Hello, 

I recently got a new job at an organization that primarily runs Windows 8.1 Pro. The account provided was not a Microsoft account, but a Gmail hosted one.  Documents on OneNote were shared with me so I used my primary Microsoft account to sign in to be able to read the OneNote docs etc.   Interestingly enough, my own Microsoft account got linked to my Gmail work account.  That doesn't sound to bad since it enhanced my work. 

However, it has now gotten to the point where I will log into my home system, Windows 8.1 "regular", and now my desktop is my work machine's desktop; all my cursor settings have been changed to match the work machine's settings, and I'm sure much more has been changed that I'm not aware of.  I do not believe I gave Microsoft that much power....How can I permanently revert these changes?  

Thanks.

With the Mail app, you can have all your emailfrom Outlook.com, Gmail, Yahoo!, and other accountsin one single app. So there's no need to go to different websites or apps for your email. And there are no ads, so you get to focus on whats important to you.

Ref:

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-in/windows-8/mail-app-tutorial

Regarding Cursor change-Follow the step by step instructions to change your mouse cursor to default state:

http://www.wikihow.com/Change-Mouse-Settings-in-Windows-8

Thanks for the information about the mail app.  I am somewhat familiar with its capabilities, but I would like to remove the link that has been established between my personal Microsoft account and my work Gmail account.

For example, in the desktop background swapping case, for some reason my work background has been saved into my AppData folder even though I log into each machine with a different account.  Simply deleting the background from my AppData won't accomplish it, because I guarantee it will be returned the next time I log in.

When you signed in using your MSA you were prompted as to what data you wanted to store (on onedrive) and what data you wanted to sync.

You can change those settings or revoke them entirely.  Read how here http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-8/sync-settings-pcs