apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I like that Warhol paper; I hope she keeps it, but it might be fun to not really add more of it, but maybe paint the other bits of wall red, and leave the cabinets white.

someone on the flkr comments suggested doing an enlarged version of the soup cans for the backsplash, which strikes me as very clever.

Red lacquer cabinets might be fun....

am very curious to know if that paper was/is marketed
or if that was a diy job
Christeeeeena, talk to us!

The bf left the country yesterday, so my cure offically began...I made huge strides in the cleaning department yesterday and said goodbye to a decent sized outbox (some leftover from the spring cure)...I reread the first couple of chapters of the book as a refresher last night...I'm feeling pretty motivated...how about everyone else?

I started the cure a day early - re-reading the first chapter, and getting through a fair amount of the deep cleaning. I'm so close to feeling like my apt is really the home that I wanted (I semi-started the cure last time, then petered out) that I'm totally motivated to make it all the way this time!

Ooh, so motivated, just wish I had more time! There's already a hefty Outbox in the garage and I need to find out when the next donation pickup truck comes through the neighborhood so I don't miss it. I'm trying to Cure my home into being prepared to host Thanksgiving for the first time (for anywhere between 20-30 people!) so I might spend a lot of time Curing my kitchen...

I got overenthusiastic and decluttered last week, so I'm raring to go. The shipping on my book was delayed (grrr), so I'm picking it up at the library tonight and diving right in so I don't get left behind!

I've read the book cover to cover (hey, I needed something to do before the cure can start). Today I'm gonna start cleaning a bit - I'm mostly decluttered, so instead I'm gonna start moving some bedroom furniture around.

This time I’m getting to the bedroom/home office. It was the decision to create a real home office that started my rounds of redecorating two or so years ago.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7340332@N05/

The plans are to ditch the bamboo table and replace it with a Syrian taboret. I’ll need a floor lamp for the corner behind the bed to replace the yellow lamp on the table.

The pair of torcheres mark the “division” between the office and the bedroom. One needs to be repaired. There is also a sconce that needs “stuffing” to be useful as a light.

I’m also stealing Taureg’s idea of using a dressmaker’s dummy for my rotating costume collection. The display on the front of the closet doors doesn’t work anymore. It crowds the home office. The dummy will go behind the taboret. Good local sources for dressmaker’s dummies gratefully received.

All the art work will have to be rearranged. It’s still left over from the old arrangement. The mosque curtain formed the “headboard” to a queen sized platform bed which faced the Turkish tapestry, a favorite piece.

The pillows on the bed are a hotch-potch. I do have to do something about them, but as an item it’s very low on my list of priorities.

The desk isn’t usually that stacked up, but I’m in the middle of several projects right now. I use the pull-out shelf and drawer for clear work surfaces regardless of how uncluttered the actual desks are.

The stacks of books and file boxes are really a separate issue (in my opinion), and will be addressed separately.

Anne -- that's ambitious. I'm sending supportive thoughts your way.

We started a bit early ourselves, about a week ago...one of the things I keep noticing is our perpetual fear of buying rugs for our floors...no fear of color, I love our walls, and I think we're on our way to making the apartment feel like home, but I always look jealously at others' floors...some rooms we would leave be, as our hardwood floors themselves are quite nice, but I wonder if there are folks out there who could give me a primer in shopping for and selecting rugs, especially since our budget is, well, small for this Cure.

I was having so much fun adding notes to my newly uploaded pictures on flickr - http://www.flickr.com/photos/13108435@N03/ - (I've never used flickr before), that I almost missed my French class - oops. Pictures of my livingroom are up, kitchen and bedroom will be coming later today (oh yes, more ways to procrastonate online!).

Guido I don't know if that paper is sold as wallpaper, but Paper Source has flat sheets of it that you could decoupage to things (including walls, I suppose). It might be available elsewhere, too.

Wow... what a trip to have a picture of my bedroom on the site! I'm flattered and must say I'm glad that's the part of the room you chose to post ;-)

I'm really looking forward to the cure. I am trying to have a sort of mini-studio in one room, with sleeping, living and working areas... don't know if that's possible in such a small place but I can try.

I like the Warhol paper, and I think the idea of decorating around it is a good one. Where I work the kitchen is done in a really nice, red/maroon shiny modern kind of finish. Don't know her budget, but it might be something to look into (I could find out where it's from - maybe Ikea?

looking forward to the cure!

