You May Never Read My Blog Again After This Post!!!

Since I like to keep it real, I figured I'd let you in on my project for the next few days. Before you sneak a peek at the pictures below, keep in mind that we are planning to move at the end of summer... only 10 miles away, but it still requires packing up the whole house. Also keep in mind that I am a blogger, an online teacher, and a small business operator. My small business is making wedding invitations, baby announcements, notecards, and other stationery. All of these tasks require me to use a computer and to be fairly organized.

I'm about to give you a tour of the messiest room in our entire house. It's actually the office where I do all of the tasks I just listed. My biggest problem seems to be that whenever I come in to clean the room, I find a million little things that require action. They're related to my students, my business, or my blog. They're pressing, so I drop what I'm cleaning (literally drop it) and get to work. I try to only work when Emma is sleeping, as I don't want to spend too much time on the computer when she's awake. That means my time is very limited. The time I do spend in this room is spent actually working.

Okay .... *deep breath* .... Let's take a little tour .....

Welcome to our work space ......

You'll notice that there are two computers here. The one on the left is my old computer that sounds like an airplane is taking off when you start it up. It decided that it didn't want to work online at all any more, and it was about 7 years old. So I got a new one (the one on the right). But I have yet to figure out what to do with the old one. So there it sits.

My desk is currently a temporary one. We made more workspace a while back and didn't want to get official desks until we moved. So we're using some 4 foot tables that we had. Mine is covered with piles of papers.... coupons, ads, lists, bills that have been paid, and anything else that doesn't have a home. My organizing basket is overflowing, though I can at least find my business paperwork and bills to be paid there. I have lots of things taped to the wall in front of me too. It just feels cluttery to me.

Next stop.... a head-on view of the two computers... and what they're hiding.

I guess my labeling didn't come out very clearly. I was showing you the old (left) and new (right) computers. There happens to be a BIG pile of papers between my computers and my printer. That pile is made up of consolidated piles from around the house. More papers that didn't have a home. There's also a dog bone there, and I have no clue why.

Under the table holding the computers you'll find some tubs full of things that I'm supposed to be selling on eBay.

Okay... some of these things have been sitting here for about a year waiting to be put on eBay. Some are newer, but all need to go. I'm pretty sure there's a PDA buried in here. My sister-in-law gave it to me to list on eBay last year.

Behind my work area.....

I had good intentions. Since we're buying my parents' house, we are able to start packing and moving things over slowly. I thought I'd start with some of the office things that we don't use very often. Good idea... no follow through. My husband has graciously not mentioned the boxes that he has to move every time he needs to get his laptop bag out. There are also some of my business invoices from last year and a bag of stuff that we cleaned out of the car that we sold *ahem* in January. Guess we're not missing any of it much. Did you see the cute little Ohio State gnome? It was a gag gift for my hubby from my parents, so he lives in the office.

Also behind me......

This shelf usually just holds my business materials (boxes of envelopes for customers, tape guns, reams of cardstock, etc.). Right now it also holds some of Emma's games, a bunch of scrapbooks waiting for me to fill them, Campbell's labels that need to be mailed in for my daughter's school, and anything else we wanted off the floor. To the right of the shelving unit you'll see a stack of 3-ring binders that I got out to pack. I guess getting them out is a first step, eh? There's also part of the Don't Break the Ice game and a return for Staples up there.

On to hubby's space... well, sort of.....

Did I mention that my husband is truly a saint? He is much better than I am about keeping his work area somewhat presentable. The clutter you see is mostly mine. There is another box and basket of things I was supposed to sell on eBay about a year ago. (I move them around all the time.) There's a pile on top of the shredder waiting to be shredded. And there's that little gnome again.

Well, now you've seen it. It's where we work, and it's a mess. I didn't even capture all of it for you, but you get the idea.

I've been inspired by Fish Mama and The Happy Housewife to get it in gear. Fish Mama is doing a delayed spring cleaning, and I'd like to do the same. Her recommendation was to start with a Clean Sweep Day. This is where you go through the house and just pick up the clutter. I've got laundry laying around (clean!) and papers that need to be filed, and odds and ends that make our house look messy. So tomorrow I'm starting with the surface stuff. That will make me feel like I've accomplished something!

The Happy Housewife has the Itch to Pitch, and she's invited us all to join her! I'm IN!

I'll be spending Thursday afternoon in the office. It will not get done that afternoon. I can guarantee that. But I'm going to get a good start on it. I don't want to move a bunch of stuff that we don't really want any more. I would rather clean it out now and give it away or throw it away. That beats boxing it, labeling it, and carrying it to a new house! I'll keep you posted as I tackle this room. And I'll be sure to post some AFTER pictures that will make you proud.

Hopefully now that you've seen the cluttery side of my life you'll still stop back. I hope I haven't completely scared you away!! I guess we've all got clutter somewhere. I just chose to show mine to the world as motivation to clean it up!