Hi there, and welcome back to Mark & Bitsy’s intermittent blogging adventure known as Yelling Near You.  Apologies for the week long gap in posting, there really is no excuse.  Reflecting on the week, time just slipped away.  There was the standing in line at Costco listening to the girls behind me describe the khakis I was buying as ugly.  Another day I was given the finger by a woman who was displeased by my driving on the freeway because 30km (18mph) over the speed limit is unacceptable when you’re distractedly swerving in and out of the other lane while putting on makeup in a construction zone.  Everyone knows that 40km (25mph) is best practice.  Oh, and there was another visit to the car dealership for more service – but more on that in another post.

We’re here again at the end of the week for an update on the Clutter Cave, or Anal Alcove, if you will.

Desk view, Saturday morning, February 4, 2012:

Yikes! There was a migration of clutter from the toy box to the desk that’s rather unsightly.  The rain has, in fact, stopped in Vancouver so it is migratory season for clutter.  As I said before, the bags are temporary and wheels are in motion to get rid of the items behind the bags too (books and sports cards).

Ahh, the top of the toy box looks much different from last week due to the seasonal migration.  One item has completely disappeared – the sewing machine – as the work that needed doing is done and it has gone back to its home in storage.

While the sewing machine disappeared there is a framed print sitting on the toy box, waiting to go to the framing gallery to be re-framed.  I’ll say more about it when it’s in its new frame and on the wall.

The bag that sits on the toy box will likely be a regular item on the toy box as it is often used and it remains easily accessible.

Something is hidden from this view due to the little table in the bottom right corner is a bag of large binders that is also staged for displacement from the cave this coming week.   I hate binders and fortunately these will be relocated to a place with dozens of other previously loved binders that will be used again.  They will be among friends.

 

 

 

Clutter assessment:

Desk clutter: 50% (up from <5%)

Shelf clutter: <5% (no change)

Toy box top clutter: 5% (down from 85%)

Overall Clutter Cave clutter: 25% (no change)

The improvements in Clutter Cave have ceased for the moment but last week I was thrilled with the happenings just outside the Cave.  It was such an exciting time no photos were taken of the before, so I only have the after to present to you.

I’m pleased to introduce STÄLL and VÄNNA.  For months, hell it has been years, Bitsy has longed for a shoe cabinet.  We have looked at shoe cabinets at IKEA at great length and my resistance slowly wore down and I was open to the smaller shoe cabinets like STÄLL.  When we found STÄLL in the As-Is section with a 32% reduction in price it was meant to be.

Gone is the shoe basket that was fantastic at collecting dog hair, dirt and making the entry a bit less accessible and the compact, sleek STÄLL has Bitsy jumping for joy (and I like it too).

After it was installed, we didn’t like the wedding photos that were hanging on the wall.  As Bitsy said, “the honeymoon is over,” and they came down.  Ever since VÄNNA came out we both pined for it.  It’s a great looking mirror and we agreed that it was what we needed.

“Go back to IKEA and get it tonight,” Bitsy said.

“No, because I ain’t your bitch,” I replied.

A half an hour later I was hanging VÄNNA.  Who was I kidding?  I am Bitsy’s bitch – that’s part of getting married.

The reason that it is getting mentioned is that the view from Clutter Cave just got a lot better.

In VÄNNA (the mirror) you can see the gallery wall and the previously cluttered top of the toy box.  This photo was taken the same night the mirror and shoe cabinet were installed.  Sorry about the moron in the mirror, partially obstructing the view.

As is always the case, no compensation was made to write this post and that’s why I’m not linking up to any of the products I’m describing.  One of the neat features of VÄNNA is that it has screws spaced evenly all around the edge of the back of the mirror so you can rearrange the elastic into any configuration you prefer.  The elastic also provides a good place to put things you need to remember on the mirror (bills, hate mail, etc).

A note about STÄLL is that depending on the size of your feet it will hold more shoes.  Only four pair of my giant shoes fill the left side while Bitsy has put about 20 pair of her shoes in the right.  Offically, IKEA says it will hold 8 pair of average sized shoes.

And there we have it – another Clutter Cave Dispatch and it’s about time I begin some statistical analysis of the clutter assessments.  Get ready for graphs and spread sheets!