Cleaning the office

[ksmith]

My desk looks pretty good...if you ignore the large box of stuff behind my chair that's holding everything I removed but have yet to sort.

Do I *need* 3 pencil cups? Which one should I keep? The black wire one would be easy to eliminate, but the spinning oak and black metal one that matches the desk *and* holds the stapler, the staple remover, and the scissors? The gargoyle that can hold a pencil in its mouth?

Does anyone else out there keep an electric pencil sharpener on their desk? Does anyone else out there *own* an electric pencil sharpener?

The wooden tea box filled with old convention badges and buttons? Those damned little figurines Small Dog sends you with your order? The rack of CDs for software I might need someday?

We won't even discuss the paperwork that requires sorting and filing.

One problem...or maybe it's a salvation, is that my desk has no drawers. It's a fake oak stealth wing corner thingie that belongs in one of those Crate & Barrel offices with white walls, bare oak flooring, and wireless network. White gauze curtains floating in the breeze. One clear glass vase with a single calla lily. Not a piece of paper to be seen.

Instead, it's in an 8x10 third bedroom with a 4-drawer file cabinet , three overfilled bookcases, and a doggie bed the size of France complete with sleeping dog. Granted, the walls are a nice celery green and serve as home to a nice Renoir still life. There's also a signed copy of the classic Mad Bluebird photo because haven't we all felt like that at times?

I see cobwebs in one corner. C&B offices do not suffer from cobwebs.

I need a bigger office, sans cobwebs. But right now, I need to figure out what to do about this box...

Comments

[mindyklasky.livejournal.com]

Wait! Your office is related to mine!

I have, temporarily, solved the problem by importing my husband's antique desk. It has six (small) drawers, and I've been able to hide away the better part of my Stuff.

Alas, it also has a large horizontal surface, so I've already lost whatever apparent organization I gained with the drawers...

Thanks for making me laugh!

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

You're welcome!

I would cut a number of my problems off at the pass if I just tossed things right away instead of letting them accumulate. But I hate throwing away humane society/wildlife stuff because part of me thinks that every time you throw away a picture of an animal in need, that is a Bad Thing that will have metaphysical ramifications. Same with most people charity mailings. Catalogs--keep the office and home improvement catalogs away from me. Garden supply. Make-up. Just about all of them, actually.

At least I'm getting rid of the New Scientist issues on a regular basis since I learned that as a subscriber, I can access articles online. Gone are the days when the unopened plastic envelopes accumulated, once to the tune of a year and a half's worth of issues.

[mindyklasky.livejournal.com]

I used to get most of my magazine reading done when I traveled. But I travel much less these days, and mags pile up and up and up. Every few months, Mark and I go on a get-away weekend to a local B&B or inexpensive beach motel or whatever. I pack along a stack of magazines and spend the weekend plowing through them... Such a feeling of liberation to leave a pile behind...

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

I wish some of my favorite magazines, like Vanity Fair, offered an online option. So much easier to save the e-copy.

The latest copy of W arrived today, and I went through it from cover to cover. Yes, I really do use it for research. Some of those stories about the European demimonde are pretty good.

[mindyklasky.livejournal.com]

I *totally* believe you. I use lots of things for research - it's amazing where stories raise their intriguing little heads!

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

I should add that while the Stealth Desk (TM) doesn't have drawers, it came as a set with a two-drawer rolling file cabinet. The cabinet has an open slot that's perfect for the unabridged dictionary. The top drawer is given over to ink jet cartridges and other small-volume supplies, along with things like dragon stamps and stamp pads. The lower drawer contains all things Mac-related--sales receipts, manuals, CDs, and cables. So at this point, it's pretty much spoken for.