I finally cleaned my office yesterday. I aim to do this monthly, but it gets away from me sometimes. It’s not a large chore, but you know how it goes. It’s important, though, because as things pile up and it literally starts to get dusty, I obviously just don’t feel my most centered and professional!
Not that I have a super “professional” office, anyway- it’s our basement laundry room- but it just feels much better when it’s tidy and CLEAN.
I would really like to install some sort of bulletin board! I currently have 2 pics of the kids, an old Christmas card, and some artwork Asher made years ago taped up there.
I just think it would be nice to be able to tack papers (or photos) up back there!
As you can see, I also have my Christmas lights up! (TBH- I think I’ve had them hanging there this whole year… I just first plugged them in again the other day. I should really just keep them on the whole year though, because can’t everyone use a little twinkle light in their work day??)
Speaking of Christmas in November, I am Team Full-Steam-Ahead-Toward-Christmas. I know some people want to wait until after Thanksgiving, but it just goes so fast!! Basically, I need more time to enjoy the season. (Especially this year, with Thanksgiving SO late!)
This made me laugh:
Help needed:
Random side topic here. So, I’m trying to clean some things out of the basement in advance of my sister + family arriving in December.
One of these things is buckets and buckets of Nerf guns. The boys and their friends went through a multiple-years long phase of being into basement Nerf battles. Also, if you have a boy, you’ll know Nerf stuff is a popular gift that people give you, too.
So, we have accumulated over 19 Nerf guns and accessories.
I do not know what to do with these!!!! First off, this is a crap ton of money you’re looking at right here. A CRAP TON. The big Nerf guns are $$$. Second of all, I’m not even sure if places like Goodwill take, um, plastic weapons. Third, the idea of just throwing all of this into a landfill makes me want to throw up a little.
The obvious choice is to try to sell them. I’ve posted them as a big “lot” on Craigslist, and will give Facebook marketplace a try, too. This would be an absolute steal for someone with kids into Nerf.
But if this doesn’t pan out (I see a few other people with similar posts already on Craigslist….), anyone have any other great ideas? ANYONE WANT SOME NERF GUNS?!?!?! 😅
Daily Gratitude:
I am grateful for a clean office to start my workweek!
GRATEFUL KAE 
First of all- that meme is hilarious!!! I used to be so adamant about not starting Christmas until after Thanksgiving, but you’re right- it all goes so fast. I need as much Christmas as I can get! We won’t actually put up our tree till Black Friday, but other Christmas things will start creeping in this month. I’m also thoroughly enjoying all the Christmas things I’m seeing in stores.
Second- I can’t imagine that you won’t get someone wanting those nerf guns on Craigslist or FBM. I mean, if they’re in good condition they could be Christmas presents for someone. Good luck with it!
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They definitely could be gifts!! Honestly they are mostly in LIKE NEW condition. They played with them a decent amount, but it’s not like they ever did anything rough with them or even took them outside.
I smiled at the image of Christmas “creeping in”….. haha. There’s Santa, just tiptoeing in! lol!
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If I lived close to you, I would totally take some of those nerf guns off your hands (although I am a bit terrified of the boys having them because they are already so rough with each other, nerf guns might brink it to an untenable level!).
We will decorate for Christmas in mid-November. I used to be a stickler about no Christmas decorations until after Thanksgiving but in 2020, I put our tree up early when I was having a good day (I was pregnant and had horrible flares and was often in pain so when I had a good day in early Nov, the tree went up). And then I loved having the tree up for so long that I have continued that tradition. That’s when our Christmas books come out as well which is something Taco is very much looking forward to. I do LOVE Thanksgiving, though. It’s probably my favorite holiday because there are no expectations around it besides showing up, eating good food, and watching football! Plus it’s a holiday we spend with my family every year. We spend Christmas w/ Phil’s mom and then Easter is kind of up in the air but typically spent w/ my MIL.
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Agree that that is a lovely thing about Thanksgiving!! I think I feel similarly about 4th of July. It’s just a nice family gathering for us, no gifts or excessive decorating or other expectations.
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We are keeping our arsenal for future grandkids and also because it is just FUN to suddenly ambush someone with a Nerf gun. We have them in a giant red bin in the storage room that can be pulled out an added to a toy area if we suddenly get super into them again LOL. ALso what about that roll of bulletin board material? You could just buy a roll of cork and cover your whole above-the-desk L.
