It’s been ages since I’ve blogged, and I have a good reason. We’ve been busy! The kids have been on vacation with their grandparents, and John and I decided to undertake a cleaning up/redo of the most used and messiest room in the house–our den. We’ve still got a few little tweaks here and there, but it’s pretty much done and I wanted to share the results before it looks too lived in again. So…. drum roll, please:
Desk, before
Desk, after
My desk was the biggest challenge. Getting rid of clutter, having the important stuff where I can reach it, having it well lit and the right height and all of those other ergonomic considerations… this was the best solution. We used elfa shelves from The Container Store. The printers are at differing heights so I can reach the glass on the all-in-one, and we have under-counter kitchen LED lights over the monitor so the bleary-eyed blogger can see what she’s doing.
Bookshelf, before
Bookshelf, after
The bookshelf we had in the den was a sorry little thing that could not hold all of my knitting books and magazines. So, they tended to pile up on the floor. Now, the elfa shelves cover the entire distance under the window, and I have room to spare.
Sofa, before
Sofa, after
The sofa area was also an issue. It’s where I sit to do most of my knitting, and it’s always cluttered with stuff, and usually, no one could sit on it. But, even if they could sit on it, it was looking worn and old. So, rather than buying new furniture just now, I bought slip covers and pillows to dress it up. Oh, and the ottoman? It was a last minute find at Target, and all the yarn for my active knitting projects is safely hidden inside (instead of being all over the sofa!).
Last but not least is the media area:
Entertainment center, before
Entertainment center, after
What can I say? It was time to bring the media center into the 21st Century. The old media furniture had been with me since college. And our TV was old and broken… with horrible lines in the picture. So, it was time to redo. Once again we went with elfa shelves with storage bins for the huge collection of DVDs. We pared these down a lot (for example, no one here watches Sesame Street anymore, so all those videos have gone to a new home), but of the plethora that was left, there was a place for every one. And we still have an empty drawer, because we know there will be more. How cool is that? Room for growth!
So THIS is what has kept me away from the blog for so long. Hopefully regular knitting will resume soon and I’ll settle in to my new clutter-free zone.
Much thanks go to Lynn from Clutterbusters, who helped us organize, sort, pare down, and find a place for everything. This was all SO wonderful, and I’m glad it’s done!
Now, if you’ll excuse me… I’ve got some relaxing to do.
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