15 Minute Friday: A tidier bookcase
So…this is the Saturday Edition of 15-minute Friday.
It’s just been that kind of week.
And while I pledged in my first 15-Minute Friday post that these posts would be created in 15 minutes, that was just flat-out stupid thinking. (It’s OK. I can call my own thinking stupid.) I’m now shooting for 30. Here goes:
Given the week it was, I only got one 15-minute project done. It involved this bookcase:
This bookcase/shelf has long bugged me. It’s just a messy holding place for random stuff–library books, a few games, some decorative things we like.
I’ve got bigger things I’d like to do with this piece of furniture. Painting is high on the list. I think I’ve ignored it because I know I want to do more with it. It’s sort of like telling yourself you’re not going to buy a new pair of jeans because you know you’re going to be losing 5 pounds and it would just be a waste of time and money to do that right now.
Meanwhile, 6 months (or more!) go by and you’re wearing old jeans that make you look and feel crappy. This shelf is the equivalent of those 5 pounds, and the previous “arrangement” was the old jeans. I’m not going to be painting it any time soon, and I don’t really know what I want to put on it, but that doesn’t mean I have to let it go on looking like this.
See that weird little thing sticking up above the bluish box on the lower shelf? It’s a hole in the back. Any arrangement has to hide that hole. Keeping things real…
So I took 15 minutes to clean it up, which meant:
- Processing the books on it that I’m not going to read and that belong to other people.
- Moving some poetry books over from a different, over-flowing bookcase to fill the space created when I got rid of the other books.
- Putting downstairs the games we don’t play upstairs.
- Tidying up the tchotchkes.
And now it looks like this:
Actually, it doesn’t look quite like this. I moved that lamp from the right side of the middle shelf and re-arranged a bit more–in a different 15-minute session. But this is what it looked like after the first one.
Is this the most awesome-looking bookcase ever? Nope.
But it does look better, and it makes me feel better when I’m hanging out in the living room. (Just like a nicer pair of jeans would make you feel better about those 5 pounds you really don’t need to lose anyway.)
This was a WAY more productive use of 15 minutes than, say, getting sucked into a stupid and pointless Facebook debate about the politics of abortion would be. (Yeah, I really did. Sometimes it’s one step forward and two steps back around here.)
Last week I floated the idea of creating some kind of 15-minute Friday link event, and a few of you said you’d be game for that. Creating a link-up will take more than 15 minutes (because I haven’t done it before), but I’m putting that on my list of possible to-do’s for the coming week. In the meantime, I’d love to hear about what you did. If you’ve got a blog, please (pretty please) leave a comment with link.
Wishing you a great fall weekend!
(Oh, and in the interest of full disclosure, this post took longer than 30 minutes to create. More like 60. Progress, not perfection.)
Oct 27, 2012 @ 11:13:33
I did do a 15 Minute Friday, Rita! Well..except for the actual writing of the post and editing the photos. I completely want to do this along with you, it’s just been one of those weeks. Next week! I’ll share it! Your bookcase looks great!
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Oct 27, 2012 @ 12:18:34
Must have been something in the air this week…but I think that’s part of the beauty of the whole 15-minute idea. Even in a crazy week, I can do something, you know? Even if it’s just one little thing.
Oct 27, 2012 @ 12:01:42
I’m gonna go spend 15 minute on the pile of photos that are filling my entire dining room table. Then, a soccer game in the rain.
I recently purchased two very wonderful timers that help with this 15 minute (or other amounts of time) theme. Check these out Rita, I think you’ll like them. I got mine on Amazon – two different timers with different amounts of time on each side. Have fin!
http://www.datexx.com/product-p/df-33.htm
Hillary recently posted..September 17, 2012
Oct 27, 2012 @ 12:21:16
Hi Hillary–
I think 15 minutes at a time is the perfect approach to a table full of photos. (I’ve got a drawer full…)
Too bad the soccer game in the rain won’t be only 15 minutes!
That’s a cool timer–thanks for sharing it.
Oct 27, 2012 @ 17:09:30
I LOVE this idea. I tend to procrastinate and get overwhelmed by things that if I just spent 15 minutes on it would be conquered in a matter of 15 minute sessions. I’m going to give it a try this week. Maybe even daily. We’ll see . . .
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Oct 27, 2012 @ 18:08:59
Rita,
Did you ever follow Fly Lady? Where she would have those 15 minute pick-ups! I loved those. Sometimes if we just give 15 minutes a day….it can make such a difference!
Have a great day rock star!
karianne
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Oct 29, 2012 @ 08:13:11
Yes, I know Fly Lady well! And I use her type of 15-minute pick-up all the time. What I’m thinking about now is the idea Brooke posted on Slow Your Home: Taking the 15-minute idea and applying it to some large goal. I haven’t settled on a goal yet–just playing around with what I can get done in 15 minutes–but I’m about to land on one. Thanks for stopping by.
Oct 28, 2012 @ 08:33:24
Great idea! Especially for a procrastinator, like me. I’ve recently done a few small projects like this and it’s amazing how it lifts my mood to pass by one organized corner, even with lots of work to do everywhere else. Congratulations on getting into the semifinals on Apartment Therapy!
Oct 29, 2012 @ 08:14:48
Oh, you know I’m a procrastinator! I learned this summer how important it can be to sprinkle little tasks in among bigger projects. I think our brains need the endorphin rush that comes from finishing.
Oct 29, 2012 @ 07:49:16
Love the jeans analogy! Occasionally I will set the oven time for 10 or 15 min, and make myself work like crazy till it beeps. It always astonishes me how much I can get done.
Also – it makes me laugh when people have room for tchotchkes on their bookshelves. Shelves are such valuable real estate around here – every single one is jammed with books from end to end, and a lot of my shelves in my bedroom are doubled up, with a row of books in front of another row of books!
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Oct 29, 2012 @ 08:22:23
I know what you mean about bookshelves! I don’t really think of this cabinet as a bookshelf; it’s always stored other kinds of things–dishes, games, vases. When we moved in 2011, I got rid of lots of books, and it was wonderful to have space for all the ones I kept on the shelves we have. Shelves that are now getting crowded again…that’s why I had to move a few onto this orange shelf.
Oct 29, 2012 @ 13:28:36
Looks great, Rita! And I agree about the right piece of jewelry making all the difference! I spent 15 minutes on organizing the client files on my desk. Thanks for the incentive!
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