First project of 2006

Regarding the bookcase debate—I have decided to go with IKEA’s Billy bookcases. Four of them. That’s the Part A of the first project of the New Year. It’s the easy part. Or at least it’s easy now that I’ve completed measuring my room and plotting it out on graph paper, coming up with a bookcase configuration that will fit properly, along with completely rearranging every other stick of furniture.

Now here’s where I get into some serious Yak Shaving.

Before I can get the new bookcases, I have to take the ugly wall mounted shelves down. Before I can do that, I have to remove all the books and odds and ends. Before I can do that, I have to move furniture away from the shelves. Rather a lot of it, including two desks, computer, monitor and all peripherals. Then, finally, I can remove the shelves, patch the screw holes with spackle, and repaint the two walls.

While the furniture is all moved to the other side of the room (with a couple of pieces relegated to the basement and another piece brought back up), and after the painting is finished, then it’s time to shampoo the carpet. First one half of the room, then the other half—after I’ve shoved and pulled all the furniture to the cleaned side of the room.

Perhaps I may be ready to go get, haul home, put together, and install the bookcases in about a week. Unless a half dozen other projects manifest themselves in the middle of all this.

In the meantime, where-oh-where am I going to pile all the books? Maybe in the hallway. Some in the bathroom, and where ever else I can find an empty surface.

In other words, this will be a huge project. It’s a darned good thing trash pick-up isn’t until Thursday afternoon. I’m going to have a load for them this week.

Some time today or tomorrow, the computer will be disconnected. If I have withdrawals, I’ll borrow the lad’s computer, but I have a feeling that when I’m not hauling, carting, painting, etc, etc, etc,—I will be sleeping.

There is a lot of stuff to weed out and a lot of manual labor coming up in the next several days. One day at a time. But, when it’s all done, the last out of control room in the house will have been tamed and I will be a happy, happy person with a place for everything and everything in its place. That’s a pretty good way to start out the new year.