apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Perfect timing for the living room, because I now have just about everything that is needed, plus some time off - and it's the room that needs the most work.

The living room is my greatest challenge, but I finally got through my cure block. Last night, I made tiny scale furniture to move around the floor plan and we decided to renew our lease. Lease renewal = painting walls! Yay!

I shall be brave and ruthless. I already filled up an 18 gallon tub with books on the second round of pruning.

The office photo's from this entry:

http://sanfrancisco.apartmenttherapy.com/sf/fall-colors-2006-northwest/39-vickis-office-getaway-013473

thats a great office...

yardsale01 there is something I really love about you living room...what are those strips on your floor?

I'm agained honored to have one a pics on AT...and I'm really happy with my landing strip improvements- much more functional...

Can anybody recommend a good cleaning/caring product for leather? I've had this chair and a matching couch for 3 years and never gave them any kind of treatment/care beside the bi-monthtly wipe off. It also has some cat scratches that I would love to hide a bit...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/allabouteve/1108697232/in/set-72157602233219869/

Ursula is so cute! Thanks for posting the pic Maxwell!

That's a fantastic (and very very cool) landing strip, Jess2nola!

I've just posted pics of my landing strip on Flickr (link in my profile) and more detail on my blog, http://serenityathome.blogspot.com but it's not clever and cool like Jess's. Wow, I like that. It wouldn't work for me, but I really really like it.

Jess2nola - One of my favorite landing strips so far... I love the combo of the hooks and the clips. We've been using a big magnetic clip on our front door for years, effective but not very attractive!

Yardsale01 - What an amazing space. And I know what you mean about the milk crates for books. I used those for years, but boy - once you get bookshelves you'll be amazed at the difference. :)

I was on vacation last week, so had to take a week off my deep treatment. And now my husband and I just decided to move apartments. We have good friends in the house next to ours, and they're moving so we're moving into their place! Our lack of space problems are now gone, as they have a HUGE 3 bedroom 3 1/2 bath house. So I'll be working on getting rid of clutter in our place as we pack, and I am certainly going to be reading this cure to help once we move in. Weird how life works sometimes... while we won't be able to chat with our friends over the fence anymore, we get to move into their place which has been a second home for us for 6 years.

I found that picture from looking through EVERY single entry in last year's color contest. It was Vicki's office getaway:

http://sanfrancisco.apartmenttherapy.com/sf/102406/fall-colors-2006-northwest/39-vickis-office-getaway-013473

Looking at all those entries gave me the motivation I needed to want to paint some of my walls! We rent so we're technically not allowed but I feel like we will be in this place for a while so I don't mind spending the money to paint and then repaint when we leave. Does anyone have any suggestions for my living room? I was thinking of just doing an accent wall on the wall the TV is currently on:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/suziegoombs/1350836553/

So far my colors in the room are black, tan, a rusty orange, and red. This picture doesn't show the new curtains which are red and pick up the red lines in the rug:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/suziegoombs/1403397046/

I am open to any and all suggestions!

Eve in Hochelaga - while I've never had to clean couch leather, for my leather jackets I use saddle soap -Kiwi brand is good - and then put on mink oil for conditioning/waterproofing. I do this about once yearly. The kiwi items can be found near leather shoes, or you can check places that sell horse tack and see what you can find (cleaning tack is where I learned leather care). Also, in the tack stores they used to have one-step cleaning products you could use for general cleaning when you want more than wipe-with-damp-cloth.

To hide the cat scratches, I'm not sure... I know that if you use neats foot oil (another kind of conditioner), it darkens the leather just a tiny bit...maybe paint the scratches with it? hmm...

The organizer arrived yesterday. I’m not sure what I was expecting – perhaps something in black leather and carrying a sjambok – but the organizer turned out to be an averaged-sized man dressing in business casual for warm weather and carrying a large tote.

We began with the grand tour – all 550 square feet of it – and a quick review of what I wanted: books, files, and time management. He confirmed what I was afraid of. I had done just about everything I could do for general storage given what I have to work with.

