I'd certainly believe it, seeing as it's taken me nearly seven months just to get my desk area properly organized! (Of course it looked great right when we first moved the furniture in, but it promptly became a disaster zone as soon as our actual stuff showed up, and its present appearance was a long time in the making). Observe below (click to see full size image):
I'm really really happy with it. Hopefully it stays this way -- as much as I like and need properly organized environments to function well in, I've never been very good at maintaining them, and it takes me ages to get them set up in the first place.
But: I am more optimistic this time since having discovered the wonders of (a) plastic storage containers, and (b) the electronic label-maker (mine is a Brother P-Touch but there are probably multiple kinds that do about the same thing).
Moreover, I think I've finally learned my lesson regarding "knick-knack" type objects, which is to say that while many of them may be nifty and fun to look at / play with, it is not necessary nor desirable to display (or have within reach) ALL of them, ALL at the same time. The "old" incarnation of my desk zone used to include Star Wars figures, Lego spaceships, various Pez dispensers, a chess set, bumper stickers, and the odd greeting card. And I still have most of that stuff, but the vast majority of it is packed up in yet more of those clear plastic storage containers, and stored on shelves in the garage.
I think what taught me this lesson (aside from having gotten sick of the vast quantities of dust that used to accumulate) was hearing on a "home design" podcast of some kind (yes I was listening to stuff like that during the course of my move) that when you have a collection of anything, you can actually diminish the "impact" of individual pieces if you try and put all of it out at once. So what's better is to put out just a few at a time, so you can appreciate them more individually (and not clutter your visual environment / workspace nearly as much).
And while everyone is different of course, and some might not find this helpful, I've found it massively useful advice to apply (particularly as I now live with four very energetic cats who have no qualms about knocking stuff over if it happens to be in the way of their leaping!).
Oh and another thing I am pleased with is the orange shelf-thing on the left (where the label maker is). It was originally this cheap ugly veneered thing from Target but I painted it, and now it matches the orange accent wall in that room nicely (and also the robot and the file folder thingy!).
Here's another shelf in the same office/computer room, showing the awesomeness of plastic storage boxes:
It is SO NICE to have all my and Matt's Random Geek Detritus (network cable, heat shrink tubing, etc.) all tidily sorted and stored rather than in a tangled, dust-gathering pile in a corner somewhere. This shelf, you will also note, does triple-duty as Geek Detritus storage, bookshelf (we put all the computer/programming related books here, as well as one of my EMC books), and cat-bed apartment (the "ground floor" has two boxes lined with fleece for the kitties to nap in).
And finally (for now), check out this cool green lamp!:
It's actually bigger than it looks -- the round "dome" thing has about an 8 inch diameter and the total "arm" length is around four feet. We badly need more light at the front end of the living room (the big windows let in lots of natural daylight but that doesn't help us at night!) and have been searching for the right lamp, but none of the ones at Ikea, etc., seemed proper.
But then, lo and behold, I remembered this past week that we had this old green thing in the garage left by the previous owners. I didn't even know if it was going to work, and it was horribly dirty before I cleaned it up, but after cleaning and replacement of the light bulb it looks lovely and works beautifully. Also, it matches our kitchen cabinet face frames, etc., almost exactly, which is a funny coincidence! I utterly love finding stuff like this -- this lamp reminds me of something from one of those fancy furniture catalogs I sometimes get (e.g., "Restoration Hardware") but never buy anything from because it's too expensive even though it's made to look "old".
(Also, incidentally, if anyone knows what model of lamp this actually is, and how old it might be, I would love to know. The only thing I can find on it identification-wise is a brand name, "Fostoria".)
14 comments:
My place looked like that for nearly five full minutes one day.
I would like it even better with the Droste effect.
Oh, yes, label makers! That thing has been so useful for me as well in keeping my apartment organized - I can actually remember what's where without having to look inside!
Michael: Heh, well, the house here isn't consistently that tidy everywhere...it's getting better, but it's a long/slow process. Right now the biggest challenge is the garage, but some headway is being made there; at the very least we have some of the tools and such categorized and put in drawers, and Matt built a lovely wooden work-bench. Still have open sections of wall in there, though, from where the garage was de-converted (back into a garage from a "bonus room"), and still no washing machine hookup (hence my recently posting about the laundromat).
Lactarius: Hee, I had to look up Droste effect (never encountered the term before) but if you're suggesting what I think you are (that I should have taken a picture with my blog showing on the computer monitor), I would agree, that'd be cool!
codeman38: Indeed! Finding stuff is much faster when you don't need to open everything up in the process. Translucent boxes are helpful too.
(though I wouldn't want translucent/transparent boxes or cabinets for everything -- e.g., I have the DVDs in the living room in a closed/opaque Ikea cabinet because the different colors and patterns on the DVD cases are too visually cluttery for me to want to look at all the time.)
Neat! I especially love the plush above your computer--though I'm not sure if it's a robot or the Prince from Katamari Damacy. (I suspect robot: I don't think His Highness has lines in his chest :D)).
Cross your desk with the Difference Engine and you get this.
I mind the article on Japanese architecture in an old Encyclopedia Britannica. When discussing interior decoration, the author said that a Japanese room was mostly empty, with maybe one picture or one sculpture displayed, even if one owned more than one picture or sculpture. The others were kept in a storeroom, out of sight, to avoid cluttering the visual environment.
Tera: The plush robot is not the Prince of which you speak (though I do harbor considerable affection for Katamari Damacy!). Some friends who visited Seattle got it for me there, not sure exactly where though. I am pleased he matches my computer/office room decor so well in any case, in addition to being ridiculously cute. :D
justthisguy: Huh, interesting. That would make sense given some of the Japanese decor I've seen. While I do get a kick out of nicely-arranged large collections of stuff (I love perusing antique stores, for instance!) I find that having too much stuff out all the time in my living space gets very confusing and makes it hard to find things I actually need when I need them.
"makes it hard to find things..." Yup.
I remember a time, a few years ago, when somebody on alt.support.autism challenged everyone to post a picture of his living space. Had I had the ability to post pictures, I would have "won", I think. I am afraid the floor was pretty much invisible then and there in my place.
What's funny to me is that auties tend to run to extremes on this issue, as on others. Some folks get upset if anything in their spaces is out of place by a millimeter, and some are like me.
"The usual bomb damage, I see" said one guy I knew when visiting my place years ago.
What's funny-annoying to me, is that I like being in an uncluttered space, with a place for everything and everything in its place. I just can't seem to manage producing that. My cat is the same way.
justthisguy: I tend toward extremes. See this post from Dec. 2008 for an example of what my old apartment looked like at the time.
I also function better in an uncluttered environment. Given enough time, I can create one. But "enough time" is A LOT. And I am sure that if I weren't unemployed right now my desk would not look nearly so nice. I am really really hoping I can keep things this tidy once I do get a job -- that's part of what this whole project was about, setting something up that I could actually maintain over the long term. I guess only time will tell whether it succeeds!
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