February 10th, 2021

Uhoh. Everybody watch out.  Sam is doing a craft project. Holy Crap!  Calm down. Nobody was hurt in the making of this project. It doesn't look professional by any stretch of the imagination. Heck it doesn't even look amateur!  But I'm proud of myself anyway.

Some of you may remember that about a month ago I wrote about needing to tidy up my desk. And really it did need it. What an unholy mess it was.  Was.  Past Tense.  It's so much better now.  But there was one last part that needed doing.  That giant Microsoft bag that held the rest of my "office supplies" had to go.

I managed to clear  enough space in the bookcase next to my desk chair to squish the bag onto the shelf so if nothing else, it was off the floor and space was cleared by my feet (and it just looked nicer) but the ultimate goal was to get some sort of containers for all of the pens and paperclips and hole punchers and markers and...well the usual desk drawer detritus that I have no drawer for.

Originally I had thought that I would go to the container department of Target or Walmart or who knows maybe the Dollar Tree to buy various containers. But my frugal little heart told me to look around the house first and see if there are things here that can be repurposed.  And there were!  I found various baskets and boxes and tins for lot of the desk stuff.  But not everything.  Dang.  So the Microsoft bag remained on the shelf for a few more weeks while I considered.

Today Tim brought a few empty boxes out of his office with the intention of breaking them down for the recycle bin.  "Stop!"  I said,  "I can use those! "  He handed them over without a single question (we've met) and went back into his office.

First I checked to see if the boxes would fit.  They did!  Then I loaded them with the remainder of the Microsoft bag contents to see if there was sufficient space.  There was!   Then, once the boxes were loaded and on the shelves I thought I was done.  I threw the old Microsoft bag into reycyle and went on my merry way to the next chore.  

But every time I passed the shelf and gave it a glance assuming I would be tickled with the results, instead I was frowning. Ugly old boxes with logos on them.  Almost as bad as the old Microsoft bag.  Perhaps I can do better.  I came up with a plan.

So my idea was that I would cover the boxes with pretty wrapping paper.  Except the only wrapping paper I have is Christmas paper.  I reallllllly like Christmas, but no.  Okay, I thought to myself.  Maybe I will check out the gift wrap at the grocery store.  It's a small section but maybe they will have something that isn't birthday or wedding or anniversary or valentine's day or.....  no?  hmmmmm.  Maybe I'll think of something else.

As I went about my day, suddenly it dawned on me that I currently had several brown paper bags.  Now, why would I have those? Well, every once in awhile (in fact twice in the past two weeks) I forget my re-useable shopping bags when I go grocery shopping.  Which is so embarrassing because usually I have left them on the kitchen counter especially so that I will not forget them (sigh).  Anyway, as I check out, when they see that I have, once again, forgotten my bags, they ask, " Paper or plastic?"  I always respond, "Whatever you please". Partly because whatever they give me, I will find a use for, but also partly just because I'm so embarrassed and annoyed with myself that I'm willing to agree with nearly anything.  Usually they give me plastic, but the last few times, it was paper.

I could use the paper bags!  We used to cover our school books with paper bags!  If I can cover an enormous American History text with a paper bag, surely I can cover a box!  Right?

​I gathered my supplies:

And I got to work.  Very Slowly, I began to remember how to do this.  Or at least how I used to cover books which is in the neighborhood. As it turned out, the regular scotch tape was fine for holding the paper in place temporarily but for long term holdage I resorted to packing tape.  It may not be pretty but dang it works well!  I folded and cut and measured and snipped and adjusted and re-adjusted and used a lot of bags and a ton of tape but ultimately the job was done.

I have no right or reason to be as pleased with myself as I am, but I am.  The finished product:

The important part is that the shelf is tidy, I can find whatever I'm looking for, the dang Microsoft bag has finally been put to rest and  I pushed the limits of my own lackluster art & crafts skills quite a bit which is a very good thing.  I think maybe the boxes need a little more decoration as they are a little, dull.  Plain Brown Wrapper indeed!  Some stickers?  Some crayons? Some Glitter?  I will think of that for a bit before I decide for sure.

But in the meantime, if you remember how the old desk area shelves looked, see how much better this is now !!!

And before you comment, please remember what your grandmother once told you, "If you have nothing nice to say, say nothing at all."

On behalf of all non-crafty, non-artistic, people everywhere, Thank you :)