He made a similar good news/bad news comment about the books and files as well. Most of his clients would be happy wind up where I was starting from. The books are all neatly shelved or stacked, even if they are not sorted or catalogued; the files are boxed or filed, even if they are not sorted or culled. Apparently organized clutter is not the oxymoron I thought it was.

The focus became time management, which took up about three quarters of the session. A list of what I did daily, weekly, monthly, etc., was generated along with estimates of how much time I spent on most of them – the daily and weekly items basically. The concept was to see if I were not trying to spend more time each day than I had.

Needless to say that although I had a reasonably accurate idea of how long each individual item took me – and been timing such items since yesterday to double check – it never occurred to me to add it up to see if it equaled or exceeded 24 hours a day. And equally needless to say it did. Even for a multi-tasking part-time insomniac like me. No wonder things like sorting books and files weren’t getting done “on schedule”.

The sad conclusion was that I had less than five hours a week to send on such things as Apartment Therapy cures and other special or long-term projects. My home improvement show fantasy of the organizer coming in, making a couple of acerbic comments, going for my anguished close-up, and right after the commercial break, having neat and organized books and files were dashed.

The immediate effect was to make really think about whether I was overcommitted and what of the commitments I had were priorities – real or imposed. It will take at least a week for me to fully absorb the full implications.

As for the actual books and files that started all this: according to the organizer’s calculations, I have half an hour a week for filing. Sorry Wende, Pixie, Alana, et al., but you’re going to be hearing about my trying to tame that mess for several cures to come.

JonathanB--glad to hear from you today about your consult. I'd been hoping you had a report.

You have five hours a week for "projects like this." As long as that isn't 100% of your leisure times and is truly "spare" time, then I think that should be about right. That's time, I would think, that without the cure you could spend in any way you choose.

I take it from your tone and the fact that you timed everything that this is probably all your leisure time and that definitely is a bit of a shocker, though not unusual for creative self-employed types. (I'm assuming you are self-employed, but perhaps that's not right. In any case, I well remember working 14 out of 16 hours a day, including eating).

I'm glad you had this wake-up call, though. Once you have absorbed and worked through your committments, I think you'll be in a place to take some direction with your time (and life) rather than just letting the forces that be just carry you along. It can be quite draining to fight the tide. Good thing you got into a boat, if only for an hour or so.

So, will the organizer be back to help you sort through those papers--or is he leaving you to do that on your own? You may just have to do it the "flylady" way--and that's 15 minutes at a time, every day. Ok--1/2 a week? Well, it will take a long time that way, but it will get done. And I don't mind hearing about it at all.

Don't be sorry, JonathanB. Some problems are too large to tackle in 8 weeks, and for those, the value of the Cure is in getting unstuck, not in getting completely done. I'm pleased to hear about your organizing process all the way out to Cure #106.

Along the lines of your time management issues, I was thinking just yesterday morning that I really need a day with 30 hours in it. Not that I need more official work hours or fewer work hours... but that I just need about 15% more time for every single thing, including sleep. And I'm not one of those people dragged every which way by unpleasant duties (at least at the moment) -- I like everything I do.

Apparently organized clutter is not the oxymoron I thought it was.

It's not at all an oxymoron! That's how I decided to deal with craft supplies, short term. They're all in uniformly sized boxes that are neatly and compactly stacked. As I work with the contents, I figure they'll sort themselves naturally into useful categories and the dross will sort to the bottom, so there's no point in stressing over it if I don't need to find stuff fast (which I never do). I'm not even touching them, this Cure.

Thanks Kirdissa, I'll look for the Kiwi product this weekend. :)

I just realized that I've NEVER cleaned under the couche's seat cushions. Urgl...

On a happier note, I finally got my new Saarinen dining room table!!!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/allabouteve/1472930825/

Eve, your table is gorgeous!

JonathanB, your post made me smile--even if it wasn't what you wanted to find out. I had a similar experience with a wardrobe consultant. I wanted to scream "JUST FIX IT FOR ME!" I also was smiling because i have similar delusions about time...such as my plan to refinish my furniture in the next few weeks. Unless I'm planning on bringing it to work with me or carrying it with me on my weekend trips, I don't know when that is going to happen!

