Only six weeks ago, my home office was a dark, chilly shithole. My enormous desk (butcher block resting on a pair of mismatched file cabinets) dominated the room, stacked with three hole punch paper, 32 weeks of unread New Yorkers, and an overflowing in and out box tower. There was WAY too much stuff on the walls (to cover up the holes, chips and smears). A single bed that served as a laundry storage unit was shoved toward the corner. And the closet, oh, the closet was a jammed with stuff like the glass eye I keep in the box with my old campaign buttons.

And then we set a date for putting the house on the market.

Virtually over night, we transformed my office from hoarder cave to Zen zone. We did a little repainting. Hung only choice photographs. Shrunk the desk. Threw out a bunch of stuff. Pulled the cover off the skylight. Bought a rug. Tossed in a loveseat and a chair. There’s even plant life on the coffee table. The room became my little slice of heaven, very work-friendly, and a napping paradise.

But now, as it appears as if the sale of the house is actually going to happen, I will only be able to enjoy my new office of enchantment for a few more weeks.

So, I’d like to give you empty nesters a piece of unsolicited advice; create the space you want to live in at least a decade before you decide sell. (But do not, under any circumstances, throw out your glass eye.)