The warhol is actually just printed on 8.5x11 sheets of paper and then trimmed to size, and taped (:-O) to the wall. So yeah, if you get close, you can see that it is individual sheets, but otherwise, the lines sort of blend together.

Our main issue with the kitchen is that is is just so white! The prints help, and we like that you can't see them until you're already in the kitchen.

Keep the Campbell's!

I've uploaded my pre-cure pics to Flickr! ( http://www.flickr.com/photos/12591722@N08/sets/72157601943712572/ )
I just moved to NYC (UES) from New Mexico less than 2 weeks ago, so I have a lot of unpacking and arranging to do, as well as buying some new pieces of furniture. I would appreciate any and all input!!

My 2 biggest issues right now are layout and what new furniture to buy, as well as color scheme and style. I guess that will get addressed later during the cure, but I'm already stressing about it cause I need to buy stuff so I can finish unpacking! I will start a style tray this week... I did post a few of the different layouts I was playing with. http://www.flickr.com/photos/12591722@N08/sets/72157601944810636/

I look forward to getting down and dirty as well as the great interaction I've seen on here already!

Thanks Jonathan B, we actually have a great party house but I want to try and change the flow so people don't congregate in the kitchen (is this possible?). I'm not too worried about the food, but I need to make everything a little more kid-friendly and less cluttery. I'm pretty optimistic, as in every time I've done the Cure I've been happier with the Afters than the Befores.

Last cure I went crazy with the ourbox, and I have been ok about bringing new stuff in since then, so I have less de-cluttering to do this go round. I started deep cleaning last week and I have found I really actually enjoy it. I wait till my 3 yr old is in bed and I can really see results- I just can't be that loud while doing it.

Oh Hey!
Since we're breaking up into groups we should do a "Kitchen" group next time. I know I could to the whole Deep Treatment on just my kitchen; probably more than once. Let alone finally getting it all gussied up with a One Room Remedy.
:)!

I am ready!! I am doing the deep treatment to all but my daughters room. (Her room was recently renovated). I did some moving around this weekend and got my flicker page up and running!! I need to continue to take pictures of the my bedroom and bathroom, they should be up tonight.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9566101@N06/

I am also blogging...

http://missmacmac.blogspot.com/

trying to catch up on everyone else's cures.

sadie: love your blog -- and the name of your blog.

wende: hysterical. remind me never to go to phoenix. and if I ever start a blog, I'll follow your instructions.

jess2nola: almost moved to NOLA three years ago, so your pictures are a bit sad for me. But love your color scheme and remain a mignon faget and thomas mann addict.

lady j: thanks for the flickr info. I am now no longer among those who are flickr challenged.

p0lkad0t: you're too kind, but thank you.

alana: your blog title made me giggle.

polkadot: I think I want to judge the contest for who has the best AT:cure related title for his or her blog....

Zooza: wow. I think I'm going to love your kitchen when you're done.

smallcitybeth: another great blog title. but your responses are quite big city.

lorijo -- your desk area and landing strip are inspiring! i'm really excited to finally begin my first cure...i find all this interweb business a bit confusing to navigate, though.

There is an absolutely overwhelming number of partcipants at the moment--and flickr is cluttered!

Perhaps we should institute a practice of just posting one pic from each room tagged "apartment therapy cure" instead of all of them?? And the rest could just rest in your account, so that if someone wants to slog through them all, they are there? I don't know. Maybe just my cold is getting to me.

I do need some advice re: my staircase. I'm wondering if going with a darkish stain on my treads will be too heavy for my enclosed, rather steep staircase.

http://prairiehometherapy.blogspot.com/

And thanks JonathanB--A smile is exactly what I'd hoped for!

thanks anna! I didn't get my landing strip area totally worked out until AFTER the last cure. It took a while to work through some kinks and find out what we could really use (and keep using).

Hi all,
I'm having a problem downloading my before apt. photos onto flickr. Can anyone help me out here?
I actually had someone come in and do an initial cleaning and she did not use any of the eco friendly cleaners I had, just water!!!!! What?
Anyway, I started to declutter and am making some progress, but it still is overwhelming. But, I am plodding through. I am closing on my apt at the end of this month!!! Can;t wait and I was going to hire an architect and interior desidner friend to help me decide how to lay out my apt. I am happy that I am reading this book and participating in a group discussion.
Look forward to learning what my style is and also, don't forget to give me the how-tos on how to download my photos.
Thanks,
Demejan

Alana in Canada,

Thanks for that suggestion! It's not just your cold. I have been thinking about that same thing. I've noticed many times a situation where there were 5 or 6 pictures of the same room with only a change or two; where one picture would have been fine. Recently, I had to institute a limit of 100 pictures total per person.

