At the risk of creating a long, unwieldy, and yawn-provoking comment, I'm reproducing my Week Three To-Do list here (copied from my blog, http://serenityathome.blogspot.com ). I'd really be interested in hearing people's answers to my 80/20 color rule question...

What's everybody else doing? The Chicago Cure thread was soooo quiet over the weekend. Where are y'all?

My list. Feel free to yawn.

... with reference to page 103 in The Book:

Bones:

"Vacuum, dust, and mop throughout your home."

"Clean your entrance and any related closets." Ever since I moved in, I've been intending to wash the fingerprints off the door around the doorhandle, and deal with the dust on the inside edge of the doorframe. I guess I'm supposed to actually *do* those things this week.

"Arrange to have all repairs taken care of in the next three weeks." Will do.

Breath:

"Declutter your entrance." Um, there's nothing there.

"Move all old mail, catalogs, and magazines to the Outbox." They don't live in the entrance, but I'll go scouting for likely candidates. They won't be in the Outbox long, though. They'll be outta here.

"Look into what you would need to create a Landing Strip." A small chest of drawers has been moved into place, yesterday. Needs a bit of re-organizing of the contents of the drawers, and some paper to line the top drawer, where I intend to keep gloves and such. I have purchased a thingy with four hooks on it, that I will affix to the wall next to the chest of drawers, to hang scarves and hats on. I'd like a piggy of some sort for my loose change... I'm pondering a leather (or leather look) in-basket for mail, but think it would be better to have that on the desk in the study, not in the landing strip area.

"Cancel any unused subscriptions." I only have three magazine subscriptions, and they're not causing undue hardship.

Heart:

"Identify cool rooms and warm rooms."

"Apply the 80/20 color rule." I have such trouble with this one. Not because I don't think it's a good idea, but because I don't know how to determine how much of a room's "stuff" equals 20%. I tend to interpret it as "Mostly neutral, a dash of color". Does the wood of furniture count as a neutral?

Head:

"Cook two meals at home this week." Since I'm not about to change eating with my parents (there'll be many many years when I'll no longer be able to do that, and I'll be eating on my own at home all the time), my way of interpreting this is "actually cook something, don't just have cheese and bread for dinner..." (Although we eat together, suppertime is "fend for yourself" time, so we each have whatever strikes our fancy.)

"Design an invitation for your housewarming." Oh boy, this is the fun part. I love designing cards and suchlike things. I realized today, though, that since many of the people I intend to invite are avid football fans, and our local professional football team is doing really well this year, I'd better check the game schedule before finalizing the date of the party.

beth, re: 80/20 - I think wood tones generally function as neutrals, unless they're purposefully chosen for contrast - I'm imagining an all-white interior with cherry finish wood, though I'm sure there are less drastic examples.

How much is 20%? Probably hard to define precisely. Although note that if you're stuck with (or choose) neutral walls, that's a big contribution to the 80%.

i need a nice inexpensive bench desperately...with some kid of storage underneath for winter hats, scarfs and gloves!

I posted some color "splotches" on flickr- I was thinking brown in my kitchen because I was under the impression I had a lot of green in my house. Looking around, I don't have a lot of green, I have a lot of brown. How could this happen? How could I not know what color I painted these walls? Really, I have no idea what I am doing lately. Now, I am afraid to paint the kitchen brown because the floors in the dining room are all brown, the trim is all brown, the curtains in the dining room are brown, the wood is all brown- eeeeeeeeek to much for one day.

I got quotes on countertops today. Because I only need an 8 ft long stretch, it costs an arm and a leg. You would think it would be easier, but no, if it's under 25 sq ft no one really cares. We don't have any stone yards etc around here or I would check for remnents. I really am thinking butcher block now, it's easier to get in smaller sections, and the big "factory" is only 2 hours or so away.

lorijo,

I just checked out your pictures. What do you mean about the kitchen walls having to match the floor? I've never heard of that. Especially not in three separate rooms. I say pick a color that you want to see everyday in your kitchen, the floor's color is immaterial.

I have trouble with the 80/20 rule, too, Beth. Mostly because I don't gravitate toward neutrals (thus the orange kitchen), so if I do choose something neutral, it's because I didn't care for the colors. This only counts in stuff, though - my clothes are almost all neutrals, and I feel awkward if I'm wearing something bright. I think for sure, though, that wood counts as a neutral most of the time.

I put up a shot of last night's dinner, and I'm hoping to get some pics of options for curtains in the bedroom, since that will likely inform the wall color in there. We found a nice chocolate brown bedcover that we really like, and picked up a pair of lamps at a garage sale for a buck each - they need a little love, but I'm very pleased with them.

