10172010cleanvscluttered.jpg

A brother and a sister living under the same roof might seem challenging enough. But try putting a minimalist graphic designer with a clutter-loving crafter and see what happens. For me, being that sister, it was quite a struggle. Although, I must say, living in that environment taught me a lot about what I actually needed in a workspace.

10172010cleanvsclutteredc.jpg

This is what our work area looked like last year (after we cleaned it up for pictures, that is!). I kept most of my things in rolling totes that I carted out when I wanted to get things done — which ended up becoming less and less often, due to the inconvenience of the situation. For my brother, the space worked perfectly fine, as his clutter was limited to the files and folders on his Mac desktop, which resided neatly inside his computer screen.

10172010cleanvsclutteredb.jpg

I spent the last year fantasizing about how I wanted to organize my work space, and now that I'm finally in my own apartment, I've seen that dream realized. I discovered vertical storage is a great way to be efficient, and drawers are humankind's gift to the crafter with an embarrassing amount of supplies.

Sometimes living in a less than ideal situation is just the way to discover what you need the most. (Oh, and you should see my brother's new office area now! We've both come a long way.)

Images: Amanda Johnson