Alana and Wende

Yes, I’m self-employed and spare time is often an abstract concept. And also spare time is a separate item from leisure time.

In the end, the organizer didn’t go through any of the files. After we investigated the contents of half a dozen at random, he didn’t think it was necessary. He did leave me with some guidelines or game plan, whatever you want to call it, though, which I think will address the issue or something close enough to make little difference.

As for 30 hour days, I could use that too. But I’d want some sort of arrangement through which no one would know I had that extra six hours, so I could actually accomplish something…. Anyone have a spare time wormhole?

Eve

I'm jealous. I've loved that table since I first saw it when I was 11 years old and never been able to figure out how to make it work in any of the spaces I've lived in. I wish you much happiness with it.

Christine -- I have no problem with making people smile. And I sort of knew that if I started posting my adventure with organizing and an organizer I'd rapidly become a figure of fun.

JonathanB - I'm honored to be part of your Cure family. So, it sounds like the organizer said you were pretty organized, you just have no time? Although 5 hours a week is pretty good, in my book.

pixie

You're welcome.

I think it's more a case of the time being disorganized and once that's organized the books and files will follow.

And five hours is going to have to be good in my book, because it's all I've got.

Eve, I use a product called Leather CPR, it's a cleaner and conditioner in one. It softens and adds a nice luster to the leather and does a good job of concealing surface scratches, so I think it might work on cat scratches too. You can get it on Amazon.

Funny thing JonathanB... I bought that table because I,ve been in love with it since I wass a little girl, rummaging through my dad's design magazines!

Eve, I've been thinking about you and your table. Congratulations! Not so much for the table, but for conciously choosing to live with things that bring you joy. I can't imagine what it would be like to live in a space like that and I'm awed, impressed and envious. It'd be like living in a spiritual and emotional sanctuary. So, congratulations. You're my hero.

Good job on the progress, everyone!

I hadn't really done much, but then Tues I went to the Container Store and spent about an hour and a half there just wandering around getting ideas. I bought a little over-the-door towel rack for the kitchen cabinet so I can stop hanging the towel over the cabinet door itself. And I got this great lint roller that doesn't use sticky paper, it's some kind of adhesive rubber that you just rinse off!

Then today I signed up for the exterminator to come tomorrow, and then I realized there would be a stranger in my apartment needing access to as much wall space as possible! So that got me kick started. I did 2 loads of laundry, sorted through papers, and cleaned. I FINALLY figured out how to fix the sagging kitchen counter so I can close the silverware drawer (I taped together a 50 cent roll of pennies to wedge up in there). I also put together my shoe rack and crammed all my shoes on it, still cluttered but SO much better than the disaster in there before!

It feels great to have gotten so much done!

Oh, and I bought a suction sponge holder for in the kitchen sink. I figured out where Home Depot is and found some drawer/cabinet pulls that are sold there that I like, so I'm planning on buying and installing them this weekend.

Every time I walk by the fixed kitchen drawer I have to smile and open and close it, it's so nice not to have it sticking out!!

*michelle* - congratulations on moving forward on all that. I can totally relate to that feeling. I fixed a floor lamp myself about a week or so ago and am so *chuffed* with myself whenever i use it. Another highlight (pun intended) is the 2 of 3 nonworking ceiling lights in the kitchen that were recently fixed by a repairperson. Everytime I look at them all on, I get that feeling you're describing! Better stop wasting energy...

Hahaha, I agree with all the stories about how "little fixes" can make a big impact. Last night my boyfriend fixed the squeak that my front door made every time I opened it, which would loudly reverberate into the hallway (and make me cringe). It was so simple, but I think we opened and closed the door (silently!) about 10 times last night just to bask in it!

:)

Woah Alanna, thanks! I guess it's easy for me because I live alone and have nobody to take care of but myself (well, at home at least); I've always lived by the "my house, my playground" rule ever since I moved into my first appartment at age 20, but I had to deal with the tastes of roommates or boyfriends. I'm just starting to really have fun this year, after buying my loft and moving in by myself. :)