This is interesting, but it pretends that one lives alone, and that one can make decisions by oneself. Tips on doing this collectively please?

The Day 4 liveblogging link isn't working.

anotherjen - I would suggest having all interested parties do the exercise and then compare notes - should be interesting to see the similarities (and differences) in the reactions to and visions for the space!

This is perfect for me - I am amazed by how well these tasks address what's already on my mind. My office has become the room of doom, and needs some serious attention. Thanks!

anotherjen - I present my ideas to my spouse and we negotiate down to what works for both of us.

OK, confession: I totally failed this weekend. I didn't buy flowers or green cleaners, and our floors are still filthy. Can I use pregnancy and good intentions as an excuse?

What I love about this is one is, even though I'm at work, I've spent so much time looking through my entire apartment in the past week that I can imagine this at my desk. I already know what can be done, how to rearrange, what to get rid of. I now have a diagram on a Post-It note with a small list of what to do.

I'm so glad I'm participating in my first Cure! My boyfriend is moving in over the next two months and since I need to make room for his furniture and belongings I am able to through what I have, purge, rearrange, etc. before the move.

This is perfect! We just moved three rooms and all the furniture around this weekend! One room has about eight pieces of furniture and I have no vision for it! 10 minutes of quiet observation followed by the inspiration to move and get rid of some big pieces! I think a little Devo is in order for this task! Whip it, whip it good!

I'll be sitting in my reading chair in my office. I used to sit and read there quite often, but the entire room has been reduced to a clutter catch-all over the past year or so. It is long past time to reclaim it.

HodgePodge - you know the trick of moving all the furniture out of a room and then putting back in until it looks "right" - THEN try to eliminate one item more (could be a small item).

I also make a point of looking at my home carefully when I've been gone a few days - that gives a fresh perspective also. Also, take a picture(s) - amazing how cluttered a room looks in a photo when it looks "fine" in person.

I didn't clean floors this weekend but I did research online and ordered a new microfiber mop to do the floors properly later this week - I'm counting it!

I am so proud of myself for keeping up with the Cure. I was up until 11:00 p.m. last night finishing the floors but I woke up this morning to a fresh, clean feeling underfoot and a house that smelled amazing. Method's wood floor cleaner works well and smells terrific. I also purchased Method's new pear scent surface cleaner this weekend and used it on EVERYTHING because it smelled so good.

I can't wait to go home and sit on the daybed in the guest/dogs/office/catchall room and re-imagine that space!

Also, @anotherjen, I do not live alone but am doing the Cure alone. I just let my partner know what is going on and if he has a problem with it, we discuss it. Let's just say he is happy I am doing all of the work and he gets to enjoy the fruits of my labour!

For instance, I asked him to pick out the flowers this weekend, he chose a potted cyclaman and chose where to place it in the house. It is now on our slat bench coffee table where we can see it from almost every common room.

I love the Cure and reading everyone's posts. Happy Curing!

Er, moving all the furniture out and some of it back in is going to take a lot longer than 10 minutes! 2 sofas, media cart, etc. My problem room is really a large awkward space used for two different purposes: office and living room. I'm not moving the office stuff today; that would be too much! Will focus on just the living room portion since that's been on my mind anyway.

Another or additional way is to photograph all corners of the room from the opposite corners and view them on the computer. You can then see the problematic / crapmatic areas with too many things or wrong placed piece of furniture.

So this past weekend I didn't buy green cleaners, BUT I did sweep the whole house (moved ALL the furniture) and mopped all of the floors! And the best past was that I enjoyed it the whole time! I was looking forward to the apartment being clean, but not looking forward to the cleaning..so actually enjoying the process was a pleasant surprise : )

I didn't buy flowers because I buy them every two weeks and my bouquet was still good, but I support the flower buying completely! Its an expense I budget for because every time I put the flowers out I notice a change in my mood for the better. It's such a simple mood enhancer. Now, I have the benefit of being able to buy 2 doz roses for $10 because New York kicks butt and has the best flower stands. So I understand that this adds up in other areas. Maybe you don't get them every two weeks, but treat yourself and buy a cute vase that you can re-use and make it a little "decorating project" for the area you are going to use to display your fresh buds : ) Promise you won't regret it!

