Rainy Day Cleaning Spree

I cleaned my office today. Over on the left is the before pic of my work area, which is not really "before" so much as "twenty minutes in," after I took down and re-hung the sari-serving-as-curtain that was previously held up crookedly with binder clips. You'll just have to trust me that it looks much better now. You'll also have to trust me when I say that my desk isn't usually quite that messy -- my cat had knocked over a pile of mail and I didn't bother to pick it up before I snapped this pic.

I've been meaning to clean it up for a while now, in the hopes that I might work a little more efficiently if I'm not constantly having to clear a space for my laptop every time I sit down. What motivated me to finally do it today was a sudden desire to bring plants into my office, and to not have them be eaten by the cats once I do.

I don't actually have any plants ready to bring in yet, but I've started to propagate some cuttings from other plants in the house. They're currently hanging out in the little windowsill garden we've got happening in the kitchen.

Those plants are, from left: jade, cilantro, African violet, English ivy, and sweet basil. The ivy is what's being prepped for my office - it's my first experiment in trying to get cuttings to grow roots in water. If this attempt is a success, I'll try it with the violet and a begonia my Big Sis sent home with me yesterday (not pictured).

I'd like to eventually duplicate the windowsill garden in my office window. The only trouble with that is, all of those plants are toxic when eaten, and my office is a hangout for plant-eating cats. To that end, I've rearranged some things to start training them that the windowsill is off-limits. Which breaks my heart a little, because they love to perch up there and bird-watch. But seeing as how they knock over something on my desk every single time they get up there without fail, I'm cool with taking away their windowsill privileges.

And so, for now I've filled the sill with so much stuff that they can't get up there. I moved my writing & editing reference books up there, putting them within easier reach, which also freed up some shelf space for my growing paperback collection. Hopefully, the rest of the tchotchkes lining the sill can be traded out for plants once the cats are used to the window being off-limits. As for my desk, it's organized and clutter-free, and there's plenty of room for the cats to lounge while they're pouting about being barred from the windowsill.