Tuesday, January 8, 2008

Hey...I cleaned my office!

In addition to fun and games with the kids, I also
cleaned the Pit of Despair that is...nay...was my
office. It was so bad in there, I couldn't walk across my floor - fabric, skeins of yarn, mountains of books, patterns, papers...tons and tons of papers. Hell, I couldn't see the floor. Part of the problem is that the room became the Sacred Dumping Ground as far as the rest of the family was concerned - the rest of the problem is that I'm a slob. I hate it, but it's true. For what it's worth, I'm trying to be neater this year. I can dream, right?




While cleaning, I found an alarming amount of musical instruments - a guitar, a violin, a dulcimer, a bamboo flute, a wooden recorder, a lap harp, a hoop drum and two hand drums - I could have a freaking ren faire band in my office...not that the musicians would fit.

I can't even begin to tell you about the sheer number of books in there. I lost count at about 437. There are also 11 40 gallon tubes filled with fabric...some day I'll get through them. There are also an obscene number of cds and art supplies. Sometimes I think I need fewer hobbies.

I love the sculptures in the first picture - my kids call them "The Butt People," but I think they're gorgeous. I wish I'd known Anny Cook when I got them. There was actually a set that was glazed blue and those people had tails! The next picture is where a pile of the smaller instruments are not to mention an unhealthy pile of jewelry.

This dress on a stick is a late 1800's - early 1900's chemise that I rescued from an attic of a house that was about to be destroyed. Since it'll never fit me and it was too freaking cool to get rid of or pack away, I hung it on the wall. We got a lot of great things from that house - some of my favorite pieces of furniture and artwork came from the attic of that house. I still can't believe they used a wrecking ball on that place without stripping it first. Wish I could have talked my hubby (then boyfriend) into prying out the amazing fireplace mantle and taking the cut glass door knobs.


This is my desk. Lots of art for inspiration, more books, journals, lots of rocks, candles and who knows what else.
Yep...my room is mighty cluttered, but it works for me. Now, it's back to work.

14 comments:

Anny Cook said...

I collect stuff too. The blue butt people sound cool. I would like to have seen them. My place is slightly neater as I packed everything away in a closet. And just re-did my desk. It'll be clean for about a week.

Unknown said...

Welcome back! I have missed you. I also love to collect stuff. My favorite collection is egyptian statuary. I will try to get a picture of some of it to put on my blog.

Congrats on cleaning the office. I would do that too, but I don't feel like it right now. :)

Cheers!
Dakota

Sommer Marsden said...

Oh my god! Can I come live with you!? I love all your stuff. And the tushes on the wall are great. And the dress on the stick (staff? stick? staff?) is fab. And I meant to say, the other day, I went on a clicking spree whilst procrastinating and wound up on your site that has a weird name and these things that looked like scrapbook pages (the title of one of my stories btw) and they were for your stories and they were super duper cool. Like, my crafting side is jealous kind of cool...and were they real?

See. Don't say way for so long. Longest, dumbest comment ever :)!
xo
S

Jenny Trout said...

This is a good idea. We should make everyone take pictures and give blog tours of their offices.

I accidentally typed "orifices" instead of "offices" the first time I wrote that sentence. I need to start working on a different project.

Unknown said...

Yeah Jennifer, I like everyone here, but I don't know that I want a tour of their orifices. :)

D

Molly Daniels said...

Welcome back and Happy New Year:) I cleaned part of my desk the other day and ten minutes later my son destroyed it again, looking for a phone number 'I' had lost! I probably moved it somewhere else and now it's gone...we ended up going online again for it! And now I can't find anything again...

Unknown said...

Lots like you have some prime junk, I mean, good stuff there. I hope you chucked nothing out. Sometimes it's just better to shift it to another room while you decide on it's potential

Bronwyn Green said...

I'm so glad I'm not the only clutter-bunny here.

Dakota - I defintely want to see the egyptian statuary collection!

Sure Sommer, move on in...you don't mind cats, do you?

Those pages are part of my crazyass pre-writing insanity. I try to do pages for every book - it helps keeps me in the right frame of mind while I'm working on it. Plus...they're kinda pretty. :) Magazines, catalogs and the internet are your friends.

Jen, yeah, so I'm gonna take a pass on the whole orifice thing, but you've got a nifty office. You're up next!

Phoenix said...

Do you think the owner of that chemise had any idea some crazy lady in Michigan would hang her undies on a wall one day and call it art? I have a bra I can send you...

And on your desk top, leftest side, you have an urny type thing with a lid. Is that a human figure bent over another one on that? It is way nifty. Love it.

Brynn Paulin said...

I notice that all you've shown here are the walls of your office...hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Signed: Your bestest and all-knowing friend

Unknown said...

Ask and ye shall receive my lady. My egypt pics are up and awaiting your approval.

D

Sandra Cox said...

I personally consider cleaning a curse word. You've got lots of cool stuff:)

sterlingwriter said...

Super cool. The warm weather must have struck the spring cleaning gene, right?
I'm afraid my book count is a mere shadow of its former self. Sigh.

Margaret Yang said...

Ah, yes, the family dumping ground. My office too.

I cleaned over break as well. Must be that "start the new year off right" thing...

I threw out three garbage bags of paper. I especially threw out stories that I'd written in college because they were bad, bad, bad. My professors must have had bleeding eyeballs while grading them.

But of course, part of the problem is that I was writing what I was taught, i.e. New Yorker stories with lots of belly button lint. I'm so glad I escaped to the sanity of the genres, where dang it, stuff actually happens!

And now I have room in my files and I can see my desk. I think I'll be more productive now. I'm sure you will too!