Thanks January Cure for motivating me to turn around the apartment!

Another great idea! My trick that I use when I'm stuck is to look at the room's reflection in a mirror. Either a mirror hanging in that room or a hand-held mirror. It might sound silly, but it really works to help you see the room as if you were walking into it for the first time.

I thought we were just 'mentally' moving the furniture. Sitting and imagining how we might like to rearrange things, but not physically having to do it.

I sat in our little living room extension (more of a homework room) and looked back towards the living room. Wow. It's messy in there! It's the place where the kids hang their art or schoolwork they are proud of, so I'm fine with the walls covered. And I realized they've been holding onto several boxes filled with clay creatures. I'm not so worried about that space (it's the smallest space in the house), but it did give me a fresh perspective on the living room. I really will need help with the mantle.

Will there be a forum for sending in photos before & after? Or for help with decorating areas? This has been a great cure so far & I'm going to continue cleaning the floors. I got the downstairs done this weekend, but do need to do the upstairs, too.

I confess that I went out of town on 1/4 and haven't been able to do anything on the cure this time. I'll be starting on the 8th, dag nab it!
I also have to confess that I spend a lot of time visualizing the place the way I want it to look, and sometimes I wonder if that keeps me from truly seeing my surroundings.
In my HEAD, the place is perfect, and the vignettes I've set up in real life represent for me the beautiful room and I fool myself into thinking I'm done when I look at them.

I try not to see the mess, since I've just moved in and things are still chaotic in the corners.

I second the suggestion to take photos of the room. You really do notice more in photos than you do in real life. This assignment also reminds me of when I was little and my dad would sometimes pick me up by my feet and walk me around upside down. I always noticed how different my house looked from that angle, and especially how looking at the ceiling instead of the floor helped me imagine what the rooms would look like empty. I'm going to work both of these perspectives into my homework tonight.

honeybun,

No need to actually move the furniture in and out. It's a mental exercise - you simply envision it in your minds eye - no heavy lifting required :)

tallsarah,

Photos can be sent to the email linked above in the post, which is januarycure@apartmenttherapy.com - thanks!

I'll admit, I'm a little behind on this. I did not clean a single speck off the floors this weekend. I did, however, offer up on Freecycle an object that I've been wanting to get rid of for a long time, so there's a small sense of accomplishment. Sitting somewhere? That I can do.

Photographing any space really does help, I think it focuses your view and helps to make you think in terms of the composition of that view. I suggest taking pictures of your house pretending it was going to be in apartment therapy, go back and look through them on your computer. You will see the changes that need to be made. Both in the process of taking and thinking about your composition but also when you are looking back through the photos trying to decide what to "submit" as the best. On the plus side you will end up with really great "before" photos to show your progress.

I'll use the fact that we're moving to our new house in a couple of weeks as an excuse to delay this exercise for a bit, but suffice to say that I think it'll take some working to get the living room set up just right. I'll commit to spending some time sitting quietly to figure it out.

Thanks to the kid having a sleepover and the husband staying out of my way, I was able to process the living room (consolidate holiday decorations, sort through my entertaining supplies, unpack several boxes of items I've inherited from my grandmother); process a bunch of piles in the bedroom and move an IKEA Lack table next to my side of the bed which works a lot better than the previous coated wire caddy thing; and put out 3 big old items for charity pickup today.

Friday's beautiful pink tulips are sitting on Grammy's Victorian side table living room. Aside from hubby's infernal techie messy office corner and our old-school-tube-tv-waiting-to-be-replaced, the LR looks great.

Speaking of which, anyone have suggestions for working with an OCD techno-phile who puts crazy strict rules on use of the living room and fills nearly all surfaces with his cables, equipment, tools and ephemera? If I could move his stuff to a man cave, I would.

