When I began this blog, perfection was definitely not my goal.
I just wanted a livable home. One where my family could relax.
And find things.
One of my proudest accomplishments has been our office/game room. It’s the room that sold the house for us, and I’m guessing it would sell the house to someone else if we ever need to move. It’s a big, extra room, with its own little half-bath. I love it.
But for the first few years we lived here, I used it for storage and we couldn’t even get to the cute little half-bath.
Total waste of a wonderful space.
So as I worked on it, decluttered it, removed the wallpaper, and painted it, I was overjoyed about how this room being functional added so much to our house. I felt like we added serious square footage.
And for the year or so that we’ve been enjoying it, I’ve felt pride that it’s “so much better.” It’s a multi-function room. It’s where we keep the wii, the computer, and it serves as our guest room as well. If something truly needs to be stored . . . . this is the realistic place to put it.
But lately, certain things that used to fall into the maybe-it’s-not-perfect-but-at-least-it’s-so-much-better-than-it-used-to-be category . . . . were starting to bug me.
Like this:
This was under my desk. Not under as in “hidden from view” but under as in “hopefully no one will notice that totally visible eyesore because at least it’s not in the middle of the floor.”
In my mind, this was the spot where I kept my eBay shipping supplies. It was handy, right next to the computer, and held priority mail envelopes, first-class envelopes, tape, and packing materials.
Except that I haven’t sold anything on eBay in quite a long time. And there was much more in there than just shipping supplies.
There was a box for a lamp that I must have wondered if I would need to return . . . three years ago. There were broken toys. And of course, there was trash.
To me, this was one of those decluttering projects that wore me out mentally.
I paid money for most of these “perfectly good” supplies. And the ones that I didn’t pay for, the priority mail envelopes, CAN’T BE USED FOR ANYTHING ELSE. So, even though I’ve offered them on freecycle and Craig’s List, I’ve never gotten a single response, since anyone can have them delivered to their home for free instead of driving to my home to pick them up . . . for free.
Such a cool thing when I was using them, such a thorn in my side now that I don’t need them. I’m guessing that my only solution is to load them up and haul them to the post office and endure the dirty looks from the postal workers (since I also have MANY boxes full of boxes in the garage).
But knowing me, I’ll load them up, forget about them, drive around with them in the back of my Suburban until we need to load something else back there. Then I’ll have to take them out and put them . . . . back in the garage.
And the foldable-black-divided-tote-thing-a-ma-jig. It truly is a cool thing. But I don’t currently have a purpose for it, and if I fold it up, I’ll never remember that I have it.
So, for now, I plan to fill it up with donations for the next thrift-store-pick-up.
As I tend to do in the middle of decluttering projects . . . I debated about stopping at this point. I had even purposely taken the before picture to NOT include the crazy mess that made up the rest of the space beneath my desk.
But with the tote gone, it was even more difficult to ignore the trash/clutter/cord-explosion. So I got on my hands and knees (I know!) and started tugging on wires and throwing away trash. There were cords that were not attached to anything. There was a duplicate plug from the DSL modem that I got rid of . . . . months ago.
And, this is totally embarrassing, but as often happens, where there’s clutter . . . there’s grossness. I found more than one cracker and a piece of a candy cane. Evidently my I’m-a-grown-up-and-that’s-why-I-can-eat-in-here-and-you-can’t argument . . . isn’t entirely valid.
After I removed the big stuff and vacuumed up the small stuff, I sat and stared at the jumble of cords for a while.
They’re a jumble.
They’re ugly.
But I honestly don’t know what to do about them. So I went ahead and took the after picture, and decided to be happy that it looked “so much better.”
simplify411 says
I love reading your blog!
My cords are a jumble too. I had purchased a "cord organizer" (for lack of a better way to explain it) but have never used it. The thing is, when you do have to remove or add something – those cord thing-a-mi-jigs become a royal pain in the butt so I settled on labeling what cords were attached to what and have decided I'm happy with it the way it is.
