Follow Through Friday- The Office

Blizzards probably thwart a lot of plans, but they come in handy for someone who has to get a big project done by Friday. Week 2's project was our home office. I am happy to report that this deadline was just what I needed to get something done that was seriously bringing me down. Clutter does that, doesn't it? I know that, and yet I still tolerate it on so many levels in my life. Getting rid of clutter brings such freedom!  You'd laugh at me if you knew how many times today I've stopped what I'm doing just to go walk in our office and smile.

But I was't smiling a week ago - and here's why. The "before" pictures. Why, why, why did I ever let it get this bad?

embarrassing

seriously?

 upper cabinets catch-all

upper cabinet catch-all

But I did let it get that bad, and there was nothing to be done but dig in and get after it.  I did this project in stages- unlike the last Follow Through Friday- which was basically all done on Friday.  I would hit this room every chance I got, 15 minutes here, 15 minutes there- and whittle away at the piles.  I did find a few treasures, like this Elisabeth Elliot flip calendar. It sat for years above my sink.  I got it back out and put it on my newly cleaned desk. (A "front and center" move - see Feb. 1 blog entry).

Another hidden treasure: this picture of David. Probably one of my favorites of all time. Love that he's playing with a shoe, the milk below his lip, his fat little tummy. Why it was buried in here, I don't remember. It's going in a frame.

But there was way more junk than treasure, and it was good to throw TONS away. Really, after I got rid of trash, I didn't have that much to organize. Let me clarify here that I only did the upper cabinets and desk area. The file drawers will require their own moment some time in the future - maybe another Follow Through Friday.

So, the final product. I'm tickled pink, but cleaning this all out made me realize just how much more needs to be done. It desperately needs painting, and now that it's uncluttered, it needs to be decorated.  But for now, I'm happy.

ahhh..

happy cabinet

Week 3: Decorating plan for basement.  We have tons of space down there but it's not as functional and pretty as it should be. This time next week I plan to have a written plan including paint colors, future furniture, floor changes and some kind of overall theme tying it all together.