I'm SO glad I am actually able to participate in this Cure...it's my first one, the timing wasn't right for previous ones...because I am SO much more motivated than just on my own. I already had a long list of things to tackle before my next school term....but I probably would have gotten overwhelmed and quit part way through. Taking it slow and staying on task has really worked for me. Thanks AT.

I am also doing the 20 minute a day cleaning schedule...trying to actually stick to it for a whole month...so this weekend, I purchased 4 daisy stems, placed them at the entry, bathroom and dining table, deep cleaned the floors in the office, living/dining room & kitchen, as well as cleaned the bathroom. I also got a good chunk of de cluttering my office done, put the new carpet down and actually sat on it with the dog last night....so great!! I will definitely spend more time in there now.

Today's cleaning task is to clean the windows, so tonight will be finish the floors (only bedroom left) and start the windows.

Also tonight, I will sit in a bunch of places I think. I have a 'spot' at the table, so I will sit in the other 3 chairs for a change. I like the idea of being where your pets lounge, so I will plunk myself down on the dog's bed in front of the fireplace and look back at our living room from there. He may protest however!

maxwell's profound exercise translates to all relationships...

Maxwell explains: "Most of us develop flow patterns within our apartments that are so strong that after some time we rarely stray from them. The lovely, fresh objectivity that you had on the day you moved in easily gets lost as furniture arrives and life moves on."

I kind of learned this trick from my kids. They were always sitting/lying on the floor here and there and I would get down on their level to "hang out' with them. Usually I wound up saying, "Dang the XYZ really needs dusted!" But it is nice to see your home from new angles and perspectives.

Funny, I've been doing this exercise off and on for weeks... and it does not hurt one iota that this Room & Board chair is exactly the one I want, in the exact position in my LR that I want it in.

Visualization works. Now if I just had the moolah.

I agree that photographing your space is another good way to gain perspective. I realized that our former television cabinet loomed in a threatening way after videoing an Air Swimmer in our living room. I never noticed the looming before! I will be sitting in the corner of our bedroom later, trying to stay in a state of mindfulness rather than in a state of ACK! The bedroom doesn't need to be videoed for me to know it's sucktacular right now.

I love AT because I do this ALL THE TIME in my spaces, and thought I was weird. A lot of time it's post change to sit and admire my handiwork.

I feel depressed after this exercise. All was good with the first few days of the cure, but today after the 10 min visualization I started moving things around, and my living room doesn't look good no matter what I do. I don't like any of the furniture we have, and we can't afford to buy new things yet.

Positive: I cleaned out of corner that was under an Indian daybed, so at least there's no clutter! Yay for that!

I'm going to try the exercise again tonight and visualize it with all new furniture and a new beautiful carpet.

I feel depressed after this exercise. All was good with the first few days of the cure, but today after the 10 min visualization I started moving things around, and my living room doesn't look good no matter what I do. I don't like any of the furniture we have, and we can't afford to buy new things yet.

Positive: I cleaned out of corner that was under an Indian daybed, so at least there's no clutter! Yay for that!

I'm going to try the exercise again tonight and visualize it with all new furniture and a new beautiful carpet.

This will be a great task for me, a reminder to sit and be still for 10 minutes and let the ideas come to mind before jumping in . I will be doing that in the office and the dining room, both of which have clean floors thanks for the weekend cure! I like tidying up and keeping a clean house but the mopping and vacuuming are not my favorites, so I'm glad the cure gave me a boost to get them done. BF also lend a hand in vacuuming which was nice. This is my first cure and I'm loving it so far!

Ok, I knew when I started the cure that I might not be able to do everything 100% so I feel pretty good about vacuuming and dust mopping this weekend. I also did the kitchen floor (The people who redid the kitchen before we bought the house put in really disfunctional tile in the kitchen. It is textured so dirt collects in the crevises. I go after it with a toothbrush while I damp mop.) I did not buy all new cleaners because I'm pretty happy with the cleaners we have. Here in Chicago I feel that fresh flowers are a must in the winter. So I did get lilies for the living room at Trader Joes, and yesterday I found a great little shop (I will get the name to all later) where I found a tiny green and pink bromiliad pland for the bathroom.

