And the work continues...

I'm still here, and still cleaning, lol The office is looking so much better but a few things have transpired through all this cleaning and it is here that I will list them.

1. SO much harder to go through your personal stuff than it is kitchen crockery. The old pie trimmer that I haven't used in ages, no problem to get rid of. The book I loved but haven't read in ages, not so easy. The doubles of my corningware that everyone said I will use, gone. The DVD and VHS versions of The YaYa Sisterhood, still on my shelf. What if i want to watch it up at the cottage? No DVD player, need the VHS. Plus there is something nostalgic about fast forwarding through previews :) Needless to say it has taken a really long time to complete this room because I am very connected to many of the things on the shelves (and floor and desk and in boxes etc etc).

2. I have way too much paper stuff. I went through all my filing cabinets, piles and drawers and got rid of probably half a forest. I am a paper collector, not because I like to collect paper, but because I'm lazy and don't file right away, and things get piled on top of things and before I know it I'm going through an envelope with bills in it from 2005. Yup, true story.

3. I should never watch that TLC show about hoarders. I can identify with way too many symptoms, and even though I know I'm not a hoarder, I can feel the stuff around me growing each time I see a commercial for it.

4. I have stopped pursuing things that I really enjoy. I LOVE to read, but haven't been lately. Not sure if it was because of the kids or because I'm tired (because of the kids) or that I just lost track of how much I love to read, but going through all my books has peaked my interest and I'm back to having three books on the go again. That is how I have always done it and it is so nice to be back on track.

The other thing that I stopped doing was writing. For as along as I can remember I have loved to write stories. When I was preschool aged, my mom would make we little booklets out of folded paper and I would draw pictures on each page and dictate what the story was about, my mom printing it on each page. As i got older I made my own books and eventually moved to a notebook collection of stories I had written. I found this notebook while going through some boxes of stuff in the basement and really want to start writing again. But for some reason I don't know how to go about it.

5. Cleaning the office does not happen in a vacuum like cleaning the kitchen does. Stuff in the office goes in the dining room, living room, bedroom etc etc, which means you are pretty much working on all rooms at the same time, although not as concentrated in the extra rooms, there is still some minor work that needs to be done. This makes for a very long, very frustrating process. I'm really not enjoying this room at all, but aside from our bedroom, it should be the hardest of the task. At least I have that to look forward to.

6. I am really good about getting rid of somethings, and not so much other things. I have boxed up all my kids old clothing to take to once upon a child, and while it was hard, it feels so good to have the stuff out of the closet and ready to go. Our chandelier on the other hand, for some reason, i am finding hard to part with. We put a ceiling fan in our living room (what used to be the dining room and we took down the chandelier that was there. But I am having a huge issue getting rid of it. We don't need it, won't need it, and it will just be collecting dust in the basement, but for some reason I don't want to get rid of it. I think my mind is so full of all the other things I've been getting rid of that it is clinging to pointless things needlessly. We'll see where this one goes, lol.