Guest Room
This staircase is hidden by wide slats with thin spacing. The white painted slats look fresh, even beachy, and help the dining room feel cozier than it would have been with open stairs. Although the slats create a wall to hide the stairs, the spaces between the slats keep the staircase and the room somewhat open to each other. The slats also make both the room and the staircase more visually interesting.
Day 7 and beyond: Do daily maintenance.Decluttering tasks: Aim to handle paper as soon as you get it, rather than letting it pile up. If you don’t have time to do this daily, set up an inbox with slots for a few broad categories (bills, work, school etc.) so papers will be easier to handle later.Post a note detailing what you should save and for how long.Schedule a weekly time to empty your inbox.Cleaning tasks: Straighten up your home office before you are done working each day. Bring the coffee cups back to the kitchen and completely clear your desktop.Tell us: What is the biggest cleaning or decluttering problem you face in your home office?More 7-day plans: Living Room | Entry Hall | Kitchen | Kids’ Room | Laundry Room | Dining Room
Day 5: Consider comfort.Decluttering tasks: How comfortable is your home office? If you use your workspace often, it’s important to have an adjustable chair with proper support, good lighting and perhaps a small stool to put your feet up on. See what you can do today to make your home office more comfortable.
Day 1: Deal with paper.Decluttering tasks: What is all of that clutter? Do you even need to keep this stuff? This is the day to find out. At the end of today’s tasks, your home office may very well look worse than when you began — consider yourself warned!Do some research. Sometimes we keep things simply because we are not sure if it’s OK to throw them out. Go on a fact-finding mission (call your tax preparer or search online) and figure out what you need to keep and for how long.Sort and stack. Work your way through your home office, pulling every loose paper out of drawers, shelves, cupboards etc. As you go, sort your stuff into categories as best you can, shredding and tossing what is no longer needed.Make quick temporary labels for your category piles with a marker on plain paper — it’s amazing how quickly you can lose track of what goes where.Set aside anything that does not belong in your home office and make a point of returning it to where it belongs (or to whom it belongs to) today.Cleaning tasks: Keep a shredder, recycling bin and trash can nearby for obvious junk mail and garbage.
4. Divide a large room. Whether you have an overwhelmingly large great room, or you live in a one-room apartment, slat walls can separate spaces and help define areas. In this home in Barcelona, Spain, a wooden screen separates the dining space from the kitchen, while allowing the chef to still see and hear guests. The screen also adds an interesting texture to both spaces, giving the home a Zen-bohemian vibe.
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