So... a frugal tip? And a Make your Home a Haven post? I can do it... I didn't think I'd be able to, but I've got just the thing... I just wish I had a before picture for you!

How much does it cost to make over a little corner of your home, bringing a smile to your face? Nothing! This morning, with the knowledge that my house is still struggling with a clutter virus, I decided to pick one little place that has been making me crazy. At first I was simply going to organize the mess so it didn't look as bad when clients arrived at 1 (yeah... clients... not good to have the house a mess!) But then inertia kicked in and I just couldn't stop myself. Before long I was picturing it all clean with a little hint of Christmas in the place of the mess that was there before!

Ok... so a mental word picture of my bookcase before... Stuff everywhere, the 2 framed pictures (one from our wedding and the other from the first day we moved in here) were pushed way back to make room for the clutter. Rubber bands, cord ties, memory cards, batteries, etc were everywhere (as were a bunch of little choking hazard type things we stuck there out of reach). An OLD can of Texaco oil we tried to sell on ebay sat next to the digital camera and the video camera bag (the video camera was on my desk across the room). On the next shelf up were so many books that many of them were laying on top of the properly shelved ones and papers were shoved here and there. Do you have a mental picture?

So I cleaned it all up, got rid of the things I didn't want to be there anymore, moved the frames until after Christmas is over, and dusted. Then I put some of DS's "needs supervision" books in there and added one of my favorite snow man decorations... here is my after picture! :)