apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

This is the view from outside my window (in case you've been wondering). That's Kate, my roommate, in the silhouette of the satellite dish we found, and that's my street reflected in the squeaky clean glass. She was keeping an eye on me in case I fell off the roof while cleaning the outsides of my windows. After removing the shredded screens that obstructed my view, I set to work with the glass cleaner and paper towels, reaching all but one elusive patch of glass on the outside above a wall I couldn't scale or reach without endangering my life (or so my roommates convinced me). I then tried replacing the tabbed curtains with some I rescued from my outbox (what do you think?). I guess you could say it was sort of a windowy day.

I also met with Vinny, a Brooklyn painter who Max recommended to me. He talked to me about some color suggestions (rooms look best, he says, when they stay within the same color family in the paint swatch book) and gave me an estimate on my room, which he thought would be a fairly complex job because of the bay windows, the dark color of the walls which might take three coats to cover, and the darkly painted ceiling. For a two-day job, he estimates it will cost around $450. Yikes - or maybe it will be worth it? Though Max says that's a pretty reasonable rate for painters in the city, I've got to sleep on that one for a few days...

The major accomplishment of my week was the reduction of my outbox, which was surprisingly simple now that some time has passed. I listed my books on half.com, and only adopted one back into my library. And since yesterday, I've already made one sale!

Because the house where I'm living is for sale (we're on a month-to-month lease with 3 months notice before we would have to leave were it to sell) and it's likely I'll be moving again in the next 6 months-1 year, I decided it was worth it to hold on to some of my house things for that time. I looked into temporary storage units and found a good deal through Manhattan mini storage - they said that with a 4 month commitment they would not only give me a 4 by 4 by 4 storage unit for $39 a month, but pay for a mover to come and pick up my things and deliver them with me to their south street seaport storage location. A good deal - but on second thought, I decided for now to utilize a corner of the basement that was free. I'm also organizing a Salvation Army pickup for the house, and if in 2 weeks when they come I haven't sold the books in my outbox, I'll donate them along with the 3 bags of clothes they require as a minimum for pickup (I'm ready to go through my closet again!). I stashed the two tubs and one box I decided to keep, which leaves an outbox of only the two boxes of books I've put up for sale, and two boxes to go through in the next few weeks.

It was about this time when I felt my the hairs on my back raise to attention, my head turn towards the breeze that had begun to waft in through my newly scrubbed windows. Before I knew it, I found myself tearing down the street on my bike towards Prospect Park: the rest of my to-do list abandoned, nose to the wind, hair satisfactorily soaked by the rain that began to come down soon after.

Consider yourself warned! Clean windows are likely to beget the noticing of spring air, which is likely to beget forbidden bike rides and abandoned to-do lists. Or, as some say, the freedom to jump into the day, with no dirt and shredded screens to keep you from its welcome...

Best, Rebecca "the winsome clutterer" Bea

Check back weekly for updates on Rebecca's Progress...

>> To To - Rebecca's Cure: Week Six - Momentum Drop?
>> Go To - Rebecca's Cure: Week Four - Color?
>> Go To - Rebecca's Cure: Week Three
>> Go To - Week Two - Weekend
>> Go To - Week Two
>> Go To - Week One
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