apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

anybody else in Ottawa doing the fall cure?

I'm from London, Ontario, any other forest city-er's out there?

This is my first time, and I'm a little nervous, although it coincides nicely with the pledge my husband and I took last week to unplug our television.

I'm from Alberta and this time we're doing the one room Cure. Wish us luck!

Jennifer - Congrats on unplugging!

Fuzzpedals - Good luck on your Cure as well!

I'm curing from Victoria. I did a big reno last year and ran out of gas before I finished. This cure I'm focusing on getting everything completed (trim, paint touch ups etc.) Good incentive!

I'm Curing my first above-ground apartment in Toronto.

I'm hailing from Toronto currently, via Winnipeg and Ottawa before that. I'm trying to make my tiny, downtown 1-bedroom apartment more pleasant.

I discovered the Cure just as my boyfriend and I were discussing revamping our place. Good timing!

I'm from a small town in Ontario-Gananoque. I have a wonderful century old home and no closets (and very little cash to buy or make them!) I'm going to need all the ideas and help I can get.
Hope to hear from everyone!

I'm just outside of Ottawa in Chesterville. I have a small old home that I will be trying to Cure.

I'm in Aylmer - Ready for the cure!

We have just moved to Ottawa from Kuala Lumpur and I so need to Cure our little old house.

Day #1 Canada... Here we go!

Curing in Edmonton. It's snowing and I'm ready to hibernate for winter!

@Jennifer Squires- I'm from London too and curing for the second time. I found that I got a lot done last time around, but there's always something left to do.

Hi, I'm curing from Toronto.
My sister just got married this summer, and i've been given the option of moving into her bigger bedroom. Which is perfect timing because my desk space was encroaching upon my sleeping quarters.

I just started reading the "Apartment Therapy" book last night. I made it through Part I and I'm reading the Week One info now.

As I was going through Part I, I kept thinking over and over "Wow, that's exactly what I'm feeling, but I've never had it verbalized. It's like someone's reading my mind.

Is that happening to anyone else?

My house is 73 years old and feeling it.

I have clutter tamed but my kitchen looks dated and drab. There are some nice features like original trim but yet it could be better.

I've been watching the Cures for 2 years; this is my first sign up.

I'm Liza-Ann from St. John's, Newfoundland.

Second time around for me! I am from Quebec city.
Have a good time everyone!

I was just offered a huge opportunity by my parents to move into their empty house with my boyfriend and live there rent free. The downside is it's right in the middle of the cure! So it looks like I'll be postponing my curing process until mid November - early december...

I'll keep cheering you all on though!

Hey,

I'm baaaaaack!

Great to see fresh faces--even if we're all pink cheeked and cold.

I'll be curing from somewhere on the blustery prairies.

Let the Cure commence!

Vancouver checking in - tiny condo needs first aid!!! Let the cure being...

Curing in Vancouver

3 years in a 2 bedroom apt
2 people working from home
= too much stuff!

time for the cure

Where are we to post our pictures? Is there a flickr group for this discussion board?

Curing from a cozy 420 sq' lower level apartment in Toronto. I work from home as an illustrator/graphic designer and my husband is a student. I think we've done a pretty good job organizing the small space but after a year of living here, piles have formed and it's getting a bit chaotic! Excited to get things organized and squeaky clean!

Just staring The Cure :) *from the GTA* I've really been captivated by the book and I'm SO ready to make my apartment HOME!

I've been reading AT and lurking in the comments for a couple of months... time to get real! My teeny-tiny house in Halifax needs the cure.

Three things:
Will we be having only one thread the entire cure?

Wow.

again,

do we have a flickr account?

and are there any moderators for these threads--or is it useless, then, to ask questions?

Starting my first cure in Montreal! I've been living in my big but run-down and draughty apartment for almost a year, and I want it to feel more like a home. Every room must be done!

onto week two and the kitchen.

anyone have any ideas for alternatives to vinyl shelf liner?

i'm trying to be green and avoid plastics.

