Sometimes it's the little things in life...

There has been a thorn in my side for almost 7 years. Yes, that is how long Steve and I have been married, but of course I am not talking about him :-) I am talking about this:



This is the first thing that you see when you walk in our house. Steve teaches guitar lessons in the front room of our home, and consequently, he has to have a desk with our home computer available. Steve has many, many talents on top of being a wonderful husband and father. However, organized and tidy he is not. Artists have this reputation for being a tad on the messy side. I will not dispute this stereotype. (Confession: I am not the poster child for organization either.)

So for the last 6 and 3/4 years, I have walked into the house to be greeted by the sight of "the messy desk". Even when Steve straightens it up, which usually happens in the flurry of cleaning activity that takes place before guests arrive, it never really looks CLEAN. There are no drawers or cabinets, no doors to hide clutter behind. What possessed us, with our track record for home organizational skills, to purchase this desk I am not sure. It was probably the cheapest desk to be found on the day we went looking 6 and 3/4 years ago after we had just gotten married and moved into this house.

I recently became so disheartened by this disheveled mess of a desk that finding a solution was moved up on the "home improvement priority list". I am sure everyone has one of those, whether it is a mental list or one that is actually written down on paper. (New curtains here, a weed eater there.) So it came to reside at the top of my list, and in the words of many who have gone before, "If Momma ain't happy, ain't nobody happy." So Steve was ok with it topping the list, too.

A computer armoire seemed to be the best solution. Doors that will close all the clutter away. Steve can be free to be "artistically messy" at his desk, and then when he is done for the day, he closes the doors. And Wha-lah! A room that we can feel good walking into.

I have sung the praises of Craigslist before. I will sing again. I LOVE CRAIGSLIST!! I have been diligently watching the furniture ads for armoires, and then on Monday night....I saw it. The perfect piece of furniture for the Horvath's front room. I have priced new computer armoires and they are anywhere between $700- $1200 for good quality wood pieces. Not in our budget.

But there it was...solid wood, four drawers inside, and DOORS THAT CLOSE! Hallelujah. $125.

And here it is, sitting in our front room. Just waiting patiently to be filled with our computer related belongings.


So long messy desk. Farewell clutter. We won't miss ya.