Reality Check: My Workspace

Okay, seriously. This (below) is what I have been fighting all summer long. I cannot for the life of me keep this desk clean. The rest of my place is pretty much kept tidy and organized, but this space is a mystery.

Before yesterday I was only on my laptop, working away on my blog, etsy store, pinterest, email, and keeping my rss feed empty. And then I decided yesterday that since I'm creating my printables all day long for the last week, I should be using the desktop computer...duh. Two BIG monitors, a real keyboard and mouse...what was I thinking? I love my laptop -- wouldn't trade it for the world. But I gave in and created an account on Chris' computer and started working. I got so much done yesterday. My etsy orders are growing -- more requests than anything. I'm currently working on a big home management binder kit full of 50+ (so far) documents that are all editable. It's amazing. I have two awesome customers who are giving me their two cents about what I should include. (So helpful -- thanks!) It just keeps growing and growing...

And then there's the so-called kitchen table. I can't remember the last time we ate there.

And then we have the crates that are left over from the coat closet clean out I did a few weeks ago. I don't know what to do with them (any ideas?) -- I don't want to get rid of them because I know I could use them in my classroom (someday).

Oh -- did you see that monkey on the floor by the crates? That is what I battle with e.v.e.r.y day. I pick up the toys, Jazz takes them out when I walk away. Which reminds me...

These pictures are from two years ago at our old place (oh how do I miss living somewhere nice...we shared an apartment with my brother and his girlfriend, so we could afford to live somewhere nice). Jazz hasn't changed one bit though. He just looks so innocent, sitting there wondering why I'm taking his picture. (And his toy bin was on the other side of the room...so he transported them to the sunny spot on the carpet.)

I Can See Clearly Now...

This was supposed to post on Thursday morning...and didn't for some reason. I didn't realize until just now. So the references to certain days are in reference around Thursday.

Oh my...seriously. I have been just dying over this living room window since we moved in to this place in June of 2010. We're on the second level, so I couldn't go outside and clean the window. I didn't want to take out the screen and half clean each window. I didn't know what to do, so I left it. I don't understand because the bedroom window isn't as gross and the rain doesn't clean it at all. Being that our apartment building owners don't care about how this place looks anymore, no one is going to be washing my window for me. So since I've been in this "deep cleaning" mood all week, I was bound and determined to clean that window one way or another.

So you can't totally tell by this picture, but the window is pretty much just caked in dirt.

Big cobweb on the outside of the window.

And then somehow I discovered that the sliding window comes out! Seriously!? I lifted up on the window and the bottom part came up above the track enough that I could tilt it and take it out. Oh, I was giddy I was so excited.

I don't usually use paper towels to clean, I use microfiber cloths, but this was a nasty job. I wasn't going to use 10 microfiber cloths to clean the window. I used my Shaklee Basic H2 window cleaner and degreaser. I used the degreaser to clean the metal frame around the window. Worked like a charm.

Wa-la! For real...can you see the difference? Since I was home alone, there was not getting pictures of me taking out the screen and hanging outside the window with my Swiffer Sweeper in one hand, wiping the (left) outside window. It was nuts. Ridiculous even. But it was worth it!

I also pulled out the refrigerator and oven and cleaned behind them for the first time. Gross. I can't believe how much crap was behind each appliance. Pens, markers, a roll of film, a library card, food, bottle caps, etc., etc. Gross. I hand cleaned the kitchen floor with Shaklee Basic H2 degreaser. It went from ewwe to brand new. So amazing. I am going nuts deep cleaning.

That was all on Monday.

Yesterday I went to ACE Hardware to get some screen repair patches to fix the holes in the screen, Staples to get some goods for my recipe binder project (I'll be posting eventually after I get it done), the car wash (oh baby did the Jeeper Creeper need it or what), and Target to get cleaning stuff and other goods.

I have an interview this morning and then need to get my substitute application turned in. Baseball game tonight. Busy busy. I hope I can post something else today. Something with more content. Something more exciting. We'll see. I have a list of a million things I want to post about. I just need the time and energy. =]

Reorganization of the Coat Closet

Back in April I showed you my reorganization of the coat closet in the living room. After a much needed junk clean out over the last few weeks and selling a bunch of stuff on eBay last week, I decided to use some baskets I freed up in the process and reorganize again.

I didn't change a whole lot in the closet really, but I think switching the baskets on the top shelf from crates to solid fabric baskets makes a world of difference in the way it looks. I did do some rearranging on the black metal shelf though. I used a multi-purpose bin from The Container Store to corral all of the canned dog food. I also shoe boxed all of the dog supplies that we don't use often (nail clippers, extra leash, etc.) and used a bucket to hold all of the poop bags. So much easier to access now. I also finally used my noggin and moved the heavy, pain in the ___ toolbox to a more convenient location so it's easily accessible and there's no moving 500 things to maneuver it out.

Please ignore the big ugly stain on the floor. It's just part of apartment living I suppose...even though it's so gross...

Before:

After:

Project 5: Upgrading Living Room Furniture

With some of our wedding money, we decided to make some much needed furniture upgrades in the living room.

To see what the living room looked like previously, click here.

New TV stand (from Smith's Marketplace) and media towers (from IKEA) for the BluRays and video games. Unfortunately IKEA didn't have a color to match the rest of our furniture in these towers, so we just went with white.

I love the keys and stack of books...I just had to show you again. =]

And there's our circus pup that just had to have a picture too.

I bought these itso fabric bins to hold video game accessories from Target. They come in a variety of colors and sizes.

All of our DVDs are in DVD books. The top one holds TV seasons, the middle one holds all adult movies (not X-rated...ha ha), and the bottom one holds kids movies.

We got this office shelf/filing drawer combo from Target. It's made by Room Essentials, but it's not available on their website for me to link to. I've been wanting a lateral filing cabinet for a while now, but they're so expensive. When I found this at Target, I decided it was perfect because I really only need one filing drawer (that I don't even fill right now).

My mom got me this HP Digital Picture Frame for a bridal shower gift. It's 10.4" -- I had no clue they made them that big. I don't have it on because I didn't have a memory card for it (it has internal memory, but I want to load it with tons of pictures)...until today. My 16 GB memory card just came in the mail, so I'll let ya know how it works.

And I just wanted to show you...this is a mug that I bought from The Foundary a few weeks ago. I don't really have room for it in my cupboard because I brought all of my dishes and what-not from PA...and I bought it before I knew I was going to do that. So for now it's holding some flowers. =]

Project 2: Living Room - After

It only took 2.5 weeks to finish the living room, but I am so happy with the final outcome. I decided to do a little rearranging, too. Need a refresher on what it looked like before?

I deep cleaned the whole room and the only thing that still needs to be cleaned are the outsides of the windows...but I can't get to them. So dirty they will stay. =[

Ah, look at all of the junk up there...ha ha! It's my extra food storage. Lovely, huh?

Some changes that I made in addition to the projects you saw and the rearranging:

I simplified this part of the counter top. I got rid of all of the crap I don't need in the living room and put it away where it belongs.

Oh the sweet mail station!

And are you ready for this...

*drum roll please*

The coffee table (a.k.a. trunk)...what's inside?

Rockband for the XBOX 360. Not that exciting, but it is wasting space. I can't remember the last time that we had this stuff out, rockin' the night away. But it has been a few years. If it were up to me, I'd say "see ya" to it all...but it's not up to me.

So there you have it! The living room is finally complete.

Next up, the kitchen!