Someone commented on the -home- flikr group that they are using oilcloth to line shelves. I believe that is green, and someone else is using cork to line their kitchen drawers.
I'm from Vancouver, and someone checked "my" book out of the library, but i've done a little curing last fall, and the deep treatment this spring. I still have a repairs list and project list form last spring, but have made good headway over the summer, and am continuing to tackle those items, as well as additional ones we found with a new "home survey" we did last week.
Last cure we made amazing progress, and are doing well this time, too. Fixing and changing the little things makes such a huge change in our lives. Last fall, I came up with a new floor plan fro the family room, bought couches, and as we were all happily sitting on our new family room last night, was reflecting on the fact that the cure was what made the couches and floorplan a priority.

The kitchen is an utter disaster area right now. I've taken down some shelves off the wall (and everything on them, of course) in order to clean--and I'm really liking the "empty space" I've created!

I just may not put up that last shelf. I just store things I don't use on it, anyway.

Having a 5 year old limits the length of time I can commit. What works for me is baby steps.

Last night I:
* purged 2 drawers
* emptied, cleaned 2 top cupboards and ran the dusty dishes through dishwasher
* sold 2 pieces of outdated furniture on Kijiji and moved seldom used wing chair to the living room. Love it!

I also now have a large grocery tote full for Value Village!

I feel very accomplished!

Supermompu--way to go! That is terrific--esp. working with a five year old in tow.

I am thinking more and more about not putting that shelf up.

I totally need a kitchen cleaning suggestion!!! I microwave milk often for cocoa, and I've found that my microwave has a smell that I can't seem to get rid of.

I cleaned it out thoroughly with apple-scented dish soap, then again with a vinegar water solution, after which I heated up a mug of instant coffee water to try to mask any lingering smells with a powerful coffee smell....

But the original smell won't go away! Any advice???

This is Liza-Ann from St. John's. I don't have a blog but you can see some of my dillemmas/ work in progress here on my flickr pool :

http://www.flickr.com/photos/baydoll1989/

Jennifer and nbradle3, I'm from London too! My first attempt at this. Should be interesting with my two and a half year old and nine month old to help me!

Happy Week 2 from Ottawa! cheated & started on my kitchen as I'm out of town for work this upcoming week. Cleaned the fridge, countertop stuff and oven with salt and vinegar, repainted the walls & made a big pot of soup. Purging a bunch of drawers today. I'm going to donate some pots & knives we received as presents, and never use, to a women's shelter. And some nice tinned soups and pasta to our food bank.

Florence Anne, I use scrap wallpaper to line drawers & cupboards. It's effective & pretty.

I'm about 10 days behind (eek!), but I'm hoping to catch up this week. Certain parts are easy (buy flowers, check!), and other parts are a little less appealing (vacuum...). I'm looking at my shopping list and wondering how I'm going to fit in a trip to IKEA...

OK my partner and I have a dispute about Week 3 - Landing Strip. I say things need to go into baskets and drawers (eg drawer for returning videos, library books; basket for gloves, umbrellas) so our entry isn't completely amok; he says if things are put away he forgets about them. Has anybody resolved this dilemma/dispute?

I'm squeezing in my trip to IKEA this afternoon. I'll be picking up some organizational stuff to help with the 'cleaning out the kitchen' task. Hopefully it'll make things go a bit smoother.

@fuzzpedals - I'm not sure what kind of set up your Landing Strip has, but would see-thru baskets or low-edged trays on a shelf work? The stuff would still be "put away" but visible at the same time.

Fuzzpedale: Some things need to be open and some things closed. Library books have to go in a cubby: otherwise, out of sight, out of mind. Winter gear, though, can go in a drawer. I won't forget my hat on a cold day! (My scarf is stored in my sleeve and my gloves in the pocket of my coat.)

Thanks Mexifro and Alana, I ended up getting a nifty used shelf unit with little slidey doors to hide some of the stuff (bins of keys), a basket on the bottom shelf for all the dog's accoutrements, and an open shelf in the middle for the books and videos that we don't want to pay late fees on. Once I figure out how to post a picture I'll do so...thanks again for your advice!

Anyone have any recommendations for an air filter in Canada?

Maxwell's suggested Hoover Silent Air doesn't seem to be available here. Or maybe I just haven't searched hard enough?