I might also suggest that Cure returnees self-edit their earlier Cures and only keep the pictures that showed their progress and final images. As a returnee, what do you think?

It seems AT is fine with my Unofficial group still housing the NY Cure folks. With AT starting separate Flickr Cure groups for LA, SF, Chicago, and AT-Green this group may not seem as crowded as before. We'll see.

Lisa and Alana - I think your suggestions are good. It's easy to drown in that flickr pool! Less photos would make it easier to see who is doing what and keep up with their progress.

Do we already have a limit of 100 photos (and is that enforced by technology?)? I'll edit my earlier cure photos this week so I don't run into problems later on in the cure.

T-Man
The building is o.k. with paint. I'm just not able to tackle 13 foot high walls on my own and have been letting them age. But something does have to done. The building is not o.k. with changing the blinds. They have to stay. The first-floor view is fine. I have no idea why I drew the blinds for the photo.

TheFarmer'sDaughter
Though the quality varies, Day of the Dead figures and dioramas are always a hoot. As someone with a lot of books, I couldn't resist that one.

Elisebrown
Thank you.

belledame
the reptiles -- or alleged herpetrators as I like to think of them -- will have a proper home by the end of the eight weeks.

alana
if you keep the risers white, the darker stain on the treads should be o.k.

Lisa and Alana,

I, too, am a bit overwhelmed by the traffic.

As wonderful as the "unofficial" flickr site is, especially outside of normal cure times, I'm actually wondering whether it would make more sense to create a new NYC fall cure group... without 4000 pictures to wade through that go back in time.

Although I could also just concentrate on discussing and following Flickr links from here.

Another thought I had was that it might be helpful if there was an overall "style tray" flickr group for everyone... I'd like to see inspiration from all corners of the globe.

Regardless, I'm looking forward to this ;-)

ATBettsbillabong, your bedroom already looks lovely and uncluttered!

JonathanB, I was intrigued with your photos, and made some comments on them.

I was so grateful for the delay last week; it allowed me to get started with flickr and take a load of things to donate. I moved everything around to vacuum, but haven't mopped yet, and I washed all my bedding. I also answered MGRs interview questions; his observation that "Too many answers - want to fit a lot in, may have trouble with clutter (need editing)" was completely accurate for me! Are Cure participants to post the MGR interview answers somewhere--perhaps in their flickr profiles or something? My before pics are at http://www.flickr.com/photos/12497012@N02/

Some of the comments from belledame, 26sqmetres, and scraplolly made me laugh and laugh and laugh at myself and the tragi-hillarity of my clutterhood! It truly is an experience to post pics in a public to space and hear responses from fresh eyes. It was also nice that they were encouraging, despite our clutter.

Oh, and the other cool things were that my Mom's friend got excited about it and is doing the Cure on the green site, and I cooked a simple dinner last night instead of succumbing to McDonalds--yaay!

As the top contributor on the flickr pool, I assure you the 100 pic limit is not true. I blew past it long before buying a Pro account.

T-Man

Thank you.

I don't know that I've ever actually answered all of the questions on the test, but agree that a compilation of "best" answers would be a delight.

As for my "cure": today's projects are lamps and dressmaker's dummies.

Deme - where are you running into trouble in the Upload process?

At first the sheer number of photos does seem overwhelming, but the Pool pages allow you to skim forward and get a look at the pics you feel the need to post on anyway. I tend to go into a photo, use that skim option to the right on the pool photos and also tool around in people's pages looking at their Style Trays, etc.

I can't stress enough the need to add comments to your photos that give us an idea of what you are trying to do before posting them. Seeing all the details is fine, but what do you want to change about the area or room? It allows everyone to use their flickr time much more efficiently. Now that the Cure is underway, time spent looking at flickr is time NOT spent Curing my own home.

