Yay! I need this. Cleaning up after the Myan apocalypse will be much easier now. ;-)

I think I'll be able to participate this time. If I'm lucky, my kitchen will be in demolition mode (unless the Mayans were right...) making the job a tiny bit easier.

Great idea.

I am on a break from school (and work the first week of 2013), so ready to go! In fact I started two weekends ago and have taken two fairly large boxes of recycling to the curb since then. Looking forward to the e-mails.

Just this morning I was looking around wondering where to begin! 2013 is my year to organize.

Whoa! There is A LOT to do at our house. We got it to a minimal level of functionality after moving in & then just stopped. Hope this works!

I need this more than you can imagine. Just moved after 10+ years, boxes and chaos is everywhere!!! I just don't know where to start, its overwhelming!

Our first baby is arriving in early March (hopefully) and I've been trying to deep clean and get organized for months now. This is just what I need to stay on task and really be set up for when he gets here! Goodness knows when I'll clean again, so would be nice to start with a blank slate.

I love this idea! Thanks for creating this! I can hardly wait to start!

I am ready to organize and downsize!

Two words. Yes please.

Just at the right time! I am MAJORLY downsizing from a two bedroom apartment to a 17 foot trailer to get my son through college and I will need all the help I can get.
I admit I will have a small storage unit to keep the stuff I can't get rid of...like baby pictures and my vintage Christmas stuff.
Can't wait to read all the tips!

Yay to organizing and downsizing even more in 2013!

purge. organize. simplify. 2013. woohoo!

Ditto, looking forward to the purge and deep-clean.

This goes right along with my plan for 2013--taking one room at a time.

Let's doooo eeeet!!!

I love this idea! Thank you so much for offering this cure!

When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.

SO HAPPY about this!!! I love The Cure!!!

This is just the motivation I need to complete projects to make my house into a home!

We moved in June, after selling our old home of 3O years, 5 chiuldren, and a basement, several rooms and attic, ( Bad place) and had 3 1/2 weeks to get out!!WHAT!! Wound up in an apartment with 2 storage lockers, a storage pod, and my son's garage. We are now in a very small home with little storage. I need to get to my "stuff" and go through it, I need to rid those piles of stuff from my head and move on..it's pretty hard when it's memories and loving mementos..I hope this will help! Thanks!

Yay!

This is a great idea! Unfortunately, since I have a huge exam mid-January, and I usually do a big apartment clean before the new year, I won't be participating. It'll be interesting to see what happens; I might sign up for the emails anyway!

Major downsizing going on here! The clean out and packing while leaving my former 4,000 sq ft home was an astonishing revelation. Unpacking at the new 1,000 sq ft condo begins on Dec 28, and I don't want to repeat any of the previous mistakes.

I know I need this. I'm IN!

Finallyyyy!! I loved your previous cures and it's been ages since the last one. If we were previously signed up for the cure mailing list, do we have to sign up again?

Also, want to give us a clue on how this will fit 8 weeks of the cure into 1 month?

Challenge accepted

I'm excited! We need to go through our spare room and downsize my husband's wardrobe.

A few answers...

Previously Signed Up for Older Cure Emails:

We're not sending to the old Cure lists, so if you are interested in participating this time around, please be sure sign up on this post.

Fitting the 8 Week Cure into 30 Days:

This is a compact a one-month organizing and cleaning Cure only - it doesn't cover any decorating or interior design, so it doesn't map exactly to the 8 Week Cure as set forth in the book. We are pulling great organizing ideas and exercises from the book and rolling them out on an action packed daily schedule (get ready - you'll be busy!) throughout the single month of January.

We're planning a second Cure for later in 2013 that will be more focused on room decor/design that will incorporate some of the other sections of the book - more details on that Cure to come!

LOVE THIS IDEA

Regarding the photo, it looks pretty but, no one needs that many dishes! The best organization tip in the world is minimize your stuff! ;-)

Yes, Please!

I NEED this...can't wait! :)

Definitely crucial, MrsMollyK! Our baby arrived mid-April this year and I never got through an entire cure like I wanted to. So we've been playing catch-up since then.
Once the baby arrives, you won't be able to fit much more than the day-to-day minimum, esp. if both parents work.
I wish you good luck!

