Even I was surprised that it only took me an hour. Joe let me in right before he left for lunch, and I was finishing up when he got back. The coolest part is I didn't have to throw anything away; everything in the "before" pictures are in the "after" shots below. The only stuff I took out were all the empty (i.e. unused) boxes.

So if you are resistant to straightening up your space or getting organized because you think you will inevitably have to get rid of a bunch of stuff, that is not always the case. It is quite often just a matter of strategically placing everything.

I'm leading a workshop at Finders Keepers Furnishings this Saturday, February 19th, at 9:30 am on organizing your jewelry with the space you have. Come pick up some tips and shop Finders Keepers' awesome inventory!

I have to give up waiting on the perfect opening blog idea to hit me and just dive right in. Bear with me as I learn the ropes of this world, and forgive my ramblings as I'm typically not very good with words and tend to jump from subject to subject without ever developing an idea. Hopefully we'll be able to see positive improvements in my ability to stay on topic over time! Please leave feedback or ideas for future topics, and enjoy the ride!

My opening topic? Cats. (Those of you who know me well will nod with a knowing smile…)

I have always been an animal lover, but in the past few years I have developed a strong affinity for cats in particular. I have been volunteering with a couple different shelters and even fostered a litter (succeeding in finding homes for all of them that were not my own!) I have studied trap/neuter/return programs as an effective approach to managing feral cat colonies, and am a strong advocate of such approaches.

This month (February) the Dekalb County Animal Control is offering free spay and neutering for pets of Dekalb County citizens. This is a fantastic opportunity for families who might otherwise not be able to afford to have their pets fixed (however there are year round low-cost options all over Atlanta). Please let everyone you know about this opportunity to reduce the number of unwanted homeless pets in our fair city!

So I guess that's it for today (oh, and I'm also very abrupt with endings!). Adopt your next friend; mutts (both feline and canine!) make the best ones (most shelters post the adoptable animals on PetFinder, where you can search by breed, personality, size, age, agency, and lots of other factors). Support your local shelters (if nothing else, they are always grateful for torn, stained, or otherwise discardable linens to use as bedding). 

And, as always…. I need to come up with an "in closing" remark…