I'm on vacation through 1/4/09, so one of my projects is to clean up TCC Headquarters - which has become quite a mess due to my very limited "hobby time" from late May through over half of November. During that time, things made it to this area of the house - but not any further than that.

So, here are the "before" pictures taken earlier today:



By no later than 1/4/09, there better be "after" pictures!

-Bob

Lol. Awesome thread

Unfortunately I have to do the same thing.

Well, I should get started on cleaning up this mess. However, there is ham to be eaten. There are cookies to be "sampled". There are more gifts to be opened. There are more bubble mailers to be found in the mailbox (hopefully). There is...

-Bob

Now, where to put this #000-sized bubble mailer that came today?

-Bob

Make your kids do it!

Bob, how is the world do you get in there?

Bob room looks like a hazard area.

Police line: Do Not Cross

Have fun with that! I recently cleaned my side of the dorm room, it's not TOO bad.

Wow, what a mess!

I haven't had the time to "need" anything in there for multiple months, so it hasn't been a problem. Now, things are getting back to normal and I need my room back!

-Bob

A first pass of cleaning put a nice dent in the mess! Now, it's time to head to my parents. So, the next pass will happen later tonight or tomorrow.

By the way, the best discovery of the first pass was...

All of my birthday cards from July and the $70 from those cards! I might just have to buy a hobby box or put that money with some Christmas money and get a new (and much faster) scanner!

-Bob

Dig the McCain bumper stinkers.

-Bob

I don't understand. What's wrong with the room?

It's obvious what is wrong with that room......get rid of the TV. There's valuble storage space there.

Best of luck on that Bob, I need to work on my card area too some this weekend while I have some time.

Dwight

Bob..Did your wife have anything to do with the cleanup idea ?

hmm, that lamp looks oddly out of place...

Good luck with that! I have some much overdue cleaning of my room to do as well.

With a flick of my Bic...

Do you need Arlo to come by with some implements of destruction and the VW Microbus?

Remember rather than make two little piles make 1 BIG pile!

Just dont leave no envelopes with your name on it as evidence to be used against ya!

I think Lew might be on to something. I'm guessing I could fit several monster boxes in that area!

-Bob

Actually, we're well past the point of her saying anything about the mess. We're fully in the middle of the "silence stage" - which isn't the best stage to be in.

-Bob

It would make more sense if I hadn't put the shade back on it before taking the picture. That way, you would have immediately realized that it provides extra light for video box breaks!

-Bob

Oh my.

Working on another pass or at least the start of another pass...

-Bob

My 4th pass begins now...

-Bob

You shouldn't make a pass without taking a nap first.

Or, I could go and see what goodies are in my stocking...

-Bob

Did someone say nap ? I like em !

I, too, am trying to get my HQ cleaned up and organized. Anyone need an Atari 2600....I wondered where it had gone....or maybe an Intellivision?

Wow...you're a regular unorganized collector like the rest of us!!!

This area must be OFF LIMITS...since it's such a MESS!

BTW..the only way the 1/4/09 pics will be better is if the WIFE gets involved otherwise, there will be little to no change...correction --> the stacks and monster boxes will just occupy another area of the house!

If it was up to the wife, this stuff would go into the dumpster!!!!

Holy mother of all messes!!!!

Now that is going to take a while to clean up!! At least it'll be fun going through all the goodies tucked away in those boxes/mailers...

You're in for a surprise.



Have you been talking to my wife again, Peter?

-Bob

I've found that the simple nudge from the wife gets the area clean, but of course that always leaves more room then to make more of a "mess" that again needs to be repostioned elsewhere.

Of course, she hasn't commented on the elsewhere in the last couple of years. She doesn't really like the basement.

I'm in the same boat..........but I keep getting distracted as I clean because I find cards I forgot I had and/or didn't remember I had!!!!

I'm doing my best to stay focused and not spend too much time looking at any specific card. There will be plenty of time to do that once the room can be used each and every night.

-Bob

I feel your pain, Bob. Mine is not quite as bad therefore I'm viewing this as an inspirational post. Thanks for sharing and good luck

Marc

Marc,

I do what I can to help.

-Bob

Bob, could this be the new never ending story topic ?

I hope not!

Another pass will be happening later today...

-Bob

Nice, and I thought I was bad.

A little more progress was made throughout the day. I'm heading in again now though and will stay in there until I'm ready to call it a night.

-Bob

Where's your Steelers lamp Bob?

Just showed those photos to my wife....all she had to say was, "what is with all you collectors??!?!!"

i say it doesnt look so bad, my roomis crammed with stuff...when the lady comes over , i politely say "dont knock that over"


ehheee

That's not a bad idea! I might have to find one.



Did you respond with, "Do you really need to ask that question, honey?"



If the room is messy enough, your significant other might actually avoid going into that area - eliminating the various questions about what all you have and how much money was spent to obtain those items.

-Bob

Well, the cleaning reached a point where I was able to properly determine what's missing from my inventory of supplies. So, the following supplies were just ordered from Cardsnetwork.com (click here for their site):

Products
5 x UltraPRO - Soft Sleeves for Thick Cards (Pack of 100) $ 7.50
3 x UltraPRO - Premium Soft Sleeves (Pack of 100) $ 4.50
1 x UltraPRO - Resealable Team Bags (Pack of 100) $ 2.00
20 x UltraPRO - Toploaders for 75pt. Super Thick Cards (Pack of 25) $ 50.00
5 x UltraPRO - Premium Toploaders for Normal Cards (Pack of 25) $ 8.75
1 x UltraPRO Hinged Plastic Box - 50 Card (case of 100) $ 30.00

Sub-Total: $ 102.75
United Parcel Service (1 x 23.7lbs) (Ground): $ 14.08
Total: $ 116.83

Making progress on pulling everything back together...

-Bob

I'm still waiting on the supplies to ship, but I did get a "This room is looking better" comment from my wife earlier today.

-Bob

Wow, there really must be progress. When the curtain of silence is lifted, it's always a sure sign that things are going in the right direction. Congrats and good luck with the rest...