Progress......slowly, but surely

Well, I now have some small areas cleared out, and have made enough progress to have room in from of the fireplace, so that I may sit and enjoy the fire burning.  Sad thing is, I accidentally blew out the pilot light, while vacuuming and cleaning around it.  Yes, I blew it out!  I have braved a few attempts to re-light it, but so far, no luck.  For now, it can wait.  Besides, perhaps its better to wait until the papers are all filed or shredded, just for safety!
Good thing is, it is looking much better and I have even come up with some more items and furniture to let go of!  (Doing the Happy Dance here!)  There is still a lot to do, but I am happy with the progress, and am looking forward to a nice little rug on the floor, so the dogs can enjoy the fire too!
In the meantime, I have located a lovely old clock in my library, now if I can find the key to wind it with!  The van is holding steady with no new junk, although the birds seem to have found it as a good potty spot!  Stupid birds!
I started pulling in a box or two from the dining room of papers, and have set to pruning them down also.  After all, they do not belong in my dining room.  It feels good just knowing I am making a dent in things, even if I am not moving at break neck speed, it is slow but steady!
Today, I worked on cleaning the fireplace hearth and making a little "catch" for the "glowing embers" I ordered and picked up from Home Depot this week.  Took a lot of elbow grease and a bit of artistic flair to get it all just right, but I am very happy with the results so far.  No wood burning smell, despite buying a candle called "Warm Crackling Campfire" by Better Homes and Gardens.  It has a light scent, but not the one I was hoping for.  And it doesn't crackle either!  I may have to keep searching!
I've included a few picture of the process and items used to make the 'catch' for the "Glowing Embers" and some pictures of my fireplace, before and after!

The tools, a container of water, some old scissors, some tongs for placing the "glowing embers", tin snips, "glowing embers", a brush for cleaning and 2 metal grates that I cut up to hold the "glowing embers".

This candle neither crackles, nor smells like a wood burning fire, campfire or other.

Much cleaning with everything I could think of, cream of tarter, baking soda, vinegar, peroxide, Bar Keepers Friend, oven cleaner, and orange oil cleaner.  Not all at once, but one by one, with lots of rinsing and even some fine wet/dry sandpaper.  It looks better, but not as good as I had hope!

Now, after all this effort, and creativity, I got the fireplace cleaner, the grates shaped and placed, and about 1/4 of the "glowing embers" bag used.  A little finessing and WAH LA....here's the finished make over!

This is the cleaned hearth and the embers and gas fireplace going in the light!

This is what it looks like with the lights off.  Can you see the "glowing embers"?  Its hard to capture the true look of it, but this gives you an idea!

I am very happy to have progressed enough in my little office to be able to use my fireplace without fear of it taking the whole house with it, glad to have gotten some order in here.  I still have more to do, but I feel like I am finally making some progress that I can see, and that is manageable!
Also, I was able to let go of many old files from my real estate days, that I had put off for far too long.  I was very careful, as lots of peoples information was contained in the files and I wanted to be sure that they were safely destroyed, so no one need worry.
On a side note, it also reminded me of how many people had trusted me with very personal things of theirs.  Many people had handed me the keys to their most precious belongings, their homes, their SS#'s, their financial information.  It was a very humbling experience to feel that trust once again.  So, yes, I shredded, mixed up files, shredded, and even put water in the bags and mixed them up some more.  Good thing was, the inks ran easily, the papers shredded nicely and I know there is no way anyone needs to worry about their stuff, me included.  I did come across a batch of old checks from accounts closed years ago, and debated, should I shred them too?  I gather them all up and am going to take them to my bank for shredding.  They have a special shredder just for this, but I have to find out what branch it is at!  Because shredding all those checks is just plain going to be tiresome!
I do have more to do in the office, before its complete, but I will post more pictures this week, just so you can keep up with my progress!
If you have any comments, I would appreciate any input you may have!