The Vine: April 11, 2014
Cat-owning home office folk, help!
I need a paper storage/file system for my desk for things that are in progress or will need to be dealt with shortly. It needs to be something cats won’t try and climb in (paper trays were a bad idea) or knock over as they wander through and rub their chins on them. My current random stacks that slither away are not particularly useful, sigh…
It also needs to be something that precludes my hiding everything in a drawer and forgetting about it. Procrastination is my middle name.
My desk sits next to a window in the middle of the room (looking out at the horses is definitely a work benny!) so no wall in front of me but there’s a bit of wall behind my left shoulder: floor to ceiling but only about 2′ of useable width.
Any ideas?
Crazy Procrastinating Catlady
Tags: Ask The Readers feline fun times home 'n' garden
I mean, how big a thing are you after? There are TONS of organizers that might fit the bill – maybe something like this would fit the bill: Z Rack File Organizer but cat rubs will knock that shit right over. Maybe some little sticky feet or something to keep it from being pushed off the desk?
Have you thought about something like this:
http://bit.ly/PXLSGI
It’s clear plastic, so that prevents the forgetting things part, and the different piles can go into different compartments. Mine doesn’t really stand up, but instead lays flat. Sometimes the cats sit on it, but when they do, it doesn’t wreak any havoc, unlike stacks of paper, or letter trays.
For the record, I think that Europe has the best office supplies, hands down.
What I really wish that I could find in the US is this (I have a small stash, acquired over a series of trips to Germany):
http://amzn.to/1iDu8IV
Another possibility, if you’re willing to have it shipped, is this:
http://amzn.to/1erNTX9
I’m a huge fan of this type of desktop file which uses hanging file folders and has a “step up” design so the ones in back are as visible as the ones in front. However, for some cats that might be too box-like to resist the if-it-fits-I-sits impulse. Something like this might work a little better as it doesn’t look like a box.
Your 2 feet of wall space seems like the most catproof idea to me. If you click on the links in Leah’s comment and then put “wall file” into the search category, you’ll see many options–single wall files in metal, plastic, etc. (where the file folder sticks out the top so you still see what’s what); tiered ones; etc.
I sympathize with forgetting about hidden stuff; my husband and I even use the initials of “out of sight, out of mind” (OOSOOM) as a regular word (“sorry I forgot about that–it was oosoomy.”)
Catlady here~
Thanks so much for the suggestions! I like Leah’s hanging file box a lot, and I LOVE the one in Amy’s last link! A bit of image searching on Google may have found me a US supplier too.
Jobiska, I may be stealing the oosoomy word!
I am up to 9 cats since I wrote that letter, so keeping my work un-chewed and unsigned with paw-prints is a little challenging at times :p
Thanks!
I found the best way to keep my cats from making everything on my desk into their own “if I fits, I sits” space is to provide a small box or basket that I’d like them to use instead.
So, they hop up on the desk, and instead of rubbing against and knocking everything over, they discover this wonderful little container that I “accidentally” left “unguarded”, and hop right in!
They get the smug satisfaction of sitting where they “shouldn’t” (bonus points if you can theatrically exclaim “Oh no, not that! Silly kitty, that’s not for you!” ;p ), and you keep them in a single organized space.
Hope this helps!
My thought was for something like this. It can sit on your desk or be wall mounted.
http://www.warehousestationery.co.nz/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/WFS/WSL-B2C-Site/en_NZ/-/NZD/ViewOfferDetail-Product?ProductRef=42352@WSL-B2C
Its a New Zealand link though.
It’s see through to avoid oosoomy-ness, and you can get them in singles and mount a few to ensure visual contact if the stacked version is too concealing.
HAHA good luck with that! This weekend, completing my taxes took me about twice as long due to feline tax preparation assistance!