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,

That Was Fun...Part 3

Well here is the last installment of my office redo until I get my new workbench and last set of shelves. At that point I'll move our giant laser printer onto the shelves and transfer my jewelry making supplies to the new workbench, move my cork board above my reading area (see below), and then relax! Here are my shelves, totally organized! I was able to fit all of my jewelry books and magazines, business books, painting inspiration photos, frames, sewing machine, general office supplies and junk, board games and some of my favoriteEtsy artists' artwork.
Here is my beautiful new desk! I got it from Ikea and it is fabulous! I was able to fit one of my filing cabinets right under the desk, with room for a storage box full of old computer stuff behind it (old hard drives, etc.). It is wide and deep enough to hold my laptop, stereo, water glass, to-do binder, scrap paper binder (I told you I'm into the 3 R's,lol ), my pen pots (recycled from old tea-leaf cans covered in scrapbook paper), and my "freebie box" - all of my materials that go into making freebies for you when you order more than $10 from my shops. I like to keep it in front of me so that if I have a little extra time I can fill it by makinggifties for you! Even better is that my desk is in front of my window so that I can see outside when it is light and be inspired by my forest. The desk is also over my heating vent, which has turned out to be quite handy in keeping my perennially cold toes nice and toasty!
Here is my temporary work desk. It is clean! I have my tools in the storage drawers to the left, with my vice and anvil in front. Then I have my 2 bead and finding storage drawer sets (they are overflowing, so the next time Canadian Tire has a sale on these "Parts Drawers", I'll be getting ANOTHER one,LOL ! I also have room to work, which is great, as well as being able to store my various-sized plastic baggies (in the white boxes next to the bead storage) and my photography light is on top of a box to better light up my light box, which I now have room for! See the last photo for my new light box.
Here is what will be my reading corner. I have Arwen's bed so that we can be near each other, I have my tall bookshelves with some books, and many pieces of Etsy Artisans' art - from Epic Farms, Crazy Bliss, Art By Marilyn, Visual Smiles Gallery, Bunnies and Hares by Dragon House of Yuen (not pictured, but I now have them on my small bookshelf), and more! I'm going to put more of my books on the smaller shelf and eventually find a comfy armchair/reading chair to put right beside it that I can curl up in to read a good book for hours on end. I also had room for one of my yoga mats and light hand weights, so that I am able to get in a few good vinyasas or arm curls when waiting for things to load :)
Here is my fabulous light box! Constructed from a standard cardboard filing box, I lined it with plain white paper to bounce the light around in it. I have a white background for dark pieces, and for lighter pieces I have this grey background (it looks brown here, but that is from all of the different light sources hitting it in the photo). This allows me to have more even lighting and get more consistent photos of my jewelry. I finally have room for it, and room to store it when not in use, so I am very excited about this!

Well, that is all for now, I'll keep you updated on the new workbench and shelves as they become available. I'm also starting to (slowly) purchase metalsmithing equipment to expand my jewelry knowledge and techniques, so I will be sure to show you the new tools as I get them :)

For those interested, the heavy duty shelving units (Spacemaker Brand) are from Canadian Tire and cost $45.99 each. They are 36inches wide, 70inches tall and 16inches deep. The desk is from Ikea and is Mikael model in beech/white and was $69.99. It is approximately 55inches wide, 29inches deep and 29inches high. The filing cabinets were fromZellers, on sale for $39.99 each (I got 2) and are for standard, letter sized documents. The black storage boxes were also from Ikea and were the Kassett series, both the CD boxes and Magazine boxes. They came in sets of 2 per kind and were $6.99-$17.99. The parts drawers and storage drawers on my work desk are from Canadian Tire and ranged from $13.99-$29.99 at regular price, but I waited until they were on super-sale. The workbench (still to come) is a stainless steel-topped workbench from Canadian Tire and is regularly $199.99 but I got it on sale for $89.99. The total office overhaul (7 years overdue), cost about $550. Prices are in Canadian Dollars, not including taxes.

Have a great day, I am off to enjoy my nearly finished, and SO much better, art space!