Office Cleaning Progress

 Since I last posted about my disaster of an office, I have made some progress. The weather here has been so hot that I haven't really been able to do as much baking as usual - even with the a/c on it is still warm in the house - so I have tried valiantly to make some headway into the scary world that is my office space when I'm not fighting the weeds, exhaustion and house mess. Oh my gosh, can I tell you how much the Wonder Dog is shedding right now?? CHUNKS of fur are falling off this dog every time I look at her, and despite attacking her with the Fur Buster brush every day, at least once per day. I still end up with little fur balls tumbling over my floors. Thank God I have hardwood floors and not carpet, or I would have a black carpet now! I am feeling better day by day so I am starting to have more energy to get things done. Slowly, but they are getting done :)

Anyway... I vacuumed the areas that I could see to get rid of dust and debris (I start my plants in here in the winter and had some dried leaves stuck behind the shelving), and have now started setting up what will be my torching station. You can see the white firebricks next to the mini torch and the quenching bowl. Beside that I have my safety glasses in their case and my breathing mask. Even if you're just doing a little bit of torching, you NEED breathing protection, especially if you have ventilation set up, which I don't (yet). I will also put an oscillating fan in front of the open window to draw out any noxious fumes when I torch. Underneath that shelf is a collection of some of my other necessities - my bracelet measuring tool, paintbrushes for applying various solutions to metals, chalk for keeping metal files working properly, an extra bench pin, my copper sheets and some of my inspiration photos and drawings for new pieces. Eventually, the paper will go on to my bookshelf or my desk, as I don't want anything flammable near my torch.
I still have to get a few more pieces of equipment (not the least important will be a fire extinguisher - safety first!), and then that should be set. I still need to tidy the shelves beside these ones so that I can find and reach everything easily and quickly. That should take another half hour or so.

And, well, the workbench is coming along. I can now actually see the desk, so that is good! I have a few works in progress (WIP's) that will have to get boxed and organized so that I can finish them in a timely manner, reorganize my bead and findings cabinets so that I can see what I need to reorder, what I should destash, etc, and then I'll have everything clear to do my sawing, filing and general beading and jewellery-making. My regular desk is almost clear too, which is great, as I've been using my laptop in the living room and it is killing my neck and shoulders, crunched up all the time. I'm hoping to move my laptop back onto my desk today or tomorrow.

Whew! Finally things are coming together. I really have to thank you all for giving me the inspiration and kick that I really needed to get this moving. I feel so much better about my office already!

We are now getting some much needed rain and it is so much cooler now that I think I'll go and bake some cookies. On today's agenda: peanut butter cookies, some plain and some with chocolate chips, and then oatmeal cookies, some plain, some with raisins, and some with chocolate chips. Yum!

Until next time,