Unearthing Treasures When You Clean

If they're giving prizes for the office that most needs cleaning up, this lady will definitely win. Are you a contestant for this one or not? My husband was known (in his working years) for having the messiest desk at his workplace. Not a coveted title for most people. Didn't bother him a bit.

I've seen quotes about an empty desk being a reflection of an empty mind. Now, that's just plain mean. Or maybe not. It either shows that the person has great organizational skills and has completed all tasks or that nothing is being done nor will it get done later. Take your pick! 

January seems to be a month that screams "Clean Me!" in your kitchen, family living area and your office space. Drawers and cupboards cry to be dusted and reorganized. It gives us a good start to our new year. And often, the weather is more conducive to staying indoors so why not put your time to good use? 

Yesterday, Ken and I were putting Christmas decorations away. I have a collection of Christmas tins, so I condensed them by putting small tins into bigger ones and then was ready to store them on the top shelf of my pantry for this next 11 months. Someone whose name begins with a K had already put several items on my shelf. So, I had to rearrange the whole shelf before finding room for my tins. I found a couple things on that shelf that I'd forgotten about. A nice discovery. Also noticed a few items that went into the trash.

Then, I put the Christmas dishes back on the second shelf from top after removing the everyday dishes. That called for more rearranging. Those two top shelves now look really great which makes the bottom two rather sad. So, before the week is over, I'll be sorting out and rearranging those last two shelves. Result? One clean pantry and satisfaction for me and maybe a few more surprises found.

My office will be next. How things stack up here is beyond me. When I periodically go through the piles of this and that, I'm always in for a few surprises. Many times I set something aside to be worked on later and then it becomes so buried that I forget all about it. I do try to clean up the office more than once a year for exactly that reason. Unearthing treasures. 

How about you? Is your office area neat as a pin or stacked with this and that? What's your method for keeping things straight? How often do you attack the reorganizing job? Give us your tried and true hints.