I managed to get rid of the following:

- An old black computer chair from my brother that NO ONE WILL SIT IN.

- Tons of hangers (I called ahead.. they told me as long as it wasn’t wire, to bring ‘em in)

- Lots of books (my entire library in fact. I’m going to switch to e-books)

- Decorative knick knacks (metal tins wrested from BF’s grip, random wood sculptures)

- 2 clothing racks (the actual racks, no clothing on them)

- Couple of pieces of clothing I can’t even dream of fitting into (my shoulders are too wide)

- A filing cabinet

- Lots of little decorative bathroom glass things that you put cotton balls and other things in

- A couple of random purses, jewelery and shoes (Didn’t have the heart to even try to sell them)

Now the room looks more open, less cluttered and clean.

I also told my parents about my new rule.

FB: If anything makes its way back into the room when I visit, it stands a chance of being donated.

Just so you know.

Nothing is safe in there. If you leave it in that room, it goes.

I also took back the following stuff to sort:

A big box of photos — I am going to scan them into the computer and only keep the photos I want to look at in an album (very old photos).

Stuff we are going to mail to his family (*groan*)

CDs/DVDs that we are probably going to give to his family too

BF’s Back!

Thanks for all of your concerns re: BF’s back (his actual back/spine) through emails and tweets, alike.

First, he IS pain free!

And second, he’s tried all the options — chiropractor, acupuncture, pills, massages, therapy, etc etc.

Chiropractors seem to do a good job, but then the pain comes back inevitably. It never disappears for more than a day or so with them.

It’s a problem he will have to live with for the rest of his life, and is a physical deformity in his spine, not a mental or nerve issue that can be solved otherwise.

He says there are only 3 things he has to do to keep his back pain free forever:

1. He cannot sit on very soft surfaces.

That includes couches, leather or otherwise, or anything that isn’t a firm, or thick piece of foam that will support and keep his spine aligned as he is sitting. Bean bags and poufs are also out of the question.

2. He must practice yoga.

It helps strengthen the back muscles and it’s the only exercise (other than biking) that seems to really help him gain instant relief.

3. He cannot get fat.

If he tips towards even 10 – 15 pounds of extra weight, he has to cut back HARD, because weight really puts a lot of pressure on his back.

So.. that’s it.

Wired had a whole bunch of examples of spiffed up cubicles but I find them too kitschy to be functional.

They say that updating your cubicle is a great way to make you be happier to be at work. Apparently the more relaxed and happy you are in your environment, the more likely time will fly by because you’ll actually enjoy being at your desk.

Of course, there is only so much you are able to do in a cubicle.

Here are a couple of simple solutions:

1. Clean up.

Get rid of all the loose papers, unsightly binders, or knickknacks hanging around for no good reason.

Try stuffing them into a drawer or arranging them neatly in a corner rather than having them stacked haphazardly.

Toss old knickknacks you don’t want any longer or give them away.

Wipe down your desk area, and just PURGE as much as you can.

Get stuff OFF your desk area rather than cluttering it. Pin it up if you have to. Get a cute box to stuff in the loose papers. Something! Anything!

2. Personalize a bit

Simple solutions like having pictures of family and friends are a good start. You can even consider having a theme in your cubicle like having potted plants and a ocean-green sort of feel.

If you have the space and the ability to do so, putting up inspirational pictures on your cubicle wall is infinitely better than staring at a grey fabric covered wall.

For example these are wall calendars are pretty yet functional.

Keep in mind while decorating your cubicle that function should not be compromised. If you can’t work because it’s too fun, then you need to stop!

See Jane Work is a great resource for pretty binders, file folders and office things that will make any drab cubicle more personalized.

Functional items, like marker/magnet boards or cork boards, are great for daily notes and reminders and you can actually find a lot of fun pins with colours and designs on them.

3. Make your office accessories fun

Who needs all black and brown? Why not get a nice, (re-fillable) and colourful portfolio to use to take notes in meetings instead of that 5-Star binder?

You just buy the leather shell once, and refill it with pads of paper once they’re used up.

Here’s a cute birdie that’s magnetic that you can stick cute leaf paperclips to

4. And keep it NEAT!

It could be really hard, but keeping it neat will keep the clutter and stress of it at bay. Try cleaning up once a day, or once a week before you leave, so that you come back to a wonderfully clean office after the weekend.

Here are 2 shots of some amazing cubicles!

The first one is a makeover. What a world of a difference. Clean up a bit, pop in some light, more organization and voila.

These two are just clean and neat, but I prefer the second one on the right because of the cool walls. Very open. Fresh.

HOW DID YOU TWEAK THE SITE?

I’ve done a LOT of HTML’ing before, but it’s been about 4 years since I’ve played with an actual website (not including Blogger), so it’s always a learning curve when I want to update the site (that would be once a year, when I get the urge).

Blogger has a bit of a quirk with their HTML, it’s not like normal HTML sites because it uses widgets, and sometimes it can get confusing with all the codes, colours and the complex flexibility it offers.

I basically tweaked a simple Blogger template, added a Fixed Footer Disclaimer (scroll to the bottom of the page to see), Fixed Image/HTML to my sidebar, and Navigation bars.

WHERE DID YOU FIND THOSE BLOGGER TEMPLATES?

Here are some great resources I scoured before settling on the design that I have now.

Some of these sites have broken template links, so don’t get too attached to one.

Mashable and Blogger Buster have the best templates, but I thought I’d link to all.

• Mashable: 50 More Beautiful Templates
• Mashable: 70 Fresh and Modern Templates
• SuckMyLolly Free Blogger Templates
• Blogger Buster: 125 Excellent Blogger Templates
• Blogger Buster: Top 20 Free Blogger Templates
• HongKiat: 50 Most Beautiful Templates
• Free Blogger Templates
• FreeTemplates.Blogger.com

WHAT ABOUT YOUR GRAPHICS?

As for the images and other graphics, I do them all by my lone self on Photoshop CS4, so I can’t help you in that respect, unless you want to commission me for a piece?

Email me at brokeinthecity at gmail dot com to discuss prices/what you want.

If you don’t want to pay anyone to do graphics for you, your best bet is to just search for graphics, and download Paint.net (the free, simpler version of Photoshop) and edit them yourself.

ERR..THAT SOUNDS LIKE A LOT OF WORK!

Kind of.

Took me a good 10-15 hours, I’d say from starting to look for a template, to finish.

But I’m picky so I kept changing my mind, adjusting here and there…

So if you want a quick update, I’d suggest you just change the background on your Blogger Template, and the text/link colours for your site.

It’s a cheap and easy facelift.

HOW ABOUT ON THE CHEAP (READ: FREE) ?

Backgrounds that come sexy and most importantly, free, in order of coolness:

• Citrus Moon (The Patterns are sorted by category here)
• Textura (If you’re into textured, tissue paper-like backgrounds)
• JannyPie
• SquidFingers Patterns (Very geometric)
• The Texture Warehouse (Kind of woodsy prints)
• Background Fairy
• Shelsscraps
• Blogaroozer

Can’t figure out colour schemes on the fly?

Well Styled has a Colour Scheme Generator ready for you.

BUT HOW DO I CHANGE MY BACKGROUND?

You’re going to have to learn a bit of HTML to do that, and a place like Picasa, Photobucket, own hosting site to store the image you’ve saved as your background.

Here’s the tutorial from Blogger Buster on how to do that.

If you want a tutorial from me, let me know by leaving a comment.

That’s about it!

Any other questions?