My desk, clean and tidy.

When we moved into our new home, December 2020, there was a formal dining room. The prior owners asked us to buy their gorgeous dining room furniture which was Chinese lacquered in shiny black. I really liked it, but formal dining is not our style. We ended up buying the sellers’ furniture in the casita which was the best decision we made — because our furniture didn’t arrive until the next day or two. (That’s another story. The moving truck wasn’t big enough. The two guys moving us had to find a U-Haul, which were scarce. The closest one was two hours away….) Because we bought the casita furniture, we had a bed to sleep on plus table, chairs and a sofa.

Anywho, I turned the formal dining room into my office. We bought the desk and chair at a consignment store a few weeks after moving. Then I promptly stuffed the drawers from boxes that said “desk” on them. I’ve barely been able to use the desk because the drawers were so full they were hard to open.

Then last week, a mere three years later, I was looking for some paperwork. I found the paperwork plus two envelopes from Costco that I never opened. Thankfully, before throwing them in the trash, I discovered rewards checks totaling more than $900! Woohoo! (Did you know that rewards from Costco never expire?)

That prompted me to clean out my desk.

That’s why I’m feeling smug and love my desk. It’s so organized and one drawer has hanging files with everything current neatly filed. No, I didn’t find any more money. But the $900 will do just fine. Some of the funny things I found were a pile of cords for old Macs I no longer own and connections that are out of date. Also, a device I bought during the pandemic that was an ultraviolet light cleaner for my iphone. (I convinced myself that because it was from China, that once I placed my phone in it and pressed the on button, it was sending all my data to China, rather than sterilizing my phone against COVID.)

Here are a few items in my office that I love:

A present from my dear friend Phyllis. Isn’t that cool?

A large painting of our backyard in Palm Springs where we lived for 28 years.

Paintings by my grandmother of Robe, Wash. where our property is on the Stillaguamish River. The top painting is of me around age five (sorry for the glare). The bottom one is of the cabin my mom and dad built themselves.

What area in your home needs a thorough cleaning and organizing?

I had a friend who called these places “hot spots.”