Having a beautiful home is very important to me. I want our home to be comfortable and relaxing.
Being unorganized = stress to me. It drives me absolutely crazy when I can’t find something, and have to spend my precious time searching around the house.
In the last several months, Hoosier Homemade has grown by leaps and bounds. I have been cooking, baking, photographing and blogging like a crazy women! 
My office has gotten way out of hand, and I couldn’t stand it anymore!
While I still enjoyed the Office Remodel that I did way back in May 2009, it had just become too crowded. I had 2 tables, creating a very long (16ft) flat surface. I liked having all the space, but I found that the more flat surface you have available, the more things start to pile up. And I’m as guilty as my family is about doing it.
So I took down one of the long tables, replaced it with a smaller table and moved around a few things. And added lots of baskets to store my props and books in. I like using baskets, especially ones with lids because you can put your things in, close the lid and it looks very organized.
- In a large picnic basket, I put all my props that I use for my yummy food pictures
- Closing the lid makes it nice and organized
- In this small basket, I put all my small paperback cookbooks, ones like; Pillsbury Come & Eat, Taste of Home and the little $1 cookbook that Pampered Chef offers (I love those little books)
- Again, closing the lid makes all the difference
- At the end of my desk, I have 2 baskets full of magazines and food articles that need to be gone through, my small basket with cookbooks and a old wooden box that I used years ago for my cross-stitich, I placed all Hoosier Homemade paperwork in it
- In another corner, I put my picnic basket full of props and an open basket full of my favorite cookbook, including Hello, Cupcake and Martha’s Cupcake Book.
- On top of the desk, I have a basket that holds my reading material, a folder for Ebay paperwork and in the small compartments, I store my camera and cords
- I moved some shelving units around, stacked them, and created an area to store my larger magazines, Kraft Food & Family, Taste of Home, etc., my sewing basket and the school supply box for the boys.
And my desk is clean and organized…at least for the time being If you are interested in the canisters I have on the desk, head on over and check out the tutorial I did on them.
Do you use baskets to store and organize your things? Share with us how…
This post linked to:
~Transformation Thursday hosted by The Shabby Chic Cottage
I just posted about this very thing yesterday. My desk was completely out of control, but dh installed some shelves and I used baskets to control the clutter. You can read about it here http://justshortofcrazy.blogspot.com/2010/03/finally-organized.html
Thanks for sharing!
I love baskets:-)
Baskets are an organizational life saver for me, too!!
I popped by from Frugal Friday. Great site! And what a giggle I got when I saw you are from LaPorte; we are only about 30 minutes from you, just off of I-80!
)
.-= Jaime G´s last blog ..Frugal Friday: A Filing System Can Save You Time & Money =-.
@Jaime G, How fun! Are you East or West of me?
So glad you found me! Thanks for stopping by!
~Liz
Wow, nice job. I love a clean and organized office. Keeping it that way is the hard part.
I can’t wait to get my spring cleaning started.You have inspired me to start tomorrow:)
Very motivational for organizing. I LOVE your organizer with the cubby holes you found in your home, after moving! Looks great.
Lidded baskets are a complete lifesaver! I have a whole bunch of them in my office and crafting corner and they make the whole place look welcoming (rather than a horrible mess!). They’re so good for open shelves, too.
Incidentally I just posted a recipie (Spiced caramel pears, inspired by your lovely Apple Enchilada Dessert from you $5 Dinners guest post
)
@wenchie, Oh, sounds yummy! I’ll check it out.
Thanks for stopping by!
~Liz
This professional organizer gives you a big thumbs up! I too use long tables for desk space (so much more room for crafting, etc) and then use baskets for storage. You have a knack for decorating! Thanks for sharing the pictures of your office space!
.-= Melissa Multitasking Mama´s last blog ..Buzzed Driving is… stupid. =-.
@Melissa Multitasking Mama Thanks so much Melissa! I had forgot that you are a profession organizer. I would LOVE that job!
~Liz
Growing up in a tiny house with a family of nine left no room for clutter. Both my parents were meticulously organized people and raised their children to be the same. One use I have for baskets is to store all my fabric scraps from quilting. Checked out your cute canister “covers” post. Just thinking that perhaps a coating or two of Gloss Mod Podge would give the scrap booking paper a tougher finish so your crafty tins would last even longer. I love the chalk and sprinkles paper!
