I am so back in business this week. My cough cleared up, and I dove headlong into my January Cure activities with gusto. That might be overstating it a bit. I dove headlong into my Cure activities with tempered enthusiasm. Nope, let's call it mild interest.
Day 9: Create a Landing Strip.
Our landing strip keeps expanding. We have wooden crates overflowing with shoes, bags, scarves, and dog gear. Each time we run out of space, we just add a crate. On Day 9 of the Cure, I took out everything we don't use on a daily basis — there were flip flops and sandals from last summer still in there — and I put them up in our bedroom closet where they live full time.
I also have a bad habit of switching up bags and neglecting to fully empty the old one, so I emptied each of my loitering bags of all the change, receipts, and business cards and put those away too. Like Tara, I did find some stuff that was previously missing. Sadly, no badass neon wigs, but I did find my beloved earplugs (for loud shows), and a couple of thumb drives. And socks. Lots and lots of socks.
This is a decidedly unsexy "after" photo. But it's a clean and organized unsexy "after" photo, with stuff consolidated into fewer crates. You can also see part of one of the "window seats" that I've chosen as my goal project. There's another one twice as long along another wall.
Day 10: Work on Your Goal Project.
To get our window seat cushions rolling, Ann and I headed over to our local fabric store to look at options, grab a few swatches, and test out foam thickness. We have Acute Textile Indecisiveness Syndrome (ATIS) so it's a small miracle that we found a few fabrics that both of us like and that could work in our space. Inability to choose fabric is one of those things that pushes our projects back for months upon months, so I'm optimistic that we'll actually complete it this month.
Which reminds me, does the striped one on top look like it's from the Alexander Julian Colours tie collection? Color-wise it totally works in here, and I like the idea of stripes, but we're worried it's a little too much like an office park.
Day 11: Media Fast.
Epic fail.
Day 12: De-clutter Books and Media.
I have boxes and boxes of books downstairs that I haven't unpacked since we moved here four(!) years ago. We just don't have any bookshelves yet, and therefore no space for a million and one books to live. And so stay in the basement they shall. Similarly, physical CDs or DVDs are packed away down there too — everything we use on a daily basis is digital. But! This was a good reminder to back up to my external hard drive. I'm terrible about doing it on a regular basis and need a swift kick to remind me every once in awhile. Thank you January Cure!
Day 13: Weekend Chores: Flowers and Bedroom Cleaning.
We have two problem areas in the bedroom: 1) our clothes are everywhere; and 2) can you guess the second? After four years Friday the bloodhound decided to claim our bed. She never cared about being up there before, but now we have bedding that's perpetually covered in dog hair. We keep a baby gate up there to deter her (she hates it), but we sometimes forget.
So this week I stripped the bed, did loads of laundry, actually folded the clean laundry, and vacuumed the room. I can't say I cleaned the ceiling fan, but I still feel good about what did get done.
Until next week, fellow cleaners. Thanks for keeping me honest.
MORE OF DABNEY'S JANUARY CURE:
• Week 1
• Week 2
(Images: Dabney Frake)
The Ultimate Used Furniture Cleaning Kit
Ana Creates a Community at Home
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Z2 iPod Dock and Wi...
10 Low-Budget Pantry Items Everyone Should Have
Recipe: Spring Fruit and Nut Tabouli
There is NO diary for my cure.... although I did Facebook post the following: "Sometime you have to make an incredible mess before you find order." (Its still in the "incredible mess" phase,,, but I can see the order pending.... sort of)
Did you tint the windows yourself? If so, what did you use, they look great! Thanks!
Not to add to your lack of Textile Decisiveness, but of the swatches shown, I like the more colorful striped fabric (on the right). And that's one adorable dog!
It's corrugated plastic cut to size and tacked in. At some point we will frost them, but this was a low cost solution in the meantime. They do the trick, although they do buckle somewhat.
That's the fabric I am leaning towards, but that I worry looks too much like a tie.
Your bloodhound is adorable! They are the best dogs!
I love your place!
your house is so beautiful! i want to see more!
Hmm, maybe all my lost socks are hiding in unused purses... I'll have to check!
it can't hurt to check; i've found some strange stuff in mine- the worst being a plastic knife with peanut butter on it. true story.
love you fabric selections, and your honest assessment/pictures of the Cure. If you are worried about the stripes looking too business like, why not use them as a fun piping? Alternately, use them as the main fabric, but pick one of the colors therein and do a large-scale, solid piping in that color for a slightly less formal feel.
AAAaaaah sweet dawg!!! Adorable. Let him stay on the bed.
My boyfriend says I am a hermit crab for bags. I use one until I outgrow it (collect enough receipts etc. to fill it up) then I will just grab the important things- wallet, keys, cell phone- and start a new bag. Once when i was out of the country visiting my sister for a few weeks he decided to do a deep clean and organization of our room for me as a surprise. when I got home he declared that I had "a problem" because of the number of mostly full bags I had. One of them had a container of fish food that had since opened and dumped its contents into the bottom of the bag....
Also, I meant to ask what part of St. Louis you live in? I also live in St. Louis and my boyfriend and I are considering buying in the near future and a space like yours is something we have thought about.
I'm in Tower Grove. It's an old storefront that we converted ourselves - there are tons of them in Saint Louis so you should have no problem finding one if that's what you're interested in. Get in touch if you do; you know we love tracking before and after renovations here at Apartment Therapy :)
I thought the view through the window there looked like Tower Grove! We actually are renting in Tower Grove Heights right now and are hoping to stay in the area!
Ha. I just put the 'before' pic on pinterest. Maybe I should mess up my house.
Anyway, this is lovely.