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Great idea about the bulletin board! I need to look into that.
And I have definitely set aside BOOKS for future grandkids, but I hadn’t really considered saving Nerf. Not a bad thought though! On the plus side, Nerf guns would be super easy to just stick up in our garage attic- not like they are going to be bothered by a little dust or cold.
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I will admit that I really don’t start decorating for Christmas until after Thanksgiving, I’m still a stickler for that. I love Christmas, don’t get me wrong. What I don’t do is take everything down the day after, mine stay up well into January. Come on, January is so dreary and it’s nice to have the twinkling Christmas lights just a bit longer. I love fall and all of the colors of fall, so I like to enjoy my decorations as long as possible. Yep, I have a whole mess of fall themed stuff decorating my house, all the way down to placemats, napkins, and tablecloths. I’m kind of a nut.
As for the Nerf guns. Honestly, I like what Sarah mentioned about keeping a few. You never know when you may have guests with children and it would definitely keep them occupied. I kept a lot of my son’s toys, like Legos, Matchbox cars, wooden train tracks and such well after he didn’t play with them any more and they have come in so handy when I have guests with little children. I pull out the toy box and they are happy as clams. Now I have grandkids and I have toys for them to play with. Those were some of my most happy memories of my grandmother, going to her place and playing with the few toys she had saved out for her grandkids. I wanted that when I had my own. But someone will definitely take those Nerf guns off your hands if you decide not to keep any. Keep a few, who knows the boys may decide they want a Nerf gun war some day. My grown son and his cousins used to grab my grandson’s and have battles with him. You’re never too old for Nerf.
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I have such fond memories of going to this little closet at my grandma’s house (we called it the “little room” because it was a walk in hallway closet) where she had all these random old toys. haha. I think sometimes I get fixated on just getting all this excess STUFF out of my house, but you make a good point here!
I also agree on leaving the decorations up a bit. I definitely would not want them down on Dec 26th. I for sure love to continue embracing the holiday spirit and vibes through New Years. After that, I usually leave things up mostly because I just don’t have time to deal with them, but once school starts back up in January, I think the holiday vibe is gone for me. I always get sad when the twinkly lights go away though.
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A clean work space can do wonders for productivity. I clean mine a few weeks back but side tracked in the middle and still haven’
t finished. By now I could start all over again. Sigh.
Twinkle lights are fun all year round. Makes everything more fun. Mine would be white though. Advent decoration is starting December 1 not sooner and Christmas only is set up December 23. I am very strict about that. It’s a pet peeve of mine but I am rather alone in this. But officially Christmas starts with the 25th and goes 12 days… Just saying…
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You are right! But, I can also see why you’re alone in this one. Haha. We’re all the ones who are backwards, not you!!
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I put everything on buy nothing / sell nothing on Facebook. Although a lot of money if you CAN sell it, it takes a ton more effort. Usually I just want to take advantage of my clear-out energy and get it out of my house ASAP which is usually 1-2 days on those sites. And I do think there are some lower income people who are on those sites who likely can’t afford some of the things I’m giving away. Of course, not guaranteed but I’ve had people be very thankful for old bikes, toys, etc. in the past.
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Yeah, I always go back and forth on how “worth it” it is to try to sell stuff… The Nerf guns are so pricey that it feels like maybe a worthwhile thing, but as you say, there’s definitely a cost to the effort. Same with old clothes, etc.
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I try to look at it like a sunk cost; I spent the money, the kids used them so when I bought them, did I expect to get money back? Probably not. If you spent $X and they played for Y hours, the ROI was likely decent. And with some toys it isn’t, but you win some, you lose some.
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Your office looks great! I love the lights and am fully in support of you keeping them up year round. I do not decorate for obvious reasons, so I like having the holidays year round in places that I go! Do your thing!
Re the nerf guns, I just finished a post that will run at the end of this week about the joys of selling on FBM. However, I do think that it has its place and I think you will have no issue selling those guns if the price is right. You should put a note in the header that this is a GREAT CHRISTMAS PRESENT IDEA!!! Because really, if I had kids or a bunch of nephews, I would buy your lot and give one to each of them. Get your shopping done early folks!
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I think the annoying thing about trying to sell things is that it makes the task just….linger. Sometimes I’ll be all proud of myself for taking the photo, getting it posted… and then it’s like, oh wait, but the item is still here! Haha. If no one bites, then it’s another decision as to how long do you wait, do you re-post, do you drop the price, etc…. It’s a conundrum.
