Up from the depths

So ... in cleaning out my basement, a few things have emerged from the dark depths and come up to the light.

In an incredible coincidence, a friend of mine blogged the other day about a printer's drawer she had bought and hung on her wall.  I have had a printer's drawer in my posession for probably 15 years and had always intended on hanging it - had leaned it for a few years, but after the last move it went to the basement and stayed there.  When I started on the basement last week I thought I should really move it upstairs and finally hang it, but it was Erin's post that got me to move.  So yesterday I bought hooks and chain and here it is:

Some of the little trinkets are from my childhood and will likely get put back into a box somewhere after I find better items to fill the slots.

As a side note, one of the reasons I love the printer's drawers is because my great-grandfather was a compositor - he was the guy who set all the type backwards - so he would have taken letter blanks out of a drawer similar to this one.  It makes me feel closer to my ancestors.

Talk about simplifying

As I continue to clean up my basement, please see this guy - okay, I'd argue that he owns more than 15 items, but he has decluttered his life in an extreme way:

http://www.ecouterre.com/meet-the-guy-who-owns-only-15-things-not-counting-undies-or-socks/

Progress

So the other day I posted "before" photos of my messy basement.  Interestingly, another blogger I read regularly has decided to declutter and beautify her house, too.  Hers is a little more on the aesthetic and artistic side as opposed to my simple pragmatism, but it's nice to know I'm not the only one.

Well, the basement isn't done yet.  It may never be done, as a matter of fact.  But the recycling is done and a lot of the basement has been swept (yick) and cleaned up (check out the pile of dirt and dust in the lower left):

For the first time in 5 1/2 years, I completely cleaned out under the stairs:

And put away the storm window that is supposed to be getting glazed but was actually just blocking our way to the furnace:

So it's getting there, but still tons more to do.  I'm going for tidy right now, and then I'll start in on clearing out all the boxes full of files and such and organizing the shelves.  Fortunately, the basement is not finished and is mostly just for storage and laundry - so no one else has to see it and I'm not under any time constraints - aside from wanting it done.

Back at it.

May!  Was it really May when I posted my last entry in this blog?  Yes, yes it was.  Well, here's the deal.  Gardening starts in earnest in May.  There is far less time for indoor pursuits like mucking out the mess.  But here we are now - January 1, 2012 (!).  Christmas and New Years are over.  The great chunk of work I needed to do is finished.  The holiday treats are consumed and it's time to start mucking again - especially with all the new stuff that came in from Christmas .... some things need to go out. 

Today I start on the basement.  And what is the best way to stay motivated?   Post embarassing "before" pictures on one's blog.  So here it goes.  The basement is WAY out of control.  It needs a thorough go-through and tidy and today I start on it.  By my figuring I should be able to get it finished by 2015 (!).  Or maybe next Wednesday.  Depends on what happens between now and then.

Before Pics:

Wish me luck!

The Office

Well, I opened a big, squirming can of worms on Tuesday.  I decided it was time to finally clean out and rearrange the office/greenhouse.  Okay, I know that combining one's office (with computer equipment sensitive to moisture and dirt) with a greenhouse is not perfect.  But it works for me.  It's the only room available for the office, and the only one suitable for the greenhouse - so that's how we do it.

It took all day - but only one day - to clean everything out.  And at one point it really did look like the office had thrown up all over the living room.  But now the office is a little more organized and not nearly as cluttered.  It's still a little sloppy - lots of different colours and textures peeking out from every orafice, but it's a working office - not an Ikea showroom.  Hopefully we'll all find it a little more use-able and pleasant now.

The big black shelves went to the basement along with most of their contents.  Oddly, the camera didn't seem to want to take a clear "before" picture .

Southeast corner before:

Southeast corner after:

West wall before:

West wall after:

We're not actually getting rid of a lot of stuff at this point, but a few things went into recycling.  Now there's room to breathe and a little space on the floor that Daniel has claimed for board games.







Crafty Girls

And while I'm at it, I'm going to link you to Erin's blog "Lucky By Design".  She is a teacher, and while on spring break a couple of weeks ago, re-organized her craft room.  She and her sister are the most crafty girls in the world, and now that they have a "new" craft room, I can't wait to see what they produce next!

http://luckybydesign.blogspot.com/2011/04/craft-room-reorganization.html

Office Organizing

My friend Laura has her own blog about mid-century houses - specifically, HER mid-century house in Calgary.  She`s been discussing renovations, antique stores, repairs, etc. and it is quite a fun blog.

However, she just published a blog about her office and how she is getting it organized, so I thought I`d give her a shout out and post a link to her blog here.

Enjoy!

http://midcenturymoderncalgary.blogspot.com/2011/04/office-de-cluttering.html