Thank goodness. I am already planning to do this, but having the Cure to help is awesome!

And I'm looking forward to my emails to help prod me to go through the paces of this... while my husband is on a brief holiday break between semesters.
Really need to shed some fat in the apartment and get back to some lean protein.

If you have a family of 4-5 or more, entertain and don't run the dishwasher except when absolutely full, then yes, you could easily go through most, if not all of those dishes. From the looks of the cabinets, these are everyday, albeit very nice, dishes and they definitely look used. Let's not judge the lifestyle of others unless you have more info.

But yes, like the sentiment -- everything should be scrutinized and trimmed when possible.

Big leap. We'll see how committed I am to a tidy house.
I think I'm ready.

Oh, I need this bad!

Does anyone know who makes the kitchen cabinets from the post? I love the mix of open shelving and cabinet doors.

now to see if I can stick with the program. I've tried before, but things have always come up. I'm hoping for a good mix of encouragement and tough love and hoping I can give the same to others (especially on the encouragement!)

My house really needs this. I'm a little nervous to be honest...here we go!

Not for the faint of heart - I'm in!!

Such a great way to welcome the the new year! I'm in. I did 3 cures and all of them changed so much for me. I live in a pad that I love and that works for me but the last couple weeks were very busy so a focus on cleaning and curating is what I really need right now.

I'm hoping to be moving into another apartment,,, its an older type.. but has things in it that I don't have in this apartment. And would really enjoy getting notices about things I may have forgotten to do,, or just never thought of....

Sigh. Looking forward to the days when I don't have a roommate and can actually do things like this.

I've been an AT fan since it began, and I have to say that I am so tired of all this clearing out, straightening up, cleaning and organizing information. Is it just AT fans, or is the whole world just a chaotic mess?? Why, oh why, can't people get rid of the junk that holds them down? Why is it so hard for people to throw away things? I just don't get it.

I have so little patience for all the whining and hopelessness brought about by stuff. If you don't use it, get rid of it. If you haven't worn an article of clothing in a year, give it to Good Will. Do you think you'll forget your children were babies once? If not, then throw out that baby junk. Go through the mail every day and get rid of the junk mail immediately. Wipe out the sink after each use, and it will stay clean. Put your clothes away, don't put them on the floor. Don't kick your shoes off and let them lay right by the door. Carry them to the closet. Dust once in a while. Wash the dishes every day.
None of these things are painful, or hard, or particularly time consuming.

Devote another whole month to this?? Guess I'll sign off until February, when it's safe to come back.

I'm in too. Like Ms Pea, I'm not in for the information, but more because I need a schedule to follow. I'm good at maintaining my house, but with all the renovations going on, I need a full prescription once in a while. January is as good a month as any.

I'm looking forward to the decorating part, even if it's later in the year.

Could we have more information, please? Ok, it's an organizing and cleaning Cure. But any sense of what would be a realistic amount to cover in 4 weeks? Maybe give some examples of the kinds of things that would be do-able in 4 weeks.

I'd like to participate, but I need to think about what would be possible and useful for me to do.

I moved into my first apartment with nothing five months ago, at which time I also started law school. So needless to say, my apartment is barely functional and still a complete mess. I will be SO into this cure, I hope it helps me get things in order finally!

I am up for the challenge. Thank you, AT!

I need this.

The "sticking with it" once it is organized is vital!
Count me in.
pve

it's been a few years since i've participated. we're expecting our first child the beginning of february, so this will be good for my nesting, especially since we just moved and our lives are still in boxes.

Build and they will come.

Yay! I'm on board!

@janel, thanks for the replies! I signed up and I'm looking forward to receiving the first emails. I am really pumped about the second cure too - I find them very motivational in helping me tackle projects.

BRING IT 2013!

Fired up and ready to go! Will there be music?

I really enjoyed the last AT home sure. I try to keep my home decently clean but I love the different perspectives and motivational ways to tackle less than fun projects. Looking forward to new beginnings in 2013! Thanks.

