When we bought this TV, we knew it wasn’t going to fit in our old entertainment center. We knocked out a CD shelf, and were surprised that it was still sturdy enough to hold up the top shelf. Still, it was an old unit we got just out of college.

We’ve had this TV, and half-broken entertainment center, for a few years now. Over the summer, I started a quest to find a new cabinet, but it turns out our TV is unusually large. Most cabinets are about 19-21 inches deep, while this TV needs at least 24 inches.

So the temporary cabinet remains.

It also happens to be one of the only cat-safe places to put things. Occasionally they (well, usually just Joey) feel mischievous and climb up there, but it doesn’t happen often. So we stash all our crap up there.

I cleaned up the junk, removed a few candles, and decided the coconut parrot carving didn’t really need to be the centerpiece of our living room any longer. There’s still a lot of stuff up there, but it’s better, and it’s been dusted!

(Yes, whenever I clean the top of the entertainment center, I put all my husband’s sunglasses on the cat sculpture!)

Today my office closed early for our quarterly meeting. It was at the International Spy Museum in D.C. I had never been there before, and it was pretty cool. Of course, we had private access (no tourists), and a few drinks (on the company) first!

For my 30 days of thanks, I’ve already mentioned the great company I work for, but today I am thankful for our fun events!

I didn’t have too much time tonight, so I just sorted one of the baskets I didn’t get around to last night.

So, this:

Is now this:

Yes, it is still obvious that I need to vacuum.

I was good, I did pick the overstuffed basket and not the nearly empty one. It was packed full of papers that I should save (medical statements, car loan statements, etc.), though, most of them are over a year old at this point!

I’ve roughly sorted everything and put it in a 13-folder envelope for temporary storage. I’ve got to clean out my file cabinet to make room, which will involve a lot of shredding. I’m not looking forward to that!

For day 14 of my 30 days of thanks, I am thankful for a brief break in the weather today. It warmed up into the 60s! Though, tomorrow will be cold again. But it was nice for a day!

I decided to start working on the mess beside my bed tonight.

This is how it started:

It’s not completely done, I still have to go through the baskets, but it’s a lot better. In the pile were magazines as old as (yikes!) April 2006. I also threw away travel paperwork from December 2005, our summer beach house rental agreement from 2004, and programs from the Rock and Roll 1/2 Marathon from Labor Day — 2007 and 2006!

Yes, there is a lot of dust and cat hair on the carpet. It’s been a long time since a vacuum could reach these parts. That will happen soon!

Also under the mess? Some cozy slippers I forgot I had:

Tonight, I am thankful for the lunchtime yoga my office has been providing twice a week. While I was busy today, it was nice to take a break from it all and relax for a bit!

At least not yet.

I purchased a “junk drawer organizer” to attempt to straighten up the mess. This is how it started:

I was able to get it this far:

The smaller tray on the right is supposed to sit on top of the one on the left, but that assumes all of your junk is small enough to allow it to fit. There weren’t a lot of large slots, so I’m going to have to pick up some additional bins. But it’s a lot better!

And for extra credit, I cleaned my kitchen last night after I posted my clothing clean-up. That wasn’t so bad, we just let the dishes pile up!

Before:

After:

Yes, the cabinets are two different colors. I’m working on it!

Today’s declaration of thanks goes to the Target so convenient to my office. I’ve been a frequent shopper lately, trying to contain all of my messes!