I love the guy at the end who turns and walks away when he sees the camera ;)

I've had a list of wants/needs for our apartment from Day 1, and I've slowly been picking away at it (moved in July '09).

The big 6 for me right now:
- Area rug for the bedroom
- Need headboard & new bed sheets
- Replace old toaster oven (on its last legs)
- Stock up on light bulbs
- Replace old, cramped book case with new 3-piece corner book case unit
- Shoe organizing solution needed for hall closet

I was going to write the same thing about the guy who saw the camera and then turned to cross the street. LOL.

-Fix the garage door opener
-Touch up wall paint in dining room
-Finish painting built-in in dining room
-Hire someone to paint my bedroom
-Dining room set
-Fix small hole in wall of kids' room

I appreciate the guy at the end because it's a rare person that will wait for you to take a pic or will walk around when you're filming.

This weekend I'll be:
-buying cabinets for the tops of my bookshelves.

-buying a variety of undershelf drawers and other accessories for the fridge and the kitchen cabinets.

-fiddling with the long or short side of a shelf by the door to create an entry way and landing strip.

-visiting dollar stores for contact paper

-testing armchairs and recliners

Longer term projects are wrapping my kitchen shelves in decorative papers and painting my living room cabinets. I also have to decide if I want to drill holes in the latter to add some pretty knobs.

I feel kind of crazy with all of the measuring I've been doing, but it's allowed me to pick out everything online before hand.

Hey, great socks Maxwell! Are they Smartwools?

We will also be fixing a lamp as part of our six items. Other to-dos are: replacing an ugly broken roman shade in the bathroom; installing hooks in the entryway for hanging coats and hats; re-upholstering two mid-century chairs I found on the sidewalk on Tuesday morning; framing a few pieces of art; and selling a couch that's too big for the current living room configuration.

The guy with the phone (25 s) stayed within the picture on behalf of two people, so guy #2 had to make up for that.

Seriously, if you in Helsinki would wear what you've been wearing the past few days in New York, you'd freeze to death. We've had snow a couple of times already. Thanks for the video, I was nicely reminded of my kilometer-long to-do list :D Have a great weekend guys!

I was also going to comment on that guy going, "Whoa!" and running off screen at the end. <3

And man, I didn't expect to see my name in the post! Funny thing is this post hasn't shown up in my e-mail yet (strange), so I came over here to see if it was posted. Me? Seeking out Cure homework? Ha ha!

I'm happy to say I've been working ahead a bit. :) I've already made my list of six things, and dealt with one today: I've been looking for pretty—but functional—containers to hold my various cereals, pastas, spices, flours, etc. They've been purchased and washed, and now are drying.

It's my bed time now, so I'll do the rest tomorrow. To the rest of you on that side of the globe, I hope you have a fun, productive day doing your Cure homework while I sleep. ;) Then I'll finish my 6 things while *you* sleep!

PS, Maxwell, nice haircut/shave. :)

PPS, I love all the fun camera angles you've been doing lately!

(Okay, I'll stop now. Can't help myself, this is too much fun!)

So, I take it the that the sucky "intrnet" is why there was no email today?

Well we have radically downsized from a 5 bedroom 4 bath 3 story house to a small apartment in a new city. It is going very well.
Both my husband and I work at home.
He has a small home office in one bed room with a desk and currently boxes of books and a small closet he needs to keep his clothes in. This is a tiny room. I have a bedroom for my art stuff and it also needs to have a bed for guests, primarily our musician daughter, and a crib for our grandson. My biggest desire is to settle into my studio space. I am grateful to have this space as we nearly went with a 2 bedroom. And it has a sink!
1 Paint studio victorian trim blue. Hang paintings so one wall has finished paintings and one wall projects in process.
2 Buy full size guest bed for studio... Ikea 4 poster the white one... Put bed longways in front of window with sofa cushions and perhaps a canopy from a long piece of hand dyed fabric..
3 make nook for our gulliver crib in studio as I watch my grandbaby 3 afternoons a week while his mom teaches a college course.
4 find or buy a small round garden table for studio alter.
5 find or buy myself a comfortable chair to sit at table
6 Buy bookcases for husbands office and unpack books.
I am not setting any limits on the cure. These are pretty big projects.

Wow. Who has the money to buy a new mattress that often??? I am in the wrong career field.

Anywho... my number one priority is buying another pot holder. It's hard to pick up hot bowls with one. I don't what I was thinking when I didn't buy pot holders in a pair.

