Shipping Room

Yes, even though Urban Botanic will be gone as of June 4th, I will still need a shipping room.

Why?

Because I'm a publisher—and even though 99.9% of my future publications will be digital or print-on-demand, I still have a storage unit filled with hard copy books I need to sell.

[And, no, I'm not distributing for other people anymore. That was not fun for me—and I'm old enough now that I'm all about the fun because, face it, I may not have that much more time left. Relatively speaking, I mean.]

This will be the last of the three rooms I tackle (the yellow one here) because I have to move my curriculum resource books and my favorite fiction books off the built-in shelves where they now reside and get them settled into their new home in THE LIBRARY!

(Yes, I'm giggling!)

Then I have to do a major SORT & PURGE.

And like THE LIBRARY!, this room will cost me NO MONEY to do! Just lots of elbow grease and some slave labor. (*cough*Chris*cough*)

I will post some before and afters of all three of these rooms when I start the work, which will be right after June 4th's big UB Yard Sale.

Belle won't be jealous, but...

I have a big room in my basement. (The green one here.)

Over the years, this room has been used as a junk room, play room, offices for Rosehaven, Professional Pre-Press, Urban Botanic, CustomScentsOnline, and half a dozen other businesses that I've started and closed.

This is the room that depressed me so much when I moved Rosehaven back home from the warehouse that I went to Home Depot and bought the happiest color paint I could find:

Apple Green

That color still makes me smile when I walk into the room.


Right now, though, it's crammed full of UB stuff, boxes, and miscellaneous junk.

That does not make me smile.



BUT. I'm turning it into a LIBRARY!!!

Yes!

My own private, personal dream library.

Okay, it's not going to make Belle jealous...


but it certainly makes me giggle with glee every time I think about it.



Okay, so here's the plan...
To Do List:

• Move out all the Urban Botanic shelves and product
  
  
• SORT & PURGE all the boxes and stacks of crud all over the floor
  
  
• Move bookcases from garage down to room
  
  
• Move Favorite books from Shipping Room to Library
  
  
• Move curriculum resource books from Shipping Room to Library
  
  
• Decide what to put in the file cabinets (might move them out and add more bookcases...)
  
  
• Decide what to do with desk (definitely keeping it, but not sure what I'll use it for.) (Personal perfume making, perhaps...)
  
  
• Make a book inventory
  
  

And the best part of the Library plan is—it's absolutely FREE! It won't cost me a penny!!!

Woman Cave

I'm calling this my Woman Cave, for lack of a better label. (The pink square here.)

It's also my "Hide the Presents from the Grandbabies" room, the "Jewelry Making Kit Storage" room, the "Paper Scrapbooking" room, the "Gift Wrap" room, and the "All-Purpose Miscellaneous Creative Crap" room.



It needs some work. Right now it has a lot of left over Urban Botanic stuff in it, but that will all be gone next weekend.

Hopefully, I will make enough $$ at the UB Yard Sale to do the following:

This is the plan:

• Paint walls white
  
  
• Brighter ceiling light
  
  
• Add table/floor lamps
  
  
• Use vertical storage to create a “store” of craft supplies to shop from

A. Gift Closet

• Build floor to ceiling shelves
  
  
• Put Christmas gifts in tubs
  
  
• Easy slide out storage

B. File Cabinet

• File cabinet to hold idea books and patterns (2 drawer?)
  
  
• Space above cabinet??

B & C. Wall

• Create vertical storage for scrapbook paper & supplies

D. Wall

• Create vertical storage for craft and gift wrap supplies
  
  
• If no studs, attach furring strips to front of paneling to build out studs for vert storage; decorative
  
  
• IKEA $2 curtain rods to create wrap paper hangers on wall above table
  
  
• Hang scissors, etc.
  
  
• Store bows & ribbon

E. Wall

• 2 tier plastic shelving
  
  
• Corkboard—Idea board; make it pretty

Estimated cost: $200?

Getting in the Zone

Shera—my awesome professional organizer—came over yesterday and we zoned three rooms downstairs.

This was the original big picture back in 2009.

Things have changed.

For example, Urban Botanic is no more after June 4th's big UB Yard Sale. So...

Here is the new big picture:

We zoned the three colored areas.

Zoning means, we looked at the space available and my current needs and interests and determined what will go in which space.

We didn't actually do the work yet—but we made the plan.

And it felt so liberating!

I am totally excited about putting this plan into action. Details for each of the rooms coming soon...

Cue Mystery Music...

Long time, no blog. Been busy working.

But I'm making some changes to my schedule which will allow me to work on my own projects.

And...

This morning, while I was taking my shower, I thought of a new scene for my teenage mystery book!!!

Haven't had any new thoughts for that book since November? December? of last year. I'm so excited I had to share!




Derek, the Computer Geek






hacks into the Long Beach police gang database and

Lexie, the Main Character

identifies



Angel, the gang guy




as the guy she saw when she was at the hospital with





Cam, the new guy






visiting his brother, the officially not-dead body she'd tripped over.

Also in this scene, she gets the first hint that



another LB gang member






might be floating around town.

http://youtu.be/a1Y73sPHKxw