I am looking forward to sitting in the living room and trying to figure out how to deal with two main points of interest (I'm always conflicted). We have the furniture oriented toward one point and sort of ignor the other. I wonder if we could make both work?

I like this idea but I have trouble separating myself from my space. I find sitting and taking a photo of what I'm looking at and examining it helps me see things that I otherwise ignore or miss. Just a quick point of my phone reveals so many things I hadn't noticed before (lighting, clutter, color etc.).

Thanks for the great post!

A good idea, but probably not for people in very small apartments...I can't imagine a square inch which isn't used in my place (except for the tiny balcony at this time of year).

I live in a large-ish house (3000 sq ft), and my husband would be just as happy living out of cardboard boxes. So I'm curing it alone.

I too forgot the green cleaners and flowers, but the detailed vacuuming (and christmas stuff storage) did a lot to help - both the house and my attitude. Thanks and keep it coming.

I'm stuck... can't seem to get myself to give up any pieces, even though 1/2 of them are hand-me-down junk pieces. Any suggestions? Anyone?

OCD technophile? I've got one of those, too! (Well, not terribly OCD, but very opinionated.)

We have similar taste and neither of us like lots of cables to show, so we chose together a media stand for the living room that holds the big flatscreen tv on top, the DVD player and av receiver on one central shelf, and the TIVO box on another central shelf. This one has smaller side shelves exactly the right size for a couple of small but acoustically acceptable speakers. Under those are a couple of shelves for knick-knacks (or DVDs, but ours are stored elsewhere). Everything is plugged into a power strip under the unit with cables going through drilled holes in the backboard. I bought a 1x4 cut to the width of the unit and stained it to match. It sits on the floor under the unit to hide the cables you'd otherwise see without permanently blocking access ot the power strip.

It took a lot of searching to find the perfect stand for our needs, but it does everything we need it to, looks nice, was affordable, and organizes the room. He chose all the components and setup. (We also have a home theater, so that's where the SERIOUS stuff lurks, and it's equally tidy and organized, with the actual components -- except for the TV, speakers, and relays -- in an adjacent closet.)

I am not one of those people who feel like a TV is ugly and must be hidden behind closed doors, so if that's part of your problem, I can't help. I'm fine with all the techie stuff as long as it's tidy and cohesive. I do hang art near the TV, which softens it a little.

It was unexpected, but what today's exercise showed me was that I needn't be embarrassed (and should stop apologizing) about my place and that it was actually very nice in its current state even though I haven't hung up all my framed pieces yet and balanced the living room as I hope to. That was a refreshing exercise in home-acceptance.

You're not alone my friend. I bought flowers on Friday, but I never got around to buying cleaners or actually cleaning the floors... I guess we both have make-up homework tonight.

Sat in our office in the chair my husband uses pretty much exclusively. There's an oddly placed bookcase I've always wanted to move, but my DH liked. After sitting in his chair, seeing the room from his perspective, now I get why he likes the bookcase--it makes a little cozy nook for himself in the corner, love it!

Defenitely going to rethink the picture placements on the walls...

The outbox technique works for furniture--put a media cabinet I thought I needed from the livingroom in the hall for a month, now I'm glad to see it go.

Ennyjay if you can't seem to get rid of "hand me down junk" is it because you really love them or is it the memories that are attached to them? Would photos of the items in a nice collage also bring the good memories? If the items are really great maybe you need to spruce them up or repurpose them. Good luck!

Wow, I'm way too ADD for this one. I tried and lasted about 90 seconds before I got up and started measuring things!

Wow, I'm way too ADD for this one. I tried and lasted about 90 seconds before I got up and started measuring things!

Try moving a piece to an awkward spot--like the hall. Moving it from its place and not using it makes it seem less valuable, you get used to not using it, and after a while it'll even get annoying and you'll probably look forward to getting rid of it (or you'll find you really do love it). I also ask myself if I would buy it if I didn't already have it--that usually tells me whether or not it's a keeper. This helped me, maybe it'll help you too?