If only my list could have 6 things.... it's more like 6 pages long! Oh, the joys of owning a small, old house :)

How do you try out a bed for a month, is there some sort of trial period? Is there a store that lets you try out the product first? Are you buying the beds then selling each of them? How do you go about trying out a bed for a month at a reasonable cost? I need a new bed, but fear buying one because of the expense and just picking the wrong bed.

BTW...WTH MAN!!! What's with the stupid watch ad, if there is a moderator, that should be deleted. Just saying. People have questions and real comments here...don't take up space with that c... .

I've been wondering what that purple thing on the wall is in the spot where he sat for 10 min?

Hooray! I love lists. I have a super long list but will pick my top 6 to do first:
1. Purge sewing supplies and reconfigure storage.
2. Buy pendant lamp for the entry way and have wired in.
3. Frame artwork and photos and hang.
4. Buy coffee table or side tables for the living room.
5. Make curtains for the living room and bedroom closet.
6. Buy front and kick-plate for the dishwasher.

This is a really interesting assignment — I'm noticing that I'm very much struggling to do the "visioning" part of the cure. Still have not picked out inspirational photos. Still have not sat for 10 minutes ... I think I need to just do these things.

But, I'm intrigued noticing the resistance to actually writing down what I want. Giving it space to take shape and also aspiring a little bit ...

Hmmmmm ....

I haven't done the first 2 days of the week, but will do the surface clean tonight and the buy flowers and sit tomorrow.

My list is looooong, but if I have to pick my 6 most attainable they would be:

-re-attach baseboard trim in bathroom after re-tiling the floor (a year ago!)
-buy spider plant
-take down all temporary artwork and really think about where I want things to go and how it will work in our space
-finish making headboard and attach to wall
-deal with our tiny entry (ie make it look prettier!)
-organize/hide TV cables

My list is as follow:

1- Fix the 4 domino-sized holes in my walk-in and laundry room (the electrician made them when I had a grounded electric outlet installed)
2- Have 4 prints framed and install
3- Fix the broken shelve in the office's chest of drawers
4- Buy a new duvet cover. Mine is really getting yellow with age.
5- Buy a vintage bar cart on wheels for cocktail hour!
6- Overcome the shoes situation. They are taking over the house.

Max--not the hooks, again? You have heard of wall anchors, right?

On a more personal note--I'm not getting the e-mails.

The trick will be prioritizing six things we can afford to get done. Or--I might make it easy on myself: I think it'll take about 6 tasks to finish up the re-decoration of the bathroom I started last September.

YES, kare121, what on earth is that purple thing? I wondered when he was sitting for ten minutes, and now it's kind of driving me crazy...

All right, the hard part is finally here... the hard part being to choose only six things. Since we are in the middle of a major remodeling, it's easy to loose focus, so let's remember for myself that my son's bedroom and our bedrooms are at the top of the priority list.

1. Buy a new low-energy bulb for son's room (and not the awful blue colored ones). While going to the store, get the doornobs we have ordered and order 2 more for other doors. (Husband says he'll do it tomorrow - we don't have to do the things ourselves, right ?).
2. Finish sewing that ***** curtain that I've had at the top of my to-do list since last september. Finish and install son's curtains while at it. And look for inspiration for our curtains !
3. Finish that wardrobe I've been painting and renovating for two months. I won't abandon so near to finishing it ! I'm putting it back together tomorrow, and will finish wallpapering the interior next week.
4. Finish my kitchen cure ! I'm almost there ! Let's not abandon now.
5. Tackle the bed issue: find a new bed (Maxwell's not alone in his quest for the perfect bed, I'm throwing away a worthless Ikea bed), buy a new duvet. While at it, keep looking for bedside tables, because building them doesn't seem like a good idea anymore...
6. While visiting grand-parents, suggest as Christmas gift beautiful ornate desert plates I made room for in my kitchen cure. See if I like any of the furniture they stock in they basement and have it brought to my place for a nice update.

Seems like I have some work to do... yet, it feels good to prioritize and actually writing down those things. Remodeling is so overwhelming, I feel more focused now. Home office and second floor bathroom will wait some more !

Frankly, I'm getting a bit sad to see the very same items on my list for far too long. It's delayed decision-making, to be honest. My list:

1) Re-upholster the dining room chairs.
2) Frame a piece of art.
3) Buy a new office desk.
4) Hang an entryway coat rack.
5) Do SOMETHING to our kitchen floors or cover them.
6) Strip and sand the poly from our kitchen cart.

Depending on weather, I will work on #2 or #6 this week.

