Ahhh, how wonderful it is to have my tax stuff dropped off at the accountant’s office. I can’t say that my home office is completely cleaned up yet, but I filled three giant trash bags full of the shredded remains of unnecessary paperwork that had been accumulating for the past year. The shredder is now a permanent fixture next to the kitchen trash can, in the hope that we’ll shred unwanted mail daily, rather than let it pile up on the countertops.
I’m pretty good about doing spring cleaning and clear-outs. I am so merciless about getting rid of the clothes I haven’t worn in the past year that I’ve been known to get rid of garments and later wonder where they went. I certainly wish I hadn’t been so thorough about ridding my closet of my “thin clothes,” because they would really come in handy right now, even if they’re not exactly in style anymore.
Our big project for the house this spring is going to be a rearranging of our office/studio space. In 1978, the then-owners of our house decided to tack a two-car garage onto our small, 50s ranch house. Their stroke of genius was in putting a giant rec room above the garage. Unfortunately, nobody ever redecorated it after the inital go-round, so it’s a masterpiece of hideous 70s decor. Here’s a little rundown of the more impressive features:
- Dark brown, faux wood-grain ceiling tiles that give the impression that one is in the hold of a pirate ship.
- Dark brown, splintery-pine center beams and trim, including some bat-winged molding accenting the top of the mirror-backed, built-in glass shelving unit.
- A bar made of inlaid woods, with appliqued leaf-shaped wood designs on the front. There are no actual, useful bar accoutrements such as shelves or a sink, though.
- A dynamic flooring pattern that alternates sections of orange and brown shag carpeting with brown and black patterned linoleum.
- An open-grill wood stove that hogs space in the middle of the room and caused me to have to steam-clean the carpet three or four times to remove all the residual soot. Obviously, we don’t use the stove.
We haven’t put in a lot of effort trying to make any of this decor go away, but it’s definitely time to rearrange things to suit our lifestyle. My husband has his digital music studio along one wall. My desk is tucked into the bay window in the front of the room. The rest of the room is given over to far-too-visible storage, drum sets, and an entertainment center across from a loveseat that’s always piled with junk.
The room is so huge that we have more or less decided to just run with the 70s theme. A friend gave me a crudely-carved M*A*S*H symbol (hand making a peace sign, with women’s high-heeled legs). I have a lovely macrame wall hanging of a tree with dangling roots. The loveseat is bright red velvet to pick up the red in the wood stove. I bought a huge, tacky plastic plant to set next to the couch. The kitsch potential is there, as long as we tidy things up.
That’s definitely not going to take place this weekend, though. Chronic overscheduler that I am, I have every moment of the weekend booked already, and I need to read “Wuthering Heights” between now and 2 p.m. tomorrow for a “Classics Rewound” book club meeting. I guess that’s a sign that it’s time to head home. Until Monday…
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