I sat in the chair in our front entry and mentally took everything out of the space. Funny, I never noticed that the ceiling is actually a pale blue ven though I reprinted the walls when I moved in! I like it.

As I was imagining how to make my front entry more welcoming . . . More color, moving things around, hanging pictures I already have, it struck me that the room I am really unhappy with is the laundry room. It is the real entryway in the place, and we come and go there several times a day. It's also the friends and family entrance. I need to make it more welcoming. It is a wreck all the time, so I am shifting gears to make the laundry room a beautiful place. With the help of my partner, I removed the legs from a French desk and placed the top over the washer and dryer. It is the perfect size. Going to install a curtain below to hide the washer and dryer, hang the chalkboard craft cabinet I already have over the sink, and think about a good bench and storage for everyone's stuff so it can be neat and pretty in there.

Finally got my outbox going- two once beloved winter coats that I haven't worn yet this year, two Ikea lamps, an Ikea dish rack that I decided I didn't like as soon as I got it home and have been hanging on to "so I can return it" for over 6 months- seeing as it cost $6 and its a 90 minute drive to Ikea, I think I can let it go- plus a wire plant stand I've had since college, a Heywood Wakefield end table that does not go with any of my other furniture, and my old surround sound system. Pfew!

@hodgepodgetown - Your music choices for the Cure do make me smile.

I'm just wondering if I sit on the floor, if I will get up again. This weekend's floorscaping already led to shifting some things around in the bedroom. The loom that I'm still not willing to give up was moved to another wall, opening up better access to the window side of the bed.
My front door got an unexpected cleaning when someone stole the wreath off it this weekend. I'll admit it was Epiphany, but I thought the rather rose endowed wreath was pretty generic. At least they left the hook.
Off to become one with my apartment. I'm also going to take Virginia and Marigny's suggestions to take photos and look at them on the computer.

I love this exercise. I'll admit I didn't sit for exactly 10 minutes, probably more like 7...but I thought it was pretty effective.

I chose to sit our extra bedroom/office that only has a plastic banquet table, desk stuff, an old TV and boxes. I really want to make it a cozy spot for my bf to take naps and for me to have a quiet place to work on my job search and other projects.

I need a cozy couch and some art in here. I need something pretty on the walls to inspire me to work. I am lucky my window faces a marsh on the Florida Birding Trail but the inside needs a lil something-something.

Also, any advice on getting your significant other to let go of EMPTY BOXES? grrr. He's convinced we'll use them later (and we might) but they're an eyesore and take up an entire corner and closet! He wont even let me break them down in fear that they'll never be as strong again...Jeeze. I love this man.

I am actually SO glad I didn't end up deep cleaning the floors this weekend--our cats decided last night was when they were going to learn to shred the garbage bags that were waiting to be taken to the dumpster on the way out to our cars. It wasn't pretty and if it had happened on freshly cleaned floors I would have been even more furious with them. Now I can just shrug it off and say "oh well, it's on the cure to do list anyway."

I did do today's assignment though and have mentally downgraded a less than stellar apartment feature from merely "meh" to "god-awful eyesore." Unfortunately I have no clue how to fix it that's within my budget/skill level/terms of our lease. I think an AT Good Question is my future...

My outbox has been filling up from a closet purge which feels awesome though!

And has anyone else put the January Cure on their New Years Resolutions? I'm doing pretty well so far! I have been trying to comment every day to keep me accountable on the job of the day. It goes along well with my resolution to procrastinate less and finish more projects.

I decided to sit and stare at my mantel for ten minutes. Oy, I have tried and tried and failed and failed to get this right (won't tell you how many times, that would be embarrassing). I had been thinking that it was the mirror that was wrong, and I needed to take it down and put the art back, but having removed the mirror and added the art, I can definitely put the mirror back and go back to the drawing board. Can we call this productive if all I've managed to do is eliminate a proposed solution?

I think I'm going to go add in a houseplant to see if maybe a little breath of living green is the solution . . .

