I did it! I spent the entire day (well minus time spent with two visiters - which was very welcome!) cleaning up that office. Let's just say that I'm far from done, but I did make a dent in the room and that's really what the purpose of the day was. Try to get enough done to keep me excited and want to continue on.
So - we're NOT allowed to make comments. Are we allowed to call me a hoarder? No - I don't think I'm a hoarder. I'm lazy when it comes to dealing with paper. Very lazy and I'd rather pile it than file it. My goal wasn't to deal with the bits as much as it was to file some of the paper and then I'll deal with groups of things later. Hm - that doesn't sound right - I threw away a LOT of paper, but things that I may want to keep - I just filed those for the moment and once the room is all super tidy, then I can take a file at a time and sort through it. I was going for maximum effect yesterday.
Here are a couple of before shots. Yes - there is a table in the center of the room and then a desk under the window and another computer desk in the corner.
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| A before picture of the mess |
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| Another before |
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| Yep - this is where I work! (or not!) |
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| I'm a piler, not a filer |
Yes, you can call me out for critizing my Mom for keeping things. And you're probably wondering why I let it get so bad. Do I even see the mess? Oh yes - I see it and I know it's there and I'm frustrated that I can't find things. But obviously not enough to do anything about it. And there was a time when I hired a professional organizer to help me with this room. It was neat and tidy and well - I'm not good with maintaining things.
I did find this bunch of quilter's tape. Any takers?? Otherwise - it's being tossed. It's been sitting here because I didn't want it downstairs, but I don't use this and can't imagine where I would use it so it goes.
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| Quilter's tape - to be tossed |
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| Cute paper clips |
I sorted, I filed and I moved stuff and I actually did more than I thought I would. But at one point my back was so tired that I had to have a nap! I think that was more from getting in late the previous night.
I have a box of electronics that needs to go to the recycling place. I tossed a clock that I thought just needed a new battery, but after charging up the battery in the clock, it appears that the clock is toast. I found a few things that I took pictures of and will post them in a bit and the items are gone. I found the embroidery that I was going to take with me on vacation. I have several big things in the giveaway pile and I have two more boxes of stuff that I'd like to go through today if possible. I also have another pile of things that I would like to address. Could be an address or phone number that needs to be into my phone or something that requires further attention. I wasn't doing that yesterday. I really must make an effort to grab two or three things from that box every day and deal with them.
I must admit that the room which is a decent size feels a whole lot bigger today. I was only planning to clear off the surfaces of the table and one desk, but I ended up cleaning up a lot of stuff that was on the floor as well. It positively feels open concept!!!
I'm far from done, but here's what it looks like now. I hung up my thimble collection that has been sitting on the table for years. Whacked a nail in the wall and put up the letter press drawer and all the thimbles are on it. I moved the computer desk to the corner on a different angle to maximize space.
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| The computer desk |
I removed all the stuff from the other corner and it's gone so I could move the other desk into the opposite corner. So the two desks are side by side. It was completely clean but then I sat there last night looking through some books that I want to make a couple of notes on, take a couple of pictures and then those books are gone!
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| The desk top - yes - there actually is a desk top! |
It was fun to sit at that desk last night and actually do some work and not fight to have a spot to work in. I know all the good points to keeping things organized. I just can't get myself to completely buy into that!
And here is the table. It looks like an island at the moment. There is NOTHING around the table so you could actually run around in circles (which the girls do!). I did pile as much on the table as I could so I could clear off the other surfaces. Don't worry, I did get rid of a lot of stuff but no time to deal with this mess.
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| The table with crap on it! |
There are two boxes of stuff in the kitchen that I hope to get through today and there is more in the office but you don't see it in the pictures. I figure that it will take about two or three more days to get through the bulk of the mess and find homes for the stuff. Are you kidding me? What a HUGE waste of time, but the end result will be so muchh better.
Going forward what am I going to do?
Well - I need to process one or two or hopefully three pieces of paper in the "must address pile" and that pile will grow as I continue to go through the rest of the stuff. Oh - I found $30 yesterday in an envelope!
Let me put them in points so my brain can process it.
1. Two or three items in the "to be addressed" pile must be dealt with every day
2. Spend about 1/2 hour every day to go through more stuff - like the pile on the table
3. Deal with all new paperwork in a timely manner. In other words - NO more piling! Try filing!
4. Do NOT accept anything from anyone that wasn't already prearranged.
That is going to be a bit hard as there are things that we get and we're not ready or not able to process them that day. I must find a way or this place is going to be right back where it was! And hopefully the more I do it, the easier it will be to keep on top of it all.
On that note, I'm out of here to try and get some sewing done today.
Have a great day!!
Ciao!!
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