@Jewel

The kitchen in this photo is from one of my favorite AT tours of all time. I actually have it bookmarked:
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/minh-and-ted-bought-a-distress-150686

I believe they said the cabinets were custom-made. They really did a lot of work on an old house and the kitchen is small but tidy. They mentioned the cabinets are painted with Farrow & Ball in the colors Bone and Green Stone.

And to the person who said "nobody needs that many dishes," the homeowners work at home and it's clear that they do a lot of entertaining. I know how many dishes I need to entertain a crowd on a regular basis, and this is nothing out of the ordinary.

You can't imagine how much my home and I need this. I hope I can stick with it. I'm a bit ADD, and my mind and tasks tend to wander.

Great! January is a super time for the "cure". I always feel like getting things fresh and tidy around this time of year... looking forward to january 2nd.

Help....''/

Fantastic! I´m in!

We're also having ababy in March, so we're in the mind set to nest and organise. Looking forward to some motivating tips! I also agree that this is something to stick at all year round, and likely to be things that we've heard before, but it's nice to have refreshers to keep you on track.

Wow, so many of us feel the same way, I have pent the past five days cleaning and pulling my hair out. So looking forward to this challenge, thank you!

Excellent idea!

I'll be gone the last week in January, but even so I really need your help and support!

Pretty kitchen.

Just what I need (again)

Just what I need to help me!! I have started purging, tossing, donating and recycling, now I'm at the point where I go in my room or look about in the kitchen and literally walk in circles because I don't know what to do next. This gives me something to look forward to... hahahaha who knew! I need storage ideas for a budget too! Thanks AT!!!

I'm in!

We moved into our current house this year, 2 weeks before our first child was born. It's time to tackle all of the stuff that magically moved with us and wasn't culled...especially since we're hoping for #2 next year. Admittedly, it's all my stuff, but I can always persude my husband to help :)

what a great idea for the new year!!!
love it!!!

I work full time and additionally run my handmade businesses out of my little one bedroom place. Things have gotten a bit chaotic in there with the holiday orders! I just passed my holiday shipping deadline and am so looking forward to getting everything back into place and spiffed up again. I'm also trying to live more like a minimalist, so I need to do a serious purge. I can't wait to get started!

OH YEAH!

This is really a great idea! Can't wait for your your mails in 2013.
And there is something else I might need some help...Cleaning up the computer with all it's data rubbish...:-)

I'd love to participate but every time I click on the link, I get this message. I haven't been given the opportunity to enter an email address, so don't know why it's wrong. Can anyone help?

Invalid Email Address
Sorry, but the email address you supplied was invalid and needs to be fixed before you can subscribe to this list.
Click here to go back to the form and make the required changes.

I can't wait, something to look forward to in January. I love the whole after Christmas clean up the whole house, its better than spring cleaning, January clean up!! Yay can't wait to begin.

A great idea!

Put your email in the gray box. I clicked on it before I did and got that error message also.

Let's do this! So in!!

Yay, I can actually participate this year! I had also planned to start the 20 minute clean schedule, so hopefully I haven't shot myself in the foot before I even get going!
And my birthday is the end of January, so the party at the end will be great timing.

dulcibella, usually they give broad parameters and the individual chooses a room or unfinshed project in their home that fits the parameters. this will be my first time participating (because i always miss this heads-up post till it's almost over) but i always read the later posts' comments. some comments i've read show that the person is "curing" all the bookshelves in their home, or their whole kitchen, or only the kitchen drawers, or maybe the master bedroom, or the finishing and (appropriately) filling a half-built storage shed/building. this is not necessarily going to instruct you to overhaul your entire home and life, though i've read comments that showed someone was trying that.

thanks, denisegk. I should probably just take a deep breath and jump - it's not like I'm getting graded or a performance review at the end!

dulcibella, actually you are - we're giving everyone a grade at the end this time (kidding - of course!)

