Today's post is the third in a series of four on my personal home office makeover project. I recently realized that my minimalist desk lacked some much-needed storage and that I was ready for a change.

As a reminder, here's my old setup:



After creating a plan with the elfa specialist at The Container Store and loading up the parts, I came home and cleared out my office. Once I had enough room to work, I grabbed a drill with a Phillips #2 bit, a stud finder, a level, and the necessary elfa pieces.

I didn't take any pictures of installing the top track of the system because I didn't have a third hand. But, to get an idea of how I did it, check out the installation video from the elfa website. (My apologies now for the ridiculous background music.)

Once the top rack was in place, it was time to put on the track covers and hanging standards:



Next, the hanging standards were spaced according to the plans and I hung the top set of shelves:



I went through the process of hanging the other shelves and installing the drawers. Once these were all in place, I sorted through my office items and started finding homes for objects:



My drawers to the left of my desk include office supplies in the top drawer, stationery in the second drawer, cables and wire for electronic devices in the third drawer, and sewing supplies in the bottom drawer.

The shelf that will hold my printer was on backorder and I'm waiting for it to arrive. It will sit immediately above my top drawer and also hold a lamp for task lighting.

This entire desk system cost me less than $700 and took me less than five hours to install. Even though it is not yet finished, I know the invested elbow grease will be worth it.

There is more work to be done as I continue to move objects out of my closet and move them into my office space. In the next post on February 10, I'll provide a project round up and a final photograph of my finished office. Stay tuned!