She cleans hard for the money

I spent my entire eight-hour workday today cleaning my desk. Seriously. No exaggeration. Eight hours. Cleaning a space about seven feet by eight feet.

I spent the morning and early afternoon boxing up and thinning out drawings and files from Wheatlands. Now that the project is over, I need to archive the drawings, specs, notes, shop drawings, and anything and everything that might be useful in the next ten years. Usually, I don't save any of the value-engineering (VE) notes and drawings, but since VE was such a huge part of Wheatlands, I made sure to put it all in a box. Thinning out and boxing up everything made a difference in how much space I had, both on and under my desk.

Next, it was time to really clean. I've been slowly thinning out my files, notes, desk knickknacks, etc. on my desk, and today I was finally able to finish that. I got a Rolodex and punched holes in all my business cards, the ones I still had after throwing away bout two-thirds of them. I got rid of product samples and old binders of products I've never used. Finally, about 4 pm, I used a can of compressed air to blow dust and lint off my desk and then wiped each surface with some Clorox wipes. Ugh! Seriously, ugh, y'all! I was amazed at the funk and dust I'd accumulated over the course of nearly two years. Even more frightening is thinking about how many lunches I've eaten (and still do eat and will eat) at my desk on that funk. Anyway, by the end of the workday, I was done, but at least so was my desk.

Okay, it's pathetic how geeked I was to see my desk clean, really clean. Like I can see what color my desktop is (it's a maple wood-look plastic laminate, FWIW). Like I can see where all my code books and spec books are. Like someone can find something if I ended up in a coma, God and Louis Kahn forbid. I feel like I'm ready to take on the world. Uncommunicative manager? Cranky CEO? Surly consultants? Bring it on. My desk is clean enough to handle it.