Good luck!

inspired by many of you, I too have started a blog to chonicle this Cure: http://foreigncircuslife.blogspot.com/

I'm planning to link to the Cure blogs posted- please let me know if you would prefer I not include you. I wonder if there is a way to set up a master list for the NY Cure that lists each participant with a link to flickr and blog for those who have them? It might be easier to have a central point for that stuff rather than having to wade through the comments of the 2 weekly posts to find those links...

CQ

love the idea of being both an archeologist and an interior designer....

thanks JonathanB- I figure I have all this experience digging out from under the clutter... ;-)

I just went in and did a mini "cure" of my flickr pics in the AT pool. (I am thefarmersdaughter there) I got rid of 15 that didn't mean anything anymore (b4 pics from last cure). It was an eye opener really looking at those- and I feel really good about where I am now. The pics are still in my cure set from last time at my page- but I started a new set for this cure too. You are right, slogging through all these pics is a bit daunting, and it doesn't leave you with much time to comment on others.

I got my book last night and wrote out my goals. Even though my apartment's really not bad, it has felt anything but cohesive with the annual moving. Starting to figure out what isn't working is such a relief it feels like actual therapy--we don't know what's wrong and it's probably going to take a lot of work to fix it, but oh, the relief of knowing that a solution is forthcoming.

I tried moving the bed 90 degrees and under the window and the girlfriend hated it. I didn't mind it so much (I liked it more than the old configuration), but I could see her point. My problem is now I have nowhere to put my bed. Eeee...

I forced the boyfriend to do the quizes in the book and talk about goals for the apartment last night and I thought you all might enjoy this...

I started talking about ideas for our entry to make it more organized and he goes "Oh, you mean the runway right?"

He got a little upset when I laughed :)

Ok. Dumb Question. How do take our old cure pics out of the pool?

AmandaC, I actually like the term "runway"....that is certainly what it feels like in the morning at my house, when I'm trying to get shoes on 4 pairs of feet, and the accompanying bookbags, jackets and sports equipment into the car so we aren't late (again!!!) for school.

Day 1 went well. I finished reading the first section and started on the deep treatment. I have a lot of work to do so I have enlisted the help of my husband. He is a little slow to start but he is committed too. I am so excited about the next 8 weeks.

Lady J,

The 100 pic limit was only put into place a week ago, and yes it didn't effect your pictures, however, I think it might hinder you in the future.

StaciaD,

When looking at your picture in the pool (thumbnail sized) you should see an x under the pic, scroll over it and it says "to remove this picture from the pool". Click, and it will delete your picture from that particular photo pool but not from Flickr.

I've just been to Flickr, and have also done a "mini-cure" of my photos. I had already deleted all the photos having to do with previous cures, but have now pared down my current "before" pics to 19 from 24. (Not a great change, in the grand scheme of things, but I did remove some redundancies.) I've also made it clearer the sort of help I'm looking for. Thanks for the input on what's important in the pics!

I'm just wondering, should I remove my pics from the "Unofficial Cure Pool" since they're linked at the Chicago Cure?

Ok, well, since we're discussing this--(and I'm glad I wasn't the only one feeling swamped!) How should I organize my cure photos?

I kind of want to keep a record of the first cure--but a lot of my "before" pics for THIS cure are the "after" pics of the last. Except for one wall, there's only been minor changes.

Maybe what I should do is post pics of the projects I want to complete?

And I could update the style tray.
Hmm.

I know--I'll just tag the relevant photos with whatever the tag is for the SF group--nice bunch over there.

Hey T-Man, glad you could laugh and good for you for eating at home tonight. Keep at it.

Here's a great resource for anyone with a lot to declutter--www.organizedhome.com.

I've been reading the site for almost a year and I'm doing the Cure for the first time now! I read the first section of the book and did my Repair list tonight. It's longer than I expected.

I got a little ahead of myself today and removed the bedroom door that's been bugging since we moved in 3 years ago. It might just be my laziness, but I have a hunch the door was blocking the flow in that room (and hiding the piles of laundry.) I took a 'before' photo but it's too shameful to post until the 'after' is done too!

Why aren't there book blog links on the other sites? How are you supposed to follow the threads as the week goes on?

I second Lady J's request for book blog links on the other sites. It's getting to be a long scroll to get down the Chicago page to the cure post...

In other news, I just adjusted my blog so that anyone can post (as long as you prove you're not a robot by typing in the letters it shows you). http://serenityathome.blogspot.com

(Thanks, JonathanB, for your comment about my blog.)

Hey all! I'm finally jumping into the cure.