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Love the twinkle lights. Belle put up our mantle swag yesterday and it makes me so happy to see that extra shine in the living room. Tonight we’ll light our “fancy” candles for the first time. Thanks to the time change, it’s dark when we go to eat now 😦
Definitely keep a few (the boys will know the best ones). Selling them is also great; I’m sure you could also give some away to a Buy Nothing group, or you might also check with a local charity (if you happen to know of any) that provide gently used toys at Christmas to children that aren’t likely to receive toys because of their life situations? I know it can be hard to track down where to take things like that, but we have several local shelters that collect gently used cold-weather gear and toys that can be distributed to people who need it!
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Yay for your mantle swag!! I know you love that and it’s so classically simple and beautiful. I still need to take down my Halloween lights, lol!!! But then I do want to start decorating for Christmas early this year. I like to ‘check that off the list” so I can start enjoying it, and there’s always so many other things to do later in the season.
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If you lived closer my son would be thrilled to get those Nerf guns!
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awwww!! I know, that’s the tricky thing- not like big Nerf guns are easy to ship!
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your office looks so cozy!!! Love it! I’m so lazy to do any house decor for the season. oh… one day maybe when we go back to the US.
I would donate these guns to the neighbors? selling them on Craigslists sounds like a lot of back and forth with potential buyers, unless they cost a lot!
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Well, the big ones were close to $100 each! So, yeah, there’s a LOT of money in that pile of Nerf guns… Easily probably $700-800 worth of merchandise, I’d estimate? (Not that I’d get all that back though, but they’re literally in like new condition, most of them…)
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Oh cute, I love the twinkle lights and need to get some for my new office space but I am NOT yet into the Christmas spirit… I do hope it’ll come early this year though because I could really use some lightheartedness.
I have no idea what to do with NERF guns LOL (I do hope you can sell them – it would be a shame to throw them out when they’re so expensive to buy new). Fingers crossed!
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Aww! Well try putting some lights and see if the spirit strikes! 😉
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My family has historically started Christmas decorations only after Thanksgiving (and the tree itself not only very late) but we just put up white lights today! With the end of daylight savings we’re spending more time up in the dark and it’s just so cozy with the lights. No excuses needed for extra coziness these days!
I wonder how many folks who are adamant about decorating for Christmas late in December are live (or real) tree folks? We’ve always had a real tree and if we got it before Thanksgiving I think it might be totally bare of needles by the 25th (or by early January). I also wonder if the early decorators overlap with the early un-decorators? It makes me sad when I see trees on the curb on the 26th haha. Christmas keeps going at least through the new year in my mind!
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Oh, that’s a good point! We do a fake tree, so it’s easy to put up any time. I also feel sad when I see trees on the curb on the 26th already! It always makes me feel like people are like, “OK glad THAT’S over with!” haha. (I know may not be the case, but I personally feel like “the holidays” go until new years eve. I want my tree up and lights on while we’re enjoying that interim week and I still often even will play Christmas music then too.)
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so your local library might take the nerf guns. At my library we do an after hours nerf battle as a program for families and it would be great to have some for families who don’t own them.
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I’ll have to check into that! Thanks!
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I used to be a “no Christmas until after Thanksgiving” gal but now I love starting to decorate in early/mid November. Plus, Thanksgiving is late this year so we need some extra time with the decorations! I’ll probably start doing some small decorating in a couple of weeks to get ready! I love the twinkle lights at your desk. When I worked in an office, I would go ALL OUT decorating my cubicle for Christmas and it made me so happy!
I like Elisabeth’s idea of finding a charity that would accept the Nerf guns!
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The super decorated cubicle sounds so cute! I definitely agree that the timing of Thanksgiving plays a role in my mental state surrounding Christmas decorating. I just don’t feel like limiting “Christmas stuff” to basically Dec 1-25 is enough time! It flies by.
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I decorate on Dec 1st at the earliest. Later if I don’t get around to it on that day.
Re the nerf guns if you don’t manage to sell them you could also try putting them in a box on the nature strip with a sign saying free. We did that with a lot of the kids craft things and books during COVID when we had to get ready for our downsize.
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We bought most of our nerf guns at goodwill so they definitely will take them if you choose to donate them. We too have a crazy number of them but at least they were mostly cheap secondhand!
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