Before:
After:
Confidential to Nance:
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Note: The cards on my desk are a combo of sympathy and birthday cards and I can't bear to look at them. They've been on my desk for months. I'm going to leave them there until I decide what the proper course of action is.
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What's the last cleaning project you did? Please brag here. I will compliment your housekeeping skillz.
What a charming little desk!
ReplyDeleteThanks! I bought it from a guy for $50 and have had it for fifteen years. Ha.
DeleteLooks great! My recent housekeeeping- I vacuumed the floors even though a cat glared at me ( she does not trust the vacuum -hates it- but cannot leave it unwatched if it's in use).
ReplyDeleteYOU ARE A HOUSEKEEPING GODDESS. Good on you for getting things done despite pet judgment.
DeleteWow, what a great job!!! I love those kind of things, they feel so satisfying. As for the cards, I have a box that I keep old cards in. This is not perfect because when we moved I had like 20 years worth of Christmas cards, and I did have to get rid of most of them. But sometimes, it's okay to keep things for a while.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure that at some point I'll throw them out to save space, but I will want to go through them and I don't have the energy at this exact moment to do so. We'll see.
DeleteLooking good!
ReplyDeleteI had to clean up my office before my brother's visit at Thanksgiving, and it was very satisfying. But, full disclosure, part of my success was putting a lot of things int he closet, and I haven't started working on that yet. My goal is to have it done before his next visit, but I need to chip away at it.
I give you FULL CREDIT for getting the room clean. No one sees the closet anyway.
DeleteNice job on the desk. My computer desk in the study was piled high with clutter. A few weeks before Christmas, I worked hard to get thru everything. Bottom layer was my rough draft for my ‘23 Christmas poem- so it had been YEARS. Your desk before you cleaned it looks immaculate compared to my head. I attended to the whole room and what.a.difference. I need to stay on top of that.
ReplyDeleteI hesitate to share the disorganization of my closet and dresser. It's bad. But I need time and daylight and those are both on the short end of things these days. I would never judge because sometimes things just get away from you.
DeleteI cleaned off the top of the coffee table that sits behind the big chair in the family room. Besides that, I organized three boxes of Christmas stuff, which is not really compliment-worthy given that it's January, but my husband is away and I have developed terrible tendinitis in my left hand and arm so I am working one-handed. The last thing I organized which has stayed organized is the linen closet. I open it and just stare at it for a bit when I'm feeling really stressed.
ReplyDeleteYou are amazing for doing ANYTHING one-handed. If I were you, it would literally just be me sitting on the couch reading with my Kindle because what else can I do one-handed?
DeleteYessssss what a satisfying desk clear off. I need to do one of those as well.
ReplyDeleteLet's see. The most recent major cleaning project was cleaning my daughter's closet. It was very satisfying and it took probably four days for it to return to its previous state of chaos.
Do you want to come do my closet? It could use some help!
DeleteWell done! I did some organization of our storage area on Monday when I was off for a slew of doctor appointments. That's the "staging area" for donations. So I went through the donations and put together a bag of books for the library + some puzzles as they now have a puzzle area where patrons can donate or borrow puzzles. I had a bunch of children's puzzles that the kids don't use anymore and asked the librarian if they take kid puzzles. She said she had never been asked that and figured they might as well take them. I feel better about that v taking them to goodwill... And then I dropped a bag of stuff off at the Salvation Army that was close to my infusion appt. So our storage space is looking better and we plan to list our bob stroller on Craigslist this weekend and will hopefully get rid of that. It is so big so will be great to free up space in the storage area!
ReplyDeleteGo us for organizing!!
Getting rid of that stroller is going to feel AMAZING. It was so lovely of you to take the puzzles to the library. I hope some other little kids get good use out of them.
DeleteA freshly cleaned desk is so nice! I need to clean mine. Yesterday, I cleaned and tidied the pantry, and now I just want to stand there and admire it!
ReplyDeleteDO IT! Stare at it and tell yourself that you're amazing.
DeleteDecluttering is such a satisfying feeling! Wish we would empty out some of the boxes piling up in the basement. And by we, I mean, Tara!
ReplyDeleteI don't ever assume my husband will ever do any decluttering. I don't think he notices things!
DeleteI LOVE IT! That's a great meme, and it just goes to show you the value of therapy. IT'S NOT JUST FOR PEOPLE.
ReplyDeleteBut now I feel desk-shamed. Ours is a nightmare; I don't even know what all is in there, and I'm fairly sure that most of it can go. I'm putting it on notice, one drawer at a time.
You are the Mary Poppins of Desking. Bravo!
Next week I'm going to do my dresser. The before is embarrassing. I shame no one!
DeleteI cleaned my desk last week, and it felt SO SATISFYING TO GET THAT DONE. I have so many little pads of paper and post it notes and so on, and I decided that one solution was to put them in files in my file cabinet. I am SO happy about that decision, they are out of the way, I know where they are, all of that.
ReplyDeleteRegarding cards, it took me years to go through the ones from when my parents died. At first I wanted to keep them all, then I only wanted to keep some. I still have one or two. I have several boxes of letters and cards that have been sent to me, and I am fine with leaving that for someone else to deal with when I die. They can just throw them away, because sometimes I like reading them. I have most of them sorted by sender, and I have a file for cards from blog friends.
What enabled me to finally tackle my closet and my dresser was working from home on a very slow day. Trapped in that room (in case an email or Teams message came in) but nothing to do. I mean, I could have blogged, which is what I often do in those situations, but sometimes I actually get things done.
Congratulations on both the excellent job on the desk, and also on finding the perfect meme for Nance. <3
In the Art of Swedish Death Cleaning, there's a whole part about how you can go through your stuff and have a box or two of things that are important to you, but maybe not to other people and you can save that box, but make sure it's clearly labelled so the people caring for your estate know they can just toss it without having to go through it. That makes a lot of sense to me for things like cards and photographs that might not be interesting to anyone else!
DeleteNice job!!! My ongoing cleaning project is de-Christmas-ing the house and getting everything put away. My goal is to get it done by the end of the month. SIGH.
ReplyDeleteJenny, we haven't even started de-Christmas-ing the house. The tree is still up and neither of us has been grumpy about it! You have time!
DeleteNice job, that desk looks so organized! I haven't really done a cleaning project lately... I should probably get on that, at the very latest as some sort of spring cleaning.
ReplyDeleteI was planning on cleaning out my dresser today, but instead I read a book. Maybe I'll do it tomorrow? Ha.
DeleteGreat job, friend! I love a big organizing project like this. And those cards can wait until you’re ready. Take however long you need.
ReplyDeleteMy last big cleaning project… hmm, not sure since I just moved into my apartment so I haven’t had to do anything BIG yet. Just normal cleaning tasks. But I am planning on reorganizing this cube bookshelf I have in my closet. Once my nightstand is put together, which is slow going because I can only do 1 or 2 things each day thanks to my arthritis. (Man, I sound 80 years old.)
Ugh. I hate it when physical impairments slow me down on things I think I should be able to do. Here's hoping you get to the root of all this pain.
DeleteI love your desk!
ReplyDeleteI’m in the middle of moving, so the tidying list is currently endless.
Suz
Moving is THE WORST. You want to just throw everything in a box, but you can't!!!
DeleteYeahhhh for a clean desk. You can keep at it at my house.
ReplyDeleteMy last cleaning project... mhm it's been awhile. Maybe my lowboard...
I kept telling myself I'd do my dresser and closet, but that hasn't happened. LOL.
Delete