Despite how clean and tidy this photo looks, my week was not very successful. Just like a few of my fellow Apartment Therapy bloggers, the flu hit me hard for week 3 and definitely put a halt to the swift progress that I was making in my January Cure. Luckily my flu was a quick 3 day illness, so it made the media fast really easy, but I still have an overflowing bookshelf of clutter. More

This third week of The January Cure, things really started to feel lighter around my house. It is typical for me to feel encumbered by an unorganized mess of mental lists about housekeeping. Piles of mail on countertops beckon for attention. Clothing on the bed needs to be put away before turning in for the night. Not so much anymore, though. Not to say that all is perfect and clean and stylin' at all times. But I have a grasp on things! More

I don't have too many wire woes, but there was one cord situation I didn't like. A power strip on my bedroom floor that I use to charge my phone and plug in my lamp was always visible from the doorway. So I put it inside my nightstand. More

Day 15: Tuesday, January 22
Assignment: Wrangle your cords

Cords are necessary, of course, but even though they're highly functional they look like clutter. No matter how well organized an area is otherwise, if there is a visible mess of wires and cords, things look unfinished and visually chaotic. Take a quick twirl through your home and see if you can spot some cord trouble spots and, if you do, work on getting them under control. Trust me - it will make a bigger difference in how your home looks than you would expect. It's one of those "worth it!' tasks to tackle. More

I finished my 'goal project' for The Cure last week, so with the baby on its way in a few short months we decided to plow forward with a few other items on our list. My husband decided to tackle our master bedroom while I started updating the nursery.
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This year, for the first time, a crew of the Apartment Therapy writers decided to participate in the Cure and blog it in real time. Tara, our amazing part-time writer in Boston, has been doing daily "Liveblogging" updates and a bunch of wonderful contributors from across the country (and beyond) are updating us weekly with their own "Cure Diaries. Jump through for links to all of their Cure stories (so far)... More

As I mentioned on Day 2, I'm a hoarder/purger. The thing that most often gets purged is paper. I hate keeping it. I have yet to develop the ability to keep a decent file system, so most of my life is digital. And that is surely messy enough, so I decided it was time I enforced some organization on my virtual world. More

Day 14: Monday, January 21
Assignment: Getting your papers and files in order

Today, we deal with files and paperwork! This is one area where clutter not only causes mess and stress, but can actually cost you money and time. Keeping on top of bills and being able to find important documents when you need them reduces the possibility of financial mishaps like late fees and getting a routine set streamlines the paperwork process. So, lets think about this assignment as an investment - putting some time in now will surely save you plenty in the coming year.
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I was dreading and anticipating this weekend for the whole January Cure. In short, my bedroom is a disaster zone. It's where my organizational systems fail first. Also, with just a small closet that barely fits my clothes, there's no space for other stuff. That is, until I did some Outboxing! More

Squishing my 30-year-old grown up body into a child-sized armchair, this is the sight I beheld for a full ten minutes last Monday: plastic, plastic, a step stool and a half-broken lamp. Yep, this would be my "goal project" for this month - find something decent to put under the kids' room window. More