P.S.-- I'm really enjoying the shortened Cure format and the daily videos!

I'll begin my comment by using your own words... "when you write something down, you make it real and it will happen". This is absolutely truth! Since I started caring about my home the way I do it now. I have a notebook in the one I write down my wish list, my dreams about home, my to do list and it is so rewarding when you can crossed them out. This is a really enjoyable task for me today, after I put the kids in bed ;D
Have a great week end!

I picked six things that I need to do that don't cost anything, just time to get them done.

I had already done one because I was so motivated by the cure. I have vinyl tiles in the kitchen, and three were damaged, I think by dropping knives. There were always three black marks left after I cleaned the floor. I finally found a nail polish that matches the tiles perfectly. After I used plain white caulk to fill the holes, I touched up the white with the nail polish. It worked! I can't find one when I'm at floor level, one I can only find when I'm on the floor looking, and the third I can see because it's in the corner and easy to find, but I don't think anyone else will notice. I thought this would work, but not this well. Thanks cure, for getting me engaged and doing the little things. It makes such a difference.

Tomorrow I am going to touch up the scratches in the wood floor, and touch up the paint in the bathroom.

Again, a very inspiring video. My list is mainly about our office room I am really to fix this cure. (I still have a hard time believing it. ME. FIXING. THE.OFFICE ROOM....)
I cleaned this room top to buttom, re-arranged the furniture, installed a new shelf above the door and there is allready a enourmous difference. I had friends over last night, all of them where raving about the changes. Can't wait to have them over again when the room is finished. So my tasks are:

- Finding a rug for the office to hide the cables
- Finding and installing curtains in the office.
- Creating a wall of arts in the office
- Repainting that little door under the sink and make it close again. (I am in the mood for painting, so I will do it tonight maybe.)
- Sewing new cushions for the dining chairs.
- Bying two new small shelves for the kitchen like Anna of door 16 did to have new space of spices and pulses.

Oh you got a new mic. The difference is amazing! Thanks!

What a whirlwind of a week! My awake time spent at home was approximately 1 hour in the morning and 1 hour in the evening. I managed to put everything away that came through the door, but that's all.

Today, I have completed days 8,9 and 10. I also went back to my bedroom and surface cleaned, grocery shopped, and went for a run.

My list of 6 which became 7 is:

1) curtains for the bedroom
2) curtains for the bedroom make-shift closet
3) new entry door knob
4) scan my g-ma's photos and take them back to her at Christmas (they’ve been here 2 years)
5) touch up paint near the trash can (buy the paint)
6) patch and paint the wall at my bedroom window (I was on the phone and picked a bubbled portion of paint and plaster)
7) paint interior porch door

My list:

-get rid of functioning lamp that won't stand up on own (DONE! I'm taking outbox credit on this too!)
-get new shade for desk lamp
-find & buy full spectrum bulb for bedside lamp
-find & buy non-glaring, energy efficient bulbs for ceiling can lights
-level washer (find appliance person)
-sand spackled wall in bathroom (over next 4-day weekend--calendared)

ah! now we're talking! i am currently facing the biggest challenge, like, evar in my homemaking and decorating career: i moved in together with my boyfriend, and even though the new apt. is bigger than my previous one, almost none of our old furniture seems to fit. i'm making a list right now.

I made my list and within hours a friend called asking if I wanted her end tables and a heater - both of those were on my list. Pretty amazing!

Here's an update. I don't care if we just had to make a list, I couldn't sit still yesterday.
- Husband went to the hardware store. The new lightbulb is in place, so is the doornob.
- Living room curtain is FINALLY sewn ! And I'm working on my son's curtain in the evening, while watching a movie. Too bad my sewing machine is out, I have to do it by hand and it takes a lot of time.
- Wardrobe is finished and looks absolutely gorgeous !
- My grand-mother came over for three days, and her 1832 dessert plates are officially mine. I'll get them at Christmas, but I celebrated with a nice Gewürtztraminer yesterday evening.

Speaking of internet, is anyone else getting an attack by malware/spyware that reroutes you to a lot of crappy ad sites? It is really cutting into my Apartment Therapy viewing time. :( BTW, I love the socks, too. :)

1) Straighten out the bedroom
2) Hang wallpaper in the hallway
3) Clean and organize the hallway linen closet
4) Clean and organize the bedroom closet
5) Put the pictures back up on the wall
6) Have the living room furniture upholstered

Day 10, another great 20/20 Cure Day. Even though I have to confess that I often get carried away and spend much more than 20 minutes on my 20/20 Cure tasks, I'm drawn in to actually performing the tasks because I CAN limit it to 20 minutes if that really is all I've got in me.