A little more info for you, as requested: This Cure is structured a little differently than in the past - we're designing it to be completely done in a month and to cover several rooms in your home (it is a lot of work, but worth it in the end!). It will have you work on decluttering, organizing and cleaning your kitchen, bath, bedroom and living room, along with completing a few other goals along the way. The focus will be on clearing clutter and cleaning up, as well as assessing projects to continue to do throughout the rest of 2013 to truly get your home on track this year. You'll be busy, but its one step at a time, one day at at time (yes, even weekends!) and we hope that if everyone knows from the start that it truly will be just one month long, we can all push through and get the work done in time for our get-togethers during the first weekend in February. A full January Cure calendar will be linked from the first post on January 2nd, so you'll be able to see the scope of the assignments then. We can do this!

Yes! I cannot wait! The timing is perfect, too, because my house should be relatively tidy for all the guests we'll have right through the end of December. That will make it easier for me to tackle the clutter and such.

I did a long cure the spring after we bought our house (almost three years ago), but missed the ones that came after. I loved the one that I did, and I am so happy that you're finally doing another one.

Can someone PLEASE tell me what house tour etc. this photo is from!!!!!! It is the identical layout of my kitchen and I need the inspiration!

Ms. Pea, kuddos to you! I, however, find that sometimes life gets the best of me, and with a partner who doesn't see dirt the way I do as well as other circumstances, it's nice to have structured reminders on how to improve our home. I hope you will still be able to enjoy the tours, decorating features, and non-housekeeping posts even with if The Cure occupies some of the site. Besides--I'm sure the AT folks hope to sell a few more books!

AT is pretty good about attributing photos. At the bottom of the post (and most of the posts on this site) you will find image info and a link. It's just above the comment counter. On this post, scroll up for the small print " (Image: Bethany Nauert /" followed by a link to the page the photo comes from.

Please sign me up!

January isn't the best month for me, but I'm in anyway. My space needs some serious decluttering and cleaning.

Great! Can't wait. I completely clean out one small area every week (one drawer, shelf, cabinet, or bin), but this should jump-start my efforts for the year.

I am so excited to finally be able to participate in a cure. And while I thought it was going to have us focus on one room only (I was going to work on my disorg'd mess of a kitchen), I am thrilled it's going to be for more areas of the home. And all in time for my hubby's bday weekend! Guess I'll now host a party :)

@janel

Thanks for the clarification. I've signed up - pop quizzes or not : ) It sounds like I'll have to modify things a bit to work for me (my bedroom is undergoing a fairly major redo at the moment which won't be complete in a month). I'll either substitute another bedroom or some other room. But there's plenty for me to choose from.

This comes at just the right time for me. Looking forward to it.

Want to join!!!

Amykin- yeah we needed that many dishes ...my mom had 21 children- I am her 19th (I''m 53) and I have one baby brother (now 52) and a baby sister now (now 51). Something was always breaking! And before you ask...no twins or triplets. All single births one year after another.

YYYEEESSSSSS!!!! You have no idea how much I need this in my life right now. Thank you!!!!

I'm in.

So excited for this challenge. Need to work on our two small offices and our side-by-side narrow garage. We've downsized, and need to declutter and organize for this new-to-us 1600 sq ft home. We've lived in it for 3 years now, and much of it is functional and nice. Except, there are pocket areas that are junk rooms (said offices & work rooms), closets and shelves that make life frustrating for lack of function, organization and unattractiveness. Time to open them up and dump lots of stuff to make them functional on a daily basis.

Thank you for this offer. I came across this because I was going to use the kitchen articles to reduce my kitchen equipment to basic supplies for a workable kitchen. We have downsized from 1800 sq feet to 600 sq feet, just the rooms you plan to work on. I need to create some storage--shelving (over doors), places to hang things (chicken wire and frame for earrngs), under the bed (clothing)
I knit, do cross stitch and sometimes sew. I have fabric, fiber and threads and patterns. I have unfinished projects that can become gifts.
This will be a project. I hope that I succeed.

Woo Hoo!!!!

This took a bit of effort to find. Can we get a big link on the front page?

tcabeen - Yes, we'll add a link to the January Cure to the upper left sidebar on January 2

Yes, really need help organizing, decor ..

Yes please!

Really excited for this. This is what Apartment Therapy is all about, helping us organize and live in smaller spaces. I am thinking of blogging my way through this, to keep me accountable. Could we get a link-back button?