If it's easier than returning them – set the boxes out for recycle – better to recycle them then have them taking up precious space in your home.
Good job!
Mara says
You're just such a joy to read, Nony. So real – so "me" (while still being you, of course 😉
Thanks for writing!
Nony the Slob says
I know that there are people out there who manage to make big jumbles of cords look pretty, but they just boggle my mind.
Thanks for the kind words!
Sami says
Pffft…cords. I’ve decided they’re “art”.
debbie says
To hide cords get a shallow plastic storage box with holes and mount it umder the desk. Make sure it's big enough that nothing has to sit on top of each other.
Sometimes the plug strips have a screw slot on the back or an end. that would at least get that off the floor.
You can use longer twist ties to bundle up extra cord length.
I absolutely hate all the cords that go with that kind of stuff. I call it a snake farm! But….don't look behind my tv armoire. The dust and cord mess is awful but if I can't see it nobody else can, right?
Nony the Slob says
Thanks so much Debbie! I would never have looked underneath the strip, but you're right, there are screw slots. Hmmmm. Now to think about actually using them.
Gwenn says
I bought a giant container of zip ties several years ago. I zip tie all my cords individually. They don't look too great but at least they're not all tangled. Since I have a million zip ties, it's not a big deal to cut the tie off and replace it.
oh!! ohh!! Those little adhesive plastic hooks that are like 10 in a package for cheap-o! I stick them on the back of the furiture as wire guides. I totally forgot about that!
Anna K. says
Great before & after! I love your thoughts about continuously working towards "so much better"–it's comforting to be reminded that getting better is a process. I've just done a lot of work decluttering the top of my desk so I'm not going to worry about my ugly jumble of cords underneath for now. 😉
Also, I have to comment on what a great writer you are and what a delight your blog is to read. Great post!
Lenetta @ Nettacow says
As noted above, I have found some organizational comfort from looping cords so that they're only as long as they need to be, though I use some velcro thingamajigs to wrap around them. Zip ties or big twisties would work just fine too. Well done! :>)
Heather says
What about using the tote to put your cords in? Then put some cute fabric over the cords so it looks like the tote holds fun crafty things. I know it won't hide all parts of the cords, but this way you'd be able to keep the tote you like so much.
Nony the Slob says
Thanks for the ideas on the cords. Lenetta, I love "organizational comfort."
And Heather, your comment made me think that perhaps a basket would be good. Just so it's not this mass of stuff. That tote is really quite huge, and I think if I used it that way, it would continue to mysteriously collect things.
Frugal in Florida says
OMG I think you found my camera cord that's been missing! Under my desk (that is rarely used any longer since we have the lap top that goes here and there and everywhere) the cords are all nice and snug and tied with those plastic wire ties … as much as I HATE that … Hubby insist that you not have a jumble, but what a pain when you want to unplug something, or pull something out to get a serial number, etc….good job though on the cleaning up…reminds me that I need to probably do dust bunny control :/
Lacy @ Catholic Icing says
Lol! Why have I never spent more time reading your blog?! (Ok, probably because I read SO MANY blogs and have been spending less and less time online). But today, I'm sick with the flu, and I'm going to be on the computer all day, so you can deal with the excessive comments I'm leaving here because until today I didn't understand how we are slobby soul-mates! 🙂 THIS IS SO MY LIFE!!! Especially about loading things into your car to never be removed. Lol!
cynthia says
i’ve seen where old paper towel rolls – can be used to hide cords – it actually works pretty well – on the cheap – and you can spice them up with that white tissue paper you keep finding
Jennifer says
I know I’m very late to the party on this, but I thought I’d throw this out there.
You can get clear command strip cable clips on Amazon. They will hold the cords, not damage the furniture, and keep everything out of sight and looking streamlined. I actually just ordered some for my house. Makes a huge visual impact.