I'm so glad I did this! I still couldn't quite face the office, and the living room and my bedroom are pretty OK, so I picked the guest bedroom. It was not welcoming at all - there are a few photos haphazardly placed on random nails on the walls, but it is not pleasantly decorated. It needs a dresser, and has become a bit of a dumping ground. I did get some good ideas for moving a few things, and getting stuff out from under the bed will help. I didn't manage to sit still either, as I remembered some artwork that had never been hung, and dug it out of the closet. I've decided to frame it and get it up on the walls in there, and really make the room nice by the end of the month.

"Can we call this productive if all I've managed to do is eliminate a proposed solution?

Yup. Sometimes the process of elimination is illuminating.

Musicalhat, "Would I buy it if I didn't already own it" is exactly what I ask myself as well when deciding to get rid of things (especially clothes). Or even, would I take it if someone were offering it to me for free. If the answer is no, out it goes.

I too find photos of trouble spots helpful. I'm thinking of printing them and posting them on my fridge as motivation to change what needs to be changed.

Just sat in my wife's office where she plans to write her dissertation -- bit of a mess right now with nine walls of varying widths. We came to the conclusion that we first need to paint the walls and get the shoes outta there and create a landing somewhere else.

Doing this 10 minute exercise has made me more depressed. The area that needs to be most worked on is my entryway. The area runs straight into my dining/living area, which with 5 people in 750 sq. ft. is no easy task. There are 3 closets that take up the entire area. Help! I would love to paint the interior of the closets...one will be used for clothing. The other will be partially used for a home office and the other half will be used for our flat screen tv along with game consoles, dvds, and other electronics. Suggestions on colors would be helpful.

This Cure has been so helpful already! I'll admit I didn't get the weekend tasks done, but the whole things has gotten my roommates and me talking about our apartment and each others' habits in a very mature way. I was originally planning to tackle the Cure alone but it looks like they will pitch in a bit!

Over the weekend I did decide to move a terrible old couch to see what the LR would look like without it. Of course as soon as I started to move it, it nearly fell apart on me. So we chucked it! The current set-up looks worse, but it's a starting point, anyways. That couch was giving us back problems.

Today I took advantage of my fiancee being out of town to sit in his chair for the evening. Now I understand why he thinks the apartment looks okay--from his chair, you can't see any of his clutter! Also, from his POV some of the things that look wonky from elsewhere actually look okay. Of course from where I usually sit, his area is all I see. Sigh. But oh, I love him! I think I saw someone else express a similar sentiment here...Any tips for dealing with messy partners?

I chose to sit in the dining room. It's safe to say we don't use it much, since it's used as a junk room during our renovations. I tried to envision something for this room, but the only thing I could see was the horrible beige-greenish paint. While this won't do in the long run (there's only one outdated outlet functional in the whole room), I'm sure it'll help us. My wish is to treat the room better than we do now, even when we're not using it for its intended purpose.

Well, one thing at a time, we'll finish working on the kitchen and on my daughter's room.

I am also struggling with how to create an entryway into our apartment...the door opens in, so it's near impossible to place a doormat there. Also, on the right, when entering, is a closet, that we use for storage. My husband is against blocking the doors, but I would love to add a console table there. The kitchen is immediately on your left and I have a catch-all dish there, but we need more space for mail. Any suggestions?

@KStew: My husband is a mess as well and I just take it upon myself to organize things for him. Once I've organized it and he sees how easy it is and how much sense it makes, he is onboard with the changes. However, if I tell him first, about my ideas, he is always against it. I worry that I may hurt his feelings at times, but I just cannot stand to live in clutter and disarray. Plus, since I am a stay-at-home Mom, I am the one that has to look at it every single day. I would begin by making some small changes and see how he feels about it; I am hoping that he will like your changes and be more open to you helping him get organized.

@PGF: Please do not be so hard on yourself regarding your current furniture. It takes some time to build that home that you truly desire. Currently, we have some pieces of furniture in our apartment that are our landlord's, so it has to stay, even though it's not really our style. We are trying to make the most of it with what we already have. For instance, the rather hideous red futon has been "fixed" by placing a white duvet cover over it and a cute throw pillow. It looks a thousand times better. The credenza our TV is on is also hideous, but, we put a table runner on top of it, to sort of mask it and it's not too bad. I would also suggest getting some houseplants; they are inexpensive and really help with a room and the feeling you have in that room. Just take your time and do not be frustrated by your current situation. You will get there!