Here are my before photos:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/12783658@N08/

Please help me choose which room to do for the one room remedy! Either the bedroom, or the office. Both will support my goals from the quiz (relax more at home, and work more effectively at home).

Thanks, looking forward to curing with everyone!

Yay, progress! I took my only one-year-old-but-far-too-big-for-my space ottoman out of my parlor and woohoo, the whole place feels all opened up - and ready for more cleaning! Murphy's oil soap and I are going to have a ball on saturday morning!

unfortunately, since I broke my camera, the only photos I have to share of my place are from the night before I moved in - totally empty. But, I guess it'll show the post-cure transformation even more :)

(on flickr, I am lizbreen)

About keeping track of threads--make a favourites file, call it whatever you want. (Mine is "Fall cure 07" not witty, not brilliant, but it'll do)

Create as many sub-folders as you need.

Mine are (ready for brilliance and wit?)
New York
SF
Flickr
Blogs

(sorry!)

The flickr file holds both AT: NY and AT:SF.

As a new thread is created, I just save it to the relevant file.

Hope that helps.

I'm still have to add my photos to flickr, but I have added a page to my blog http://www.compassandcoffeespoons.typepad.com for Week 1...I think that's how I'm going to handle my postings about my progress rather than starting a new blog.

On the right side of each page, one of the little green capsule-shaped links says "book blog" - that one will bring you to the book blog! it's just not across the top like all the cities.

kat98 -- actually, I've only ever been able to find a capsule-shaped link to "book blog" on the New York site. As I understand it, there's only one Book Blog, then there are several other cities with Cure Groups. The other cities don't seem to have a link that will lead specifically to that city's Cure Threads. So for me, for example, in the Chicago cure, I either bookmark (as Alana has suggested above), or scroll to find the Cure thread. The link here on the Book Blog to the various city groups just links to that city's AT page, not to a specific city's Cure threads. That's what we're addressing in asking about links.

I am already having a terribly difficult time following the steps as they are layed out in the book. I think it's because I'm not really trying to "cure" my apartment - I like most of it the way it is, it functions well, has a style that I like, and I really do my living there. For example, I cook there almost every night, so the cooking one meal in the kitchen step doesn't really apply. What I'm trying to do is fix a few little sticky spots.
I have a to-do list that I've written up, and I just want to follow my list as I have the time for each task, and then cross it off the list. I don't think I need a style tray, because I'm not planning on buying any new furniture, or even messing with lay out. Basically I just want to de-clutter, clean, and repair a few things. Buuut, I really want to be a part of "the cure" so I keep trying to twist my projects into it. Instead, it's just making me really stressed about the whole thing, because I suddenly feel like I MUST do these things, plus the boyfriend thinks I've gone crazy and AT is a cult. Sooo...I'm having some issues.
The stress is acutally mostly due to school currently kicking my ass with homework, but because I've "committed" to curing, now I stress out every time I walk past the shelf that needs decuttering or the dishes that haven't been done. Anyway, two days left of my school week, and then maybe I can get some of my to-do list crossed off, and I'll feel like I've accomplished something...

On a more positive note, I'm really impressed by everyone else's goals for the cure (go T-Man!), I can't wait to see what everyone does!

Rosie--don't stress. You can be on the "Cure-light" program!

Something Small City Beth has come up with, which I think is brilliant, is a "To Don't" List. Write down what's nagging you and then decide if it REALLY has priority. If it doesn't, then don't worry about it 'til the next cure.

I'm just basically going to do the cleaning tasks, a few repairs and paint my dining room this cure. Everything else I do "stress" over--but that's fun, to me.

Oh, you're right! I guess I just THOUGHT that the capsule-shaped links on the right side were the same on all the cities' sites. I actually think it's really odd that they aren't - why wouldn't they have used the same "template" (for lack of a better word) for each city's AT page?

just one morechair

I did my "to do" list, and in addition to finding what I need to fix and replace, I also found out that I own 46 chairs. 46. Plus 2 highchairs and 3 sofas. For 2 adults and one 3 yr. old. I think I may have a problem.
I decided to do a blog in addition to flickr- just following everyone else lead I guess. I hope to figure out how the chair situation got so far out of hand.

Oh dear god. Someone tell me it's ok to throw away all the greeting cards that we received for our wedding/wedding shower. I'm sitting here looking at them...

