This is the built-in bookcase in our dining room. It's really not that bad, right?
Right??
If Pica wanders in much further, we may never see her again!
The bookcase that my Sexy Nerd worked so hard on (before pics here) had become an easy place for us to stash homeless objects. It started innocently enough - a basket, a candle or two - but we were soon overwhelmed with junk.
Step one of cleaning a bookcase is sorting through the junk, which always takes forever! Mostly because of things like this:
The bookcase that my Sexy Nerd worked so hard on (before pics here) had become an easy place for us to stash homeless objects. It started innocently enough - a basket, a candle or two - but we were soon overwhelmed with junk.
Step one of cleaning a bookcase is sorting through the junk, which always takes forever! Mostly because of things like this:
Ummm, is there a reason we're keeping this little pot of dirt inside a glass? And what do these screws belong to? We do have a garage...kind of a better place for screws. And Biscuit ate the little plastic pieces out of the timer the last time it was plugged into the wall (seriously!) so there's no sense in keeping it.
Sand from my trip to the Seychelles. Pretty, but it doesn't belong on the dining room bookcase.
This picture is actually hanging on our kitchen wall, not on the bookcase, but I took a photo of it anyway. When the task at hand it cleaning, (boo!) distractions come easily.
A mix tape! Remember these? With that sliver of Scotch tape holding the top closed, I was ready to be thoroughly distracted from cleaning. After all, you can't just find a mix tape and move on. You have to find out what's on it! You have to dance!
You have to rummage through the guest bedroom to find the broken boombox (do people still use the term 'boombox'?) that you've held onto just for the cassette player, which still works. Barely.
After a little LL Cool J, SWV, Master P, and Jay Z (really, truly all in a row on the tape. Rappers adore initials!) it was time to focus.
I've been looking for this!
Sorting through old magazines, I came across another major distraction. They don't even make Domino magazine anymore! I know that you would have taken a break from cleaning to read it too. Admit it.
These 3 cloches were a steal at $10 for the set. As much as I love them, I don't actually have a place in my home that would benefit from their display. For now, they've been relocated to a cabinet in the kitchen. Every time I clean, it seems like the area I'm focusing on improves, while the rest of the house gets messier.
An empty instant coffee canister and a piggy bank with a wart on its cheek. Why was I keeping these?
A souvenir from our second cruise. It just isn't as much fun without a drink inside.
It's funny to look back at things I loved when we first bought our house. How has my style changed so drastically in just 3 years?
Oops! Let this be a lesson to keep your books organized.
When all the junk was finally sorted through, it was time for phase two of my bookcase project. These are just $1 frames around pages torn out of a $1 calendar.
Much better!
But something was still missing.
Ta da!
Next up on the Spring Cleaning agenda...
(if you're squeamish, you may want to skip this photo)
(and perhaps the photo beneath it)
Cleaning the floor!
*Disclaimer*
Although it may appear otherwise in the 2 photos above, I assure you that I was not cleaning the bookcase naked. Really, who would do a thing like that? It's cold in my house!