I debated which blog to post this in, but since it involves my writing space, I thought it was appropriate for this one.
I’m still four scenes shy of finishing the second draft of Hungry Child. Yesterday, I had a little writer’s block on that story, and I didn’t have any pending client projects, so I decided to clean my office in the hopes that some physical activity might jog something loose in the story center of my brain.
When I started, I only planned to spend an hour or two dealing with some of the clutter and then get back to editing, but I ended up doing a thorough spring cleaning and decluttering that took up the rest of the day. But you guys, it was bad in here. I’ve been neglecting my office lately–I haven’t even worked in here for over a month. Aside from cleaning the cat boxes (my office doubles as the cat room) and vacuuming occasionally, I haven’t really done any cleaning in here since filling it halfway up with my deceased mother-in-law’s files and things.
And here are the afters, taken this morning because last night I was too tired to bother.
- I moved my MIL’s black filing cabinet next to my grandparents’ old TV cabinet, and moved all of our household paperwork from the TV cabinet to the filing cabinet.
- I moved all of the craft supplies (that I never use) from the black shelves across the office into the TV cabinet.
- I moved all of my YA and children’s books, comics and comic strip collections over to the black shelves, thus freeing up some space in the book cases.
- I also weened my book collection, setting aside about a dozen books to sell or trade at the used book store. This is the part that pained me the most.
- And the biggest change — I unfolded my craft table, reassembled my screen, and tucked all of the cat boxes discreetly behind it, so I no longer feel like I’m working in a restroom for cats.
Granted, it still looks like it was decorated by a team made up of a 12 year old boy and his grandmother (…which pretty well sums up my sensibilities), but it is now a much more comfy, cozy and inviting space. Which is still full of cats.
Of course, I’m still blocked on how to handle those last four scenes.
Your idea of clutter made me smile, because I have a room I can’t even enter for the clutter! The guest bedroom got everything that needed to be out of the way when we put down new carpet and flooring, and I haven’t gotten around to working in it. I don’t even open the door!
I like the idea of the screen for the litter boxes. Very nice!
Thanks!
Heh, we have a room like that. It’s our garage. It’s filled to the brim with everything we just want to get out of the way, all except for a path just wide enough to get the lawnmower in and out.
I wasn’t just talking about the clutter, though. It was dirty and gross, with a thick layer of dust everywhere and cat litter tracked on just about every surface. Blech.