Crap Trapped in the Closet

Walk-in closet equals free storage unit!

I don't know why, but Jeff has brought out random boxes from the closet and is going through them. This (ugly bright) green bin is full of cords and other technological crap. We did find two point and shoot cameras, one which takes really beautiful photos that I refuse to throw away. I'm thinking they'll end up as "art displays" on our bookshelves. 

I'm so glad he's going through this stuff so that I don't have to. Technically I'm sitting next to him and engaging in conversation, so it's just as if I were working on it myself! Yes, we'll go with that.

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Pre-Party Cleanup

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We're having my parents over tomorrow for a birthday/book/couch party. In the grand tradition of inviting people over our apartment is transforming back into the clean and beautiful space we like it to be. If only we could maintain it to the standards we're willing to let people see it in!

A Clean Desk in Under 17 Minutes

I decided to take my own advice yesterday after complaining that my bedroom was becoming too big of a mess. So I took it upon myself to just focus on one area: my desk. I sit at my desk all day, every day, for hours on end. Between blogging, social networking, correspondence and school work, this is my true classroom/office. Here is a before and after look at how I cleaned my desk in under 17 minutes.

Before: as you can see, my desk gets cluttered very quickly.
Books, my iPad, supplies - they all fall victim to lazy organization.

And after! Everything has a place and there is a place for everything.

I purchased these Martha Stewart boxes at Staples a few months ago.
They stack perfectly on top of each other so I can store my jewelry underneath the post-its.

These don't fit in the pencil/pen caddy, so this larger box works perfectly!

Extra supplies: wall unit for my Macbook Pro, the HDMI converter
for my iPad, and my Square card reader. 

I converted some old JewelMint boxes into handy organizational boxes.
Like the martha Stewart ones, these can also be stacked. And the velvet
lining helps keep everything in place! 

The view from my chair.
It's a lot easier to sit here and work when there isn't a lot of clutter!

On the keyboard tray to the right: school work.

On the keyboard tray to the left: iPad, a notebook, and my other laptop.
Oh, and my crappy phone!

The next cleaning project to tackle? The top of my dresser. It's even worse than the desk was (if you can imagine!)

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Clutter, Clutter Everywhere!

If my bedroom looked like this I'd probably keep it clean!

I recently moved my desk into the bedroom so that we could have a bit more room in the living room for our chairs. It's worked out really well so far because I can stay in the smaller bedroom with just a portable air conditioner and not have to turn on the central air, which would cool every room in the house (including the ones I'm not in). Plus, it's nice to have a separate study space from Jeff so that we don't both each other.

The problem with it is that our bedroom is always the least organized room in the apartment. There are always clothes everywhere and our closet is packed beyond belief. I can barely even walk to my side of the bed because there is just so much stuff in the way! I really need to do something about it.

The thing is... I can never throw stuff away. And even when I've put together bags or boxes of stuff to take to Goodwill, they never end up there because we always forget to take them when we go out.

Rather than tackling everything at once perhaps I should instead focus on cleaning one small area, like the walkway to my side of the bed. Then another time I can focus on a different area, while also trying to keep the first area clean. Good in theory? Yes. With summer upon us and the weather reaching up into the 100's every day, it would be nice to have a fresh, clean bedroom that I can look down in and not see piles of clothing.

And maybe one day I'll get to tackle the behemoth that is our closet!

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Spring Break/Cleaning

Another term has ended and I'm now officially on break. Because I attend graduate school year for three months at a time, I get one month off in between. This time around, I'm using my free time to clean up and better organize our apartment. The dishes have been piling up for some time now and because neither one of us wants to do them, naturally it falls to me.

So far I've gone one load of dishes washing and I've mopped the floors in both the kitchen and the bathroom. Cleaning in sessions is a lot easier (and less anxiety ridden) than spending an entire day devoted to cleaning, at least for me it is. So while I clean I'll also update my neglected Pinterest boards, blog, and try to organize to the best of my abilities. What a fun spring break this is going to be!

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Watching Shows About Hoarding Makes Us Want to Clean

Is it wrong that I'm relaxing, trolling on the Internet while Jeff is going around the apartment cleaning and organizing random things? I would do it too but I just don't want to, lol. Plus I need inspiration to clean and I am fresh out of it!

In other news I just finished the latest school term today. I now have four weeks off and no clue what I will do with my time. I'm sure I can think of a few things! There are always things in the apartment that need attention like our closet.

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