I can spend one hour a day on the cure. Will this be enough?

Is there a "cure" for my addiction to Apartment Therapy?!? LOL!!!

Happy to sign on for this first resolution of the year! Bring it on!

Perfect timing! We're actually majorly upsizing soon (buying a two bedroom flat, currently renting a studio) and moving in February. I've moved a lot in the past few years with some unpacked boxes, piles of crap I don't even enjoy... Now that I'm not living alone the stuff has multiplied even further, it just all needs heavy pruning. That way I will HOPEFULLY be able to start the new place with a clean sheet!

i actually wish this started today, not tomorrow. i'm motivated to begin and am finding new years day rather boring this year and feeling kind of blah. it's cold & grey here today and i just need something to snap me out of my melancholy. i guess most people are too hung over to start today? or still busy hosting new years day parties?

-impatient in philly

I'm in!!!!
espmax(at)gmail(dot)com
Terri

Ms. Pea, I'm fairy certain many [most?] of us here feel much the same way you do. But the truth is, sometimes life happens. Plus, in a household of more than one, not everyone is always of the same mindset. The best laid plans and all that... I'm a firm believer in a place for everything and everything in its place. It CAN be done and, as you say, it's not painful or hard or particularly time consuming. It does however, require one to posses at least a sense of organization and discipline. This comes naturally to some, others, not so much. But it CAN be cultivated provided the right motivation. I see these Cures as that motivation.

For me, it's less about *stuff* and more about getting back on track after life interrupted. Even the most organized & disciplined among us need a kick in the pants on occasion, a a refresher course if you will. True, some need to learn to sever ties with stuff (the key word here being 'learn) but I don't hold that against them. I cannot - I was once one of them. And then someone taught me there was a better way. I listened, I learned, I tossed. And I tossed. And then I tossed some more until till eventually it became habit which required little thought or even energy. Nope...it's not painful or hard or particularly time consuming....once it is learned.

Due to circumstances beyond my control my once organized, clutter free house is in disarray. Total chaos would be a more apt description. At least once a yr for the past 4 yrs my home has been used as a staging area (first the forced downsizing of an ailing parent, then dismantling a household after the death of another, etc). About the time I'd almost get order restored, something else would happen.

My home is no longer my haven. I cannot relax here and it's beginning to affect other areas of my life. When I should be concentrating at work, I find myself mentally planning what project I'll tackle when I get home (which, btw, with my commute is 11 hrs after I left). And on the weekends which I actually have time, I find it all so overwhelming I can't pick a starting point. Suffice it to say, I am one of those who needs a kick in the pants to get up & get moving! I know it can be done. I have done it.for many years and with ease.

All that to say... I am also a firm believer in tough love and won't hesitate to dish it out when necessary, tempered of course, with appropriate encouragement. And despite your [somewhat sarcastic] closing statement, it is clear to me that you have this gift. So I want to issue a challenge. I'm throwing down the gauntlet, if you will...

Instead of signing off until February, why don't you stick around and dish out some of that tough love for those of us who sorely need it? I for one, would be grateful.

I held off signing up for the cure until the 11th hour because, quite honestly, I'm afraid of failing and feeling worse than I do now. I finally broke down & signed up just prior to typing this post. In Dulcibella's words (below) I'm just going to take a breath & jump in. And just so's ya know...it was your comment that pushed me over the edge. Thanks ;)

Wish me luck, y'all. We are about to see if I can take it as well as I can dish it out!

.

Hey midcentmod - I was in the same boat and was actually thinking it started today. I even checked my spam folder to see if the email got sent there, but alas. I had to take matters into my own hands and did a major clear-out of several kitchen cabinets and my clothing drawers. Already took a bunch of stuff to the Salvation Army today. There is still a lot more to be done, but it feels really good. It was getting to the point that I hated looking in my cabinets, they had just collected so much junk. Now, my bedroom I need to work on tomorrow....

Just wondering what time you will be posting as we are in the UK and excited to get started!! Ok, I am excited :)

This is perfect - my house got bad over last semester. I did a bunch of cleaning on Christmas Eve (weirdly enough) but have so much more work to do!