This week I'm hoping to finish the kitchen cleaning. I quit smoking last week (yay me! one whole week! I'm no longer stinky! if anyone's curious, Chantix works like a charm!) and I lost a little steam and decided I couldn't be in the house a lot so I did a lot of shopping instead. Our landing strip somehow isn't much of an issue, since it's the top of the dishwasher by the door and nothing stays there long since, if it does, you can't use the dishwasher. We have a few hooks for the dog's leash, my purse, jackets, and I'm absurd about making sure the mail gets where it goes immediately since otherwise I forget to pay bills. The front hall closet (we use the back door) does need to get cleaned out and I should get some nicer hangers to go in ther for guests' jackets and such. So my list for this week is:

-Clean out refrigerator
-Complete moldings in kitchen and office (literally about 6 straight feet - not a big deal)
-Fix the hole in dining room ceiling (little hole left by previous fixture)
-Fix dining room fixture (drives me batty - has a ring around the top of it that makes it stick down funny from the ceiling)
-Vacuum, dust and mop
-Clean out front closet
-Get nicer hangers for front closet
-Cook some more

Not too bad, really - I take too long to cook stuff though. I like doing it, so it's a lot of puttering around.

-

Lisa-
it's not so much that I want to match the floor- it's that the floors in the dining room are overwhelming- that parquet is strong- and I'm afraid that the brown will make it more so. I do want to make sure that the color I paint the kitchen matches (or at least goes well) with the floor in the kitchen- that's sort of greenish/tanish. I'm just afraid of going overboard with brown, and the fact that the front of the house- where most of this brown is- is very dark.

I had a color issue last cure too.....

Hi everybody- I'm rejoining the cure after sitting for 5 days with my son in a hospital. He is OK now so I can think about the cure again. I decided that I want to finish the kitchen and postpone the landing until after the rest of the cure is done, since it needs rethinking.

Francesca, I'm so sorry about your son! I'm glad he is OK...I think that is a perfectly good reason to skip out on Cure stuff for a few days.

I have no excuse, myself....I've just been too darn busy with work and other things. As far as the landing goes - I don't have one! There just simply isn't a square inch of space free for something like that. I don't know what's going to happen when winter comes and I have to hang my soggy coat up in the closet with my clothes - yuck! Maybe I will look around for a hook or two to stick in the little space right next to the door. Right now I put my mail and keys on a tray I have on my coffee table. But I do have a big pile of old junk mail and stuff that I need to go through, elsewhere.

I'm also sort of stuck on the housewarming party thing -- if you've looked at my floor plan, you know how SMALL my apartment is. When you pack more than six people in there it starts to feel claustrophobic. Maybe I should just start planning a small dinner party for 3-4 good friends? Does anyone have any ideas?

Laura, it's funny -- I'm the same way about neutrals. My wardrobe is mainly composed of black, navy blue, white and grey...because I feel awkward in bright colors. But I love, love to decorate with brights - my apartment is mainly yellow and green. And congrats about quitting - it looks like this month is a fresh new start for you! :)

Something that crossed my mind today while getting a little work done on my landing strip area/feeding my outbox was that part of this week should probably include cleaning out your purse/backpack/messenger bag/satchel, etc...I think having a bag that isn't filled with two year old Tylenol, breath mints, and month old receipts from starbucks sort of leads into being able to come home, sort things out and start to relax. Also, those of us who have cars (oh St. Louis and your lack of reasonable public transportation!), could consider cleaning out their cars as well. That way the entire commute home from work/school/etc can be even more conducive to decompression.

Just my random thought... :)

last cure I cleaned out my car and it made me feel so much better- I bought those trunk organizers and it makes everything so much easier to find- I have a 3 yr old and I travel with a bunch of stuff because you never know where we may end up and what me might need....anyway- I highly recommend it.

Oh, and when you're cleaning don't forget the dryer vent (if you have one) they are a leading cause of fire. I cleaned mine out and it was awful (and I cleaned it out in the spring cure too...) You can use a simple wire hanger to help get stuff out of that hose...

That is a great point Colleen! I actuall have several bags that could use cleaning out...

mavieenrose,

Is the back of your front door free? Because for the time being, that's where I'm hanging stuff - get one of those over-the-door hook things that are usually sold for bathrooms (just make sure the over-the-door part is wide enough to accommodate the thickness of an interior door). My coat closet is somewhat distant from the my entrance, and I haven't found a good place to mount a weight-bearing hook near the door.

Also, if six is all your space can take, then just go with that - a party for the nearest and dearest, to match the intimacy of your living situation.

Wait, I meant make sure the hook is big enough to fit on an exterior door - some are made assuming you'll use them in a bathroom or closet, and interior hollow doors are usually slimmer.

I'm so glad Moryse Heron led me to where I could find this thread!

STLcolleen -- that's an excellent idea, about cleaning out bags/purses/whatevers and cars... In fact, I think I'll go clean out my purse right now. (Actually, I was thinking today that I should buy a smaller purse, because the thing I'm lugging around right now can hold just too many stray "things"...)

Car could do with some TLC, too. I manage to keep the interior fairly uncluttered now that I'm often taking my parents here and there, but the trunk is a shamefully different story.

I'm not getting a whole lot accomplished so far this week, with having a cold that's making me feel run-down and a bit dizzy, but there are some things I could do, as long as I sit or stand still to do them... (like cleaning my purse. I'll go do that now.)

well, I too have a cold. So does my son, so progress is slow this week. And, if the Michigan government shuts down next week, so will I- no $$$. We'll see what happens....