LauraII --

1. It's okay to throw them out. You don't even have to plan to turn them into a meaningful craft project.
2. I'm not sure I have done so, and I'm afraid to look.

I’m running two cure-related projects this time around. The first is, of course, finishing off my bedroom/home office. The other is to finally address the contents of six file cabinet drawers and an equal number of file storage boxes that have either never been sorted or for all intents and purposes haven’t been sorted since the early 90’s.

The past couple of cures made me realize that while I keep meaning to get to this, it just “doesn’t happen”. I decided to hire a professional organizer to make sure it finally gets done. I also decided that as long as I’m hiring an organizer to do that, I may as well have that person look at the stacks of books, general storage (closets, cabinets, chests), computer files (which I suppose should use the same system as the paper files), and project/time management issues.

I posted a query on one of the open thread threads here and got a response with a link to a page which in turn linked me to NAPO – the National Association of Professional Organizers. Among the other pages in the site there is one dedicated to helping people find organizers in their area. It’s remarkably easy to use – dare I say well-organized? – and generated a list of about 30 or so names I could contact by a simple click on the ones that interested me and then send. I selected about 12, the ones who were clearly based in Manhattan (where I live).

Because we’re discussing people who are by profession organized I was expecting 12 responses. And prompt ones at that. I got five. And two were not that prompt.

All however were quite professional and focused when I spoke to them on the phone. One person disqualified herself on the basis that she really didn’t do anything but paper. While that was my main issue – and my bottom line – I did want books and general storage addressed as well. Another was clearly out of my budget range. It came down to two: one who not only knew Maxwell but also Apartment Therapy and the low bidder.

Since I knew I was going to run into Maxwell at Design Meet-Up, I decided to ask him about organizers in general and the person who claimed to know him in particular. He suggested I set up an “organize off” – blow torches at 40 paces – between the “finalists”. (Yes, he’s doing blow torch jokes, too.) He also recommended someone who’s listed in the services section of the site. To date, that person hasn’t called back.

In the end I decided to hire the low bidder. At the very least it would maximize my budget, which is extremely limited this time around.

What are my conclusions thus far? NAPO has a very good system to get their members connected with prospective clients. It’s unfortunate that its members are not making more use of it, but that’s not NAPO’s fault. Though, as a prospective client, I’m probably not missing anything by not interviewing someone who’s not organized enough to follow up on a lead.

If there’s any interest in my adventures with being professionally organized among the curetors, I’ll post updates once a week. Otherwise, I just report on the results at the end of the cure.

Thanks. I kept six - either handmade or essentially had letters written in them. Done!

I've not really done anything major toward Week 1, except for fill out my quiz. Yesterday, I did pick up my fresh flowers, the Union Square Greenmarket has big bunches of eucalyptus for only $5. As I was walking home with them, one man remarked, "Those smell great, I could smell them down the block." Well, needless to say they've made quite a difference in my tiny space, very refreshing. And since I have no light, I can't really grow plants so it's lovely to have something green in the house again. So tonight I'm going to tackle the before pictures and the floors. I love that the timing of this cure coincides with Rosh Hashanah, new year, fresh start vibe going on.

I am pumped for this. I havent posted any pictures to Flickr and dont think I will ( too much folk upindebusiness). So far this week, I have decluttered many things ( 2 boxes of books, various stuff off to Goodwill etc), sat in a room that I havent sat in a long while. I am off to buy some flowers. I am having difficulty with vacuuming and mopping all the floors cause I have too much crap but the office, bathroom and kitchen are done. I think my biggest job over the Cure will be to weed out a lot of my stuff, papers and books. If I can pare down my stuff I will have a workable office guest room which is one of the top 3 things I want to do.

JonathanB - I'd be interested to see how you get on with your PO each week. Please do post updates.

Last night boyfriend played madden with a friend in pittsburgh (yes, they even have headsets) so I got to declutter the new desk! All the papers are gone! There is a tiny pile of coupons/mets tickets/subscription renewals that are waiting to be pinned to the bulletin boards when they get put up but overall I feel really good about it.

then today, on my way to the bank I passed a deli with great flowers out front! Guess who will be walking that way to the train tomorrow :)

Well, the before pics are up, I made my list of repairs, and sat in an odd corner of my dressing room (probably not for a full 10 minutes, but I tried). Next up, flowers and getting rid of two huge underbed drawers that don't fit under my bed.

