So it's the last week of the year, and if you remember correctly, last year I tackled cleaning out and organizing the sewing room to make room for the quilting machine. You may also remember that the quilting machine didn't get much action this year, a fact that I'd like to remedy in 2010. So I bit the bullet and did what I thought I ought to do when I first moved into this flat--I'm putting my sleeping quarters in the front, smaller bedroom and moving the sewing and quilting and craft room into the back, larger bedroom. Seriously, how much floor space does one need for sleeping and dressing? (And if those of you with master suites with walk-in closets and sitting areas could just keep that answer to yourself and not chime in with your square footage, I'd be much beholden.)

Monday didn't see much action, as I was driving home from Illinois and stopping along the way to pick up things I needed and check out an after-Christmas sale or two. So Tuesday was my first day of really working on this project. I'm proud to say that I got the sewing room emptied out, the bed and two dressers moved in, and a bunch of the sewing room stuff into the sewing room. Unfortunately, things are still crazy, with a lot of sewing room stuff still in the living room and dining room, in addition to the room they're supposed to be in. But I was able to sleep in my bed last night, so that's something anyway. Turns out, head pointing east works for me. The bedroom is by no means tidy and finished, but having most of the furniture in the right room is a good first step. Meanwhile, it's on to the chaos. Just me, my handtruck to help with the heavy lifting, and my MP3 player. Send organizing thoughts my way!

So here's what I've discovered. This organizing thing can take over. Every time I think "well, that's pulled together," I discover something else that needs to be dealt with. The other day I ran out to find some pretty baskets I could use under the new cabinet, and it turns out the baskets were the perfect size for the video tapes. So I pulled those out of the drawers because it seemed like there were other things that should be stored in the drawers and shelves in the cabinet that couldn't be stored in the baskets below. So then I had to figure out what was best stored in the cabinet. That led to emptying the old suitcases and trunks I have been using for storing photos (I know, a travesty--I'm sure they aren't acid free). Now I have to organize all the photos into albums which could be stored in the cabinets. And then I had to fill the trunks with other things that need to be stored, primarily the linens from the built in china cabinets (so now I have to figure out what goes in all of those drawers. I keep thinking that if I can get some of the pieces of furniture out of the living room and dining room, it will look neater and tidier. So we'll see if I can reach that.

Meanwhile, Saturday morning had me dropping my car off at the repair shop, as the heater just wasn't heating as well as it had been and I'd had the radiator flushed to see if that was the problem. (It wasn't, but it needed to be done anyway.) Since the garage was so close, and it was 8AM on a Saturday, I walked the 8 blocks home. When I got here, I shoveled the sidewalk and the ENTIRE driveway, and about the time I finished, the car was done and they were kind enough to pick me up (as I was pretty exhausted from the shoveling). About 3PM, the sore throat started. :( Perhaps the shoveling put me over the edge and let the germs take hold.

After 14 hours of sleep (no joke), I'm not feeling a whole lot better, so I'm taking it pretty easy today. There's still so much to do around here, but I'm just taking it one step at a time.

If you've gotten sucked into this organizational dilemna I'm experiencing, I'd appreciate ANY advice you've got to share. I'm getting to feel a little overwhelmed, so advice is needed at this point!

The cabinet is in the living room, thanks to a very good friend with muscles, a truck, and flexible daytime hours. And the folks at Chattel Changers were great about figuring out which piece of furniture I was talking about on the phone, taking my payment over the phone, and helping my friend carry it out.

I still have to clean up the wiring situation and all that (as evidenced by the wires below the cabinet) and figure out the best use of the storage space. There are three drawers behind the two panels on the left side--each hold 30 video tapes quite neatly, amazingly enough. On the right side (the center panel and the two right ones), there's a removeable shelf. Right now, two clear plastic containers fit nicely on the top shelf--both are currently filled with video tapes and DVDs. I'm starting to think I have too many videos if all three drawers and one shelf are pretty full.

So that's the new piece of furniture. Now that I've got it in place, I can finish tidying up the rest of the room and organize the stamping corner. (And making good on my 2009 goal of getting to the gym more often.) Then it's on to sprucing up the dining room. And finally, I'll be going through my closet and dressers and getting rid of the clothes that I no longer wear or need. Only THEN is it on to creative endeavors again--cardmaking, quilting, beading, etc. Don't worry, I'll keep you posted when I regain my creative time. Meanwhile, I'll let you know how the clean-up goes.