Worth repeating: Simple fix = big results

14 May 2015

I am so proud of this innovation, which transformed an ugly sight into a beautiful one in my rearranged office a couple of years ago. I’m still enjoying it on a daily basis. If you have an eyesore in your space, see what you can do to change it up.

I rearranged my office furniture last weekend, the most notable shift being moving my desk 90 degrees. I also moved a stand that holds a laser printer and Fujitsu ScanSnap scanner, so that the stand now backs up to my desk.

It’s great because it allows me to hide cords. But there was a negative side effect: When I sit at my desk, I now have a view of the back of the printer and the scanner. The problem with that is the scanner back is covered with electrical and warning labels. They’re not only ugly, but sort of urgent and stressful. That absolutely wasn’t going to fly. Check it out:

The back of my scanner covered in labels

In a moment of inspiration—the type of inspiration that doesn’t usually come easy to me, so I’m particularly excited about it —I thought of just the thing to turn this situation around.

My friend, Sally Brown of Roll Over Rover Threads is an amazingly talented illustrator. Her pet-related designs decorate her fabulous t-shirt line. I help her every year at trade shows and am in love with these designs. So I simply went to her website and (with her permission) copied some of my favorite illustrations into a Pages document. (Pages is the Mac’s word-processing program.) They illustrations were in squares and four squares in a row was just the width I needed. I printed them out on my color ink-jet, cut out the strip and taped it to the back of the scanner, using double-sided tape. I used two removable Avery labels to cover the areas between the two cords.

Here’s the result.

Back of scanner now covered in pretty illustrations

When I look up from my keyboard, I now see beautiful illustrations that make me happy and that are infused with the love and support of my dear friend, instead of ugly manufacturing labels.

It was such a simple fix. And it changed everything.

Take a look around your space. Are there any simple improvements you could make to make the space more beautiful and comfortable?

Tagged with: , ,

Comments

That’s a HUGE improvement – from grim to great! Congratulations on a simple + brilliant solution, Janine.

Margaret Lukens May 25, 2015 07:39 PM

Thanks, Margaret! It makes me happy every time I look at it (which is a far cry from feeling stressed by warning labels!).

Janine Adams May 26, 2015 08:15 AM

Add your comment

  

Your email address will not be displayed or distributed.

You may use Textile formatting including:

  • _italics_ = italics
  • *bold* = bold
  • "text":url = text

About Janine

Hello! I’m Janine Adams — a certified professional organizer based in St. Louis, and the creator of Peace of Mind Organizing®.

I love order, harmony + beauty, but I believe that the way that you feel about yourself and your home is what truly matters.

If you’re ready to de­clutter with a purpose and add more ease to your life, you’ve found the right blog — and you’ve found the right company.

read more »

Recommended *

  • Personalized Cards for Every Occasion

  • Getting to Good Enough podcast