This exercise was hard - like others, I find it hard to sit still, and once I see what I want to change, want to action it right away. The message for me is that I have to work on my internal scatter at the same time I'm working on this external scatter. A good lesson.

musicalhat -

I really like your tip of "...ask myself if I would buy it if I didn't already have it...". It might be so good that I end up with a pretty sparse and non-functioning home. Yikes!

How do I make better purchasing decisions... ones that stand the test of time and changing taste over the years?

samiplease

I love to keep boxes too. But I finally got rid of all of them yesterday. What worked for me was thinking about how I was going to use them and how many I had, and how often I have used them in the past.

I would ask him to specify what he plans to use them for... moving, shipping, storing other stuff, who knows. Then count them and maybe categorize them by size - super small, small, medium and huge. Ask him how many he has used in the past year. So if there are 20 in total, and in the past year, he used only 2 at Christmas time to ship stuff, maybe he could give up all but 5.

Also, if its a sturdy box, it is going to be just as sturdy when it is put back together after being broken down.

Also, if you need boxes after he gives them up, they are easy to find at grocery stores or book stores, just ask to have them save you a few in advance.

I live in a ~500 square foot studio and spent 10 minutes sitting in different spots letting me see my entire apartment. After doing that I was so clear on what needed to get done and what changes I need to make, so I'm motivated to start tackling a few items from my list.

I almost wasn't going to do this because I got home from work crazy late but I did anyway and it really helped! Gave me some good ideas AND I went ahead and took care of something I'd been staring at for weeks, put a couple things in the outbox.

I was inspired during this task to post on Craigslist a mirror that I once loved, but no longer works with my decor. Sold it in two days and now have $85 to spend on the rest of the cure. Happy happy!

I sat in the reading chair which is positioned in a crazy place in my bedroom. From that vantage point, I can see that my bedroom has become even smaller due to the chair placement. Imagining the chair being pushed backwards make me feel the room open up, and my reading chair become the sanctuary with a view (of the city below) that I had planned.

Reality - I dont' have the strength to move the boxes behind the chair, or anywhere to put the things inside the boxes. I get exhausted thinking about either lifting OR sorting OR deciding where the things go. No $$$ to hire someone to move heavy stuff, and I dont' want to burn out the few willing helpers I know.

And I'm immobilized again.

being an interior designer, this kind of visualizing is familiar to me - i do it constantly and as a result always have too many ideas in my head! however, i did sit in my living room and had some new thoughts as well as some i've already had, but never did anything about. so...maybe that's the difference (: i do know that i want to be able to walk up to and stand in front of all my windows, and for some reason i keep making that difficult - that is going to change. also, no reason the big rug needs to be reserved for dog wrestling - i have always known that i would use all of that seating more if i had a big, sturdy coffee table. and a couple of other things (: but i think the important lesson of the day for me is: visualizing is one thing...now DO IT. (:

Before every party we host I literally will sit in every conversation area and look around from the viewpoint of a guest, just to see and feel what they will experience. I am amazed at how our place looks from different spots! People truly notice the placement of items and seating arrangements and relax into clever conversations whenever I've done this practice before entertaining. Love knowing ever nook and corner of my home like the back of my hand.

I do something very similar to this before I have company over. I sit in every possible seat in the house (I have a tiny house so there aren't a lot) and look at the view from that space. I make sure that there's nothing icky that I didn't know about (dust bunnies, jumbled cords, etc). It's really helpful. For this exercise I'll do it in my home office- that room has become a catch all.

ha! I didn't even see the comment above me before i posted mine. :) awesome, L.T.Shulte!

Man, I still can't figure out where to put my large, L-shaped couch. Right now it's like 20 feet across the room from the TV. I'm trying to visualize the room in different ways, but all I find are reasons I can't move it to x y or z. Maybe it's time for a good question?