on cars back in the late 50s and early 60s. I think even some appliances came in those colors.

    Stay happy, Susan!

    • I don’t know why I love those colors so much the last few years. They just feel so fresh and lighthearted! I’ve seen a few kitchens done in those colors. Love aqua in a beach cottage!
      Thanks, Pam…you, too!

  24. I’ve been working from home for 6 years since starting my own Virtual Assistant business. All of my office accessories have to be pretty, all the way down to the file folders. Desk accessories are pink so I have the pink desk pad. I started on the kick of having pink office tools when I worked as an operations manager at a construction company and I was the only woman. It started with pink scissors because that way a) I’d always be able to find it if it went to someone else’s desk and b) none of those men wanted my pink
    “stuff”.

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