If 'Tara' lives in one of these 'to die for' homes/apartments with 'to die for' features' and has 'to die for' iconic furnishings, accessories, pets, kids etc. then I'm probably going to be less interested. Right now, I feel more like following & helping "Discerning".

Hellooooo! It's after 10:00 AM - when are we getting started???

Ready to go! Very excited!

It's 10:30am and I have my master calendar set up and project list completed! Thank you so much for the direction and motivation!

dani

So excited! I love doing the Cure, and missed it the last couple of years, so my house really needs it, especially with two cats and a techie boyfriend.

Thanks, Apartment Therapy! I needed this, and the feeling of community provided by participating in this project is an added bonus. Keeping the end goal in sight, I look forward to being more creative and productive in a space where I can find things more easily. In our home are two artists, one who is also a musician, and five grown rescue cats (who take up a lot more space than when they were kittens, not to mention their shedding): EVERYTHING is potential art materials so it's really difficult to purge belongings, and there are guitars and keyboards in nearly every room. Like I said, I can use the help and encouragement, so I'll be checking the Apartment Therapy site every day to read everyone's comments!

Never thought I would feel excited to clean! But I am!

This is a perfect project for me. We have a wedding in our log cabin house on Feb 2. I'll be ready thanks to this project!

Here goes! I hope I can keep up. I have a few projects that I would like to get done, nothing major, but some organizing. It's going to be a good excuse to do a party at the end.

Yahoo!! Hope I can keep up with all of the challenges :D

I hope I can keep up with the challenges. It will truly be challenging with twins and a full time job, but it helps to know that there are others doing it to!

I was feeling so overwhelmed this weekend about the state of my apartment. This is exactly what I needed to see today. I'm in!

I'll take all the help I can get, rmbnn! So, are you joining in the fun this time around or just following along? Hard to tell from your comment. I dunno about Tara, but I can assure you there's no 'to die for' home or iconic furnishings here. The very idea makes me chuckle.

Ready to go! We should be closing on our house in the next few weeks, so as soon as we're in I'll go back and catch up. Woop woop!

OK, this is annoying - I use an old-fashioned but virus-resistant email program called Pine. Turns out that the first day's message was just a teaser, then an instruction to click on a link for the rest of the day's message. Argh! Needlessly complicated. Better to just include the whole message in the original email, and/or make a link from this page on your website (where I'm now posting this message) to the accumulating daily suggestions, so that one could just log into the AP website & follow along

Sorry to be grumpy - I've gotten hooked on Apartment Therapy & need my daily fixes!

Signed up! I thought I submitted my email address in advance but now remember that it got glitchy when I tried to type on my phone.

We moved to a new place in August - can't believe it was that long ago - and have lost momentum. This will be great, since we now know better how the space feels, how we use it, what the light is like.

First-time Cure attempt going on here - am finding the comments every bit as helpful as the assignments. What an amazing community.

Thanks for helping me realize I'm not alone on this (cluttered) path. And big thanks to the cure colleagues below, whose posts now sit at the top of my (cluttered) master list of tasks. You're reminding me every day that a good laugh helps keep the (clutter) despair at bay:

'Wow. That was depressing. Now just shopping for a new house...' - mwinfield

'Just walked around the house with son. His list basically says more lego for each room.' - Umi Sushi

'I suspect with a four year old and a slob of a husband, I may be expecting too much. :/' - Liminality

I put flowers in my bathroom, because I spend a lot of time in there and they make me happy in the morning. Besides, my dining room table is covered with piles of crap. - inchbranch

Keep 'em coming!

Thank you for this! I'm so excited for the long month to pay off! I'll start live-blogging the cure this month as well at honeywithoutflowers.com :)

Wish I had found this at the beginning of the month! But I'm ready to catch up.

Was trying and then stopped getting emails for some reason and so I just didn't think about it. Trying to catch up!

Apartment Therapy actually inspired me last year to utilize my space.....So i painted the whole apartment myself and did the bathroom. However, i haven't achieved my goals yet as i have too much clutter ( which keeps me from doing my projects that i enjoy) I have MADE MY LIST as well as took photos. I can't wait to get started!