@Paula, Those are great ideas! I hadn’t thought of adding Mod Podge, I might just have some in my stash too!
Thanks for stopping by!
~Liz
It looks amazing! I’d certainly be inspired to write and work in such a nice place.
I love baskets. I’ve got them all over the place. While I do have a few ’rounded’ ones, I prefer squared edges because they sit next to each other with no wasted space.
One of my favorites, though, is neither round nor square–it’s a big heart-shaped picnic basket. I bought it at a garage sale a few years ago. It sits on my living room floor and holds all my magazines!
(I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait for garage sale season–more baskets and other goodies to find!)
@mom2fur, Yes, I love garage sales! And thrift shops! Thanks for stopping by!
~Liz
I have that same picnic basket and I love it! Baskets are functional, fun and great for decorating. Have a great weekend and I will see you next week at the Spring Blog Hop!
Love,
Susan and Bentley
xxoo
.-= Susan´s last blog ..Heirloom Quilt =-.
I love using baskets for storage! They always look so cute!
And I also love, LOVE the Pampered Chef cookbooks!! (I used to sell Pampered Chef! 
)
.-= Mandy´s last blog ..Cheap Date =-.
Well done, it must feel good to see the transistion over a period of time and any time you can put your hands on the things you need quickly a sense of accomplishment. Thanks for sharing the inspiration.
.-= Pearl Maple´s last blog ..Sky Watch Friday =-.
Great job! Baskets are so pretty too and add a nice texture and dimension. Looks so pretty!
.-= Nancy’s Daily Dish´s last blog ..Grilled Chicken Rio Grande =-.
I have an award for you http://justshortofcrazy.blogspot.com/2010/03/hey-hey-bogie.html
.-= Deb´s last blog ..Hey, Hey Bogie =-.
You are very creative with your space! Love the wall cubby thing in the background.
Just left a comment and got bounced out!
(My email address is absolutely valid; I’ve used the same one for years and many times at typepad blogs; perhaps I mispelled it or there was a typ-o, so I’ll try once more)..,
Loved your post with all of then fab ideas and those baskets especially!.., Do visit some time.
wanada Lee
.-= wanda lee´s last blog ..Some Pretty Chintz Plates: =-.
@wanda lee, Hmm, not sure why it bounced you out. Thanks for stopping by!
~Liz
Looks good! I use lots and lots of canvas bins in our addition to keep all of my girls’ toys straight.
I love your little canisters! Visiting from Kimba’s party. Hope you’ll stop by! 
Looks great! I love using baskets and bins to organize things but currently have a lot of piles building that need my attention
.-= Alicia´s last blog ..Menu Plan Monday (3/22/10) =-.
Fabulous Tackle!!! I am very jealous. I wish my place were so organized.
Great tip on using baskets. If you leave a comment with that tip on our Tackle post, you’ll be entered to win a gift basket. And then hey… you’ll have another BASKET! LOL
.-= Susan (5 Minutes for Mom)´s last blog ..Tackle It Tuesday — Tips for Tackling Morning Madness =-.
It looks great! I love using baskets to store the piles that grow everywhere too.
.-= Staci A´s last blog ..Tackle It Tuesday: Reward Chart =-.
I love baskets! I find them at our local Goodwill for great prices, have even spray painted them. Thanks for linking up to “AP Tuesdays!”
.-= Amy Bowman´s last blog .."Anti-Procrastination Tuesdays" #3 =-.
I love what you’ve done with the paperback cookbooks, I have a lot of those floating around. Makes me want more covered baskets! Great tackle!
We love baskets here too and using old hard suitcases for storage in the kids rooms. I love how bright your office space is and how you used different types of baskets to suit you needs. Very inspiring indeed
.-= Sarah @ Mum In Bloom´s last blog ..Recipe: Buttermilk Cheese Bread (Bread Machine) =-.
Visiting from Anti-Procrastination Tuesday. I love your space. And now I too want to go out and find some nice baskets. Thank you for the inspiration.
.-= Marianne Aanderbakk´s last blog ..Notes =-.
I get organizing envy when I come to spaces like this. However, I can do baskets, you made yours so cute, thanks for the inspiration. COme and see my inspiration table top!
.-= debbie´s last blog ..Looking FoR OUtdoor table inspiration =-.
Don’t you just feel so AMAZING now that it’s all organized? I love it when I have that feeling of accomplishment. I have a few corners in my house that I need to attack … wanna help?
Great job on your office!