So glad to finally have time to join a Cure, after lurking through the last few. I've already posted some horrifically candid "Before" pictures on flickr. Thanks to Strata Chalup and Belledame73 for the encouragement and suggestions already.

My priority for this first cure is to focus on a basic Deep Treatment of cleaning and decluttering. I'm afraid thinking about design and aesthetics will be too distracting and overwhelming at this point, until I've gotten control over all my stuff.

Not sure how much time I'll be able to spend on the Cure Blog and flickr. I suspect the community support is the best part of the Cure, so I'm going to try to get involved!

I've started carrying a kitchen timer around the house with me, to get a sense of how much time it really takes to keep my home clean and orderly. Only 6 minutes to wipe the surfaces in my bathroom!

I've barely been home this week, but I'm re-reading the first chapters. I started a list of things for repair.

I also started a list of things for the outbox. I'm going to try to put a bunch of it on Freecycle tonight or tomorrow. And I have a desk to get rid of. The desk must go soon, because I've bought a new sideboard (launching into a whole how to arrange the furniture issue...)

I've also done a bit of research on some shelving that will fit in my hall closet and some sealable bins for the shelves. This will enable me to get a bunch of stuff that I use irregularly out of sight, but requires that I more or less empty the closet. Another source of goodies for Freecycle.

Right now, I feel like I have so much junk that I can't really clean, but I'll at least try to clean around it.

I know what you mean Zuleika ; I've barely been home this week. It seems that time goes by so fast.

I'm reading the first chapters and figuring out what is the plan for the next few weeks (my list of repair is done) and I cleaned up all of the rooms of what did not belong there. I'm waiting for the weekend in order to have time to really start cleaning and decluttering.

Read the section for week one, and its hard to not just plow through the whole book! I'm doing the deep clean and I'm going to try to tackle my office/guest loft, as it seems to really need the most work.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/12724657@N04/?saved=1

I can't believe how dirty my apartment was, and how clean I thought it was. Not sure how to go about the landing strip just yet.

JonathanB, I too would be interested in updates. I've been toying with the idea of somehow becoming, not a professional organizer, but someone who helps folks de-clutter.

And kudos, too, for hiring someone to help you do it. It's always tough to admit that you need help with something you think you *should* do yourself. (Well, it is for me.)

Last cure I ran around like a chicken with my head cut off trying to get every last little thing that needed work done. (Things we could do with-in our budget anyway.)

This time, I think I'm beginning to "get" this: the deep treatment is about cleaning and decluttering and functional repairs.

There's still a lot to be done, but I feel like the preassure (to create an "AT:worthy" home is off.

Alana --

It's only a problem if the headless chicken is wielding a blow torch.

As for professional organizers, I had been toying with the idea every since I got all the unsorted/unfiled stuff into the storage boxes from all the other places such things had been squirreled away. It's was less a case of admitting I needed help and more of a case of getting around to getting the help. There's a reason why time management is on that list.

Zooza --

and Alana as well -- yes, on the basis of two for votes and no nay votes, I'll post updates.

Well, I won't tell the whole long story, but I'm likely to be switching houses with my father in about a month, which I just found out about 15 minutes ago. It'll definitely be a move up for me, and not far away (just across a field), but it also means that I have to really clean up my house for my father and his bride-to-be, whose new house probably won't be ready in time for the wedding.

I'll leave the basic furniture there for them to use, and figure out what has to come with me--files, computer/equipment, cats/equipment/supplies, and who knows what else? And crack the whip for my kids to deal even further with their rooms.

I'll be Freecycling and Goodwilling and maybe some Craigslisting or eBaying, and trashing.

So I guess I'm in for this Cure.

My thoughts are with you, joan a. It sounds like you're doing a "double cure".

Thanks! That's about the size of it. No complaints, though. A Cure is long overdue anyway--this is just the trigger.

Thanks for the chuckle, Jonathan.
Glad you'll keep us posted.

Hi Folks,

The timing of this Cure is truly a message from the homemaking Gods!

After a summer of living at the beach from noon to late night, I trucked my kids off to school and realized that my house is a wreck, seriously ill as Maxwell would say.

I am tempted to do a whole house cure, with a focus on small repairs and de-cluttering. Yes the house could use some new drapes and furniture, but it needs a good cleaning and de-cluttering more. Not glamourous, but necessary.

Looking forward to Cure-ing with y'all!