About a month ago I refinished the wood floors in my living/dining room (as in I did it ! ). To clear the floors I piled all the furniture into the bedroom. I also painted the two rooms including a feature wall done in shiney enamel oil paint (now THAT was hard), which meant all the art came off the walls. But two weeks after the work was done, my bedroom still had not recovered (even though the furniture was moved back into the other room), and the kitchen, where I stored all my tools and supplies during the project, still had not gotten a proper cleaning.

Well, the kitchen got its cleaning on the first "Surface Clean One Room" day. It started out as a 20-minute thing, but ended up being a thorough deep-cleaning during which I found the saw dust that had settled on top of the refigerator and microwave, causing me to have sneezing fits. The bedroom got it's start on the "Get Rid on One Thing Day" when I got rid of chair that my brother had left in the apartment (it was previously his apartment) and discovered that I had the courage to get rid of the gigantic executive desk set he left that was taking up half my bedroom. And that I did today, after making the "6 Things" list.

I also completely straigtened out the bedroom, unpacking the boxes of books, files and accessories I had packed up during the flooring/painting project. I cleaned and reorganzied the bedroom closet (another one of the "6 Things") and I bought wallpaper paste for the wallpaper job, which I did the next day.

That's 3 out of 6 things actually DONE -- primarily because I wrote them down and was able to connect with what I wanted for my home. I also moved all the artwork back into the living room and made an appointment to have it hung in two weeks (I am still playing with the placement) and I actually ORDERED the fabric to reupholster the daybed and ottoman (which I was able to afford because I refinished the floors and painted the walls myself).

It's a good thing.

I live ina really small space so my source of inspiration is a small room in an ivory tower. 1. The first thing I would like to do is get substitute my flowered drapes for a really castle like pair of red velvet drapes.
2. replace my old black bookcase with a new chocolate brown one from the EQ3 furniture store down the street (to keep in the same color scheme for the room)
3.change my framed artwork every season
4.find a plastic liner for my bamboo basket|recylcling bin so theres no more plastic bag rim
5. have my new mirror hung up on the wall
6. don't do too much multitasking

Dear AT 20/20 Cure,

I think of you everyday and make some of effort to put away, discard, wipe up, etc. (More so than I did before the Cure) Unfortunately, when it comes to interacting with you, I am busy interacting with professional duties in other people's space. The commercial design world is too demanding sometimes.

What happens when you create wonderful spaces for others and find it challenging to maintain your own?

Signed,
Back to Work

P.S. On day 1 on donated a stack of books. I'm glad I did.

I've already accomplished two of the most pressing items for me: repainting and reinstalling a small shelf above my sink and a new wall mounted paper towel holder. This mini-cure helped kick me into gear as these small projects were loitering for about two months (I also need to do some touch paint).

So I do have:
1) Touch up paintings of various colors and new paint for my fireplace wall and bathroom
2) Finish trimming out my floor and new office alcove, install a window, finish electrical
3) Reupholster LR chair (fabric bought and draped .. just not... upholstered), Get LR ready for an Xmas tree! My first one ever for me since I've started living on my own manymany years ago....
4) New Toaster oven, slow cooker, mmm, and a ROKU - not quite ready to buy a new TV - my 12 yr old Zenith still works fine! (knock on wood).
5) New set of steak knives
6) Gut remodel the tiny kitchen == $$$$ but will be soooo worth it (I have some other issues to take of first so the kitchen will sadly be a few more years...)

Making a list is one of my favorite methods of procrastination. As true procrastinators know, writing something down doesn't make it real, it just makes me feel like i'm accomplishing something whilst the real work languishes...

1. Have the house and workshop tented for termites. 2. Have the wood hardscape coated with sealant. 3. Have the back doors replaced with impact-rated doors. 4. Have the south windows replaced with impact-rated windows. 5. Have climate protection, i.e., canopies and shutters, installed over the future doors and windows. 6. Have the kitchen counter and cabinets replaced as part of a future mid-range kitchen and laundry room renovation. (7. Remember rental apartment homes nostalgically.)

I love a good list, so I'm sure this is going to be my favorite day!

-Borrow rug cleaner from MIL and do the white carpets in dinning & living rooms (it came with the house and is in too good of shape to justify replacing it! Poo!)
-Buy large floor rug for living room
-Take bags of donations to second-chance
-Sew curtains for office
-Figure out storage for magazines
-Buy and stencil new blind for the bathroom window

What is that typewriter noise in the background heard after Maxwell makes a point? Is it our cue to take note?

Again, freaky freaky freaky. I had a list of six, and I have worked it down to four. And as much as I have been dreading the four, they are small and unimportant, compared to some of the lists above.

My major to do task is touch up the paint in the bath. Why that is so hard I can't do it, I don't know. I have lived in the condo two years next Thursday, and if I've not done the bath by then, SHAME ON ME!

I think I'm going to make two 6-item lists. The first will be things I can do without buying anything, like another reader said, such as re-hanging a wall lamp my cat pulled down. The second will be larger projects like convincing my fiance that our kitchen would look better without the cabinet doors!

(On a side note, for us Europeans, is it possible to post the tasks earlier ? I have to check last year's cure to see today's task, otherwise, I get it at 7PM and it's too late to buy flowers for instance. It's a bit annoying but nothing serious. Thanks in advance !)

I'm really proud to see that I did 5 out my 6 things I wanted to do last year. I still haven't changed our bed and bedside tables, but it's because our budget is going in the kitchen's renovations and I want a nice bed, not another soggy ikea. I prefer to wait and look for the perfect bed and tables.

This cure's tasks are:
1. Finish painting the kitchen's cabinet. It takes a really long time, and I'm tired of it, but I want to do a good job and finish it soon.
2. Put things back in my newly renovated kitchen, which means doing a kitchen cure (will be using last year's). Washing everything and purging unused items, that sort of things.
3. I still have some work to do on our bedroom. The curtains are not finished and there's a bit if paint touch-up to do. I haven't finished my renovation of the dresser. Want to decide on what to hang over our bed (art ? Etsy will inspire me, I'm sure).
4. Dining room chairs. I stripped them to their bones, still have to finish repairing, painting and upholstering them (already got the fabric in Paris, good motivation !).
5. Finish the painting I want to hang in the dining room. I really want to hang it, I love its colors, but I can't seem to find the time to paint.
6. Plan and put up Christmas decoration (early in December), as well as thinking and packing gifts in advance. I really love Christmas, but hate to do everything at the last minute, so I'm dreaming of a stress-free and happy season. I get better at it every year !

I'm curious to see what I'll have done by next year's cure ! I love how simply making a list motivates me, because it forces me to be clear on my priorities.

Having two lists is a good idea. My second list of top 6 home needs is less time-sensitive. 1. Have the terrazzo floors refinished. 2. Have the master bath toilet replaced as part of a future mid-range baths renovation. 3. DIY repair the damaged hard window treatments. 4. Have the ceiling fans-lights replaced with lower profile ones. 5. Have the remaining old windows replaced with impact-rated ones. 6. Have the house interior painted in non-white.

Well crud. Everyone has such good ideas on creating additional lists. This is the last thing I need - unless YOU ALL are going to come finish them for me!

ok Seriously

My list (since I'm kitchen focused):
1. Find better chandelier light (missed Pottery Barns 30% sale!)
2. Hang artwork
3. Frame new artwork
4. Look for new combination wine cabinet, bar cart, microwave stand, landing strip, kennel cover. (This is a tough nut.) Or just design and build a new kitchen island to accomplish these things.
5. Repaint bench
6. Donate clothes

So some, easily accomplish-able. Others, not so much.

Those hooks in the hallway were supposed to be fixed last year Maxwell. :) Also when is the year end for the bed trials?. or did I miss that?. Love the socks and the videos are getting better and better, and lists are my thing.

In my list of 6 I forgot to mention sliding trash cans for under my sink!

I have already purchased AND installed it.

I've also taken care of #6, donate clothes. It's 1pm on Sat... hopefully I can also hang some artwork this weekend.

List making is often a form of procrastination. Maybe instead of thinking about what to put on your list, then writing your list, or possibly making a SECOND list,why not just get up and do/ fix/ buy something that would otherwise be on your list?

Only six things? Eep. Maybe six per room.... I have a lot of little things I want to do, as well as some larger projects. And of course, there's always the dream list of major projects if I ever feel like spending that much money.

I guess the top 6 that I want to get done sooner rather than later would be:

1. Finish the fireplace project that went awry.
2. Paint all the trim and doors white.
3. Upgrade the lighting and fixtures in the master bathroom.
4. Refinish the vintage vinyl armchairs.
5. Hem the dining room curtains.
6. Replace all the sad 15 year old tarnished brass door hardware with satin nickel.

I just made my list. Hope this thing works! I wish at least! Anitta Homes