apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I left this link on the Chicago page, and I was going to just leave it there, but someone suggested it may be helpful to others.

This is my third cure: and I live in a house. It's only 1200 square feet but from the last two cures I've learned a lot about "translating" the eight step cure to a larger space.

http://prairiehometherapy.blogspot.com/2008/03/curing-house.html


Also, in other news, Wende a Phoenix has done a truly wonderful job adapting The Cure into Wardrobe Therapy.
That kicks off today.

So, if you need some help with that clothes closet, check it out.
http://anotherdayanothercure.blogspot.com/2008/03/its-wardrobe-therapy-time.html

It's a whole lot different than all those other books you've read.

I'll have a weekly report up, just as soon as I figure out how to upload pics from my new digital camera. (Which I got specifically for this purpose!)

This is my first cure and I am doing my spare bedroom. I also hope to spread the love to the other rooms in my house :-) I'm blogging here:

http://lilkidthings.blogspot.com/

and flickr is here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lilkidthings/sets/72157603952996189/

This is my gazillionth cure and this time I'm doing a project - getting the water heater in the bedroom closet replaced, which means emptying out the closet, and since I have to do that anyway, I'm going to clean and reorganize the closet and maybe paint. One of the things I've needed is more good storage and guess what I did today? I bought a mid-C, rosewood credenza to put in the bedroom. I don't often buy furniture (actually, never), so I already have buyer's remorse. But I also feel giddy. It comes home tomorrow. I stopped in the shop again to take another look and I think I love it. It's perfect for the space. I've been worrying about the color, that maybe it's too dark. I'm thinking that it's also an investment piece of furniture and that I could sell it if I get tired of it.

Now, I think I have to let go of my beloved long Parsons bench (like a Parsons table, but a long bench instead: http://www.popularmechanics.com/home_journal/workshop/2846191.html) which I have in that space, because it doesn't really fit anywhere else. I'll try it elsewhere for a while, but I think it really has to go. sob. I could send it out on a long term loan to someone. Maybe I could take it to work. I'll have to measure.

My camera isn't working, or I would post a pic of the credenza.

So, this is the first step of my closet Cure.

Week 1.5 Update:

Today, I:
- swept and mopped all of my floors (even under the bed)
- got rid of a chair i don't want or need
- collected some more items for tomorrow's "stuff swap"
- leveled my stove!! so excited about this.
- bought flowers
- rearranged shelf
- went to Garden District and asked about planning my kitchen windowbox - there are not many edible things that grow in low light, but i'm going to give it a try.
- picked up some Dwell Studio stuff at the fancy new neighborhood Target (potholders & towels, oh my)
- bought some earth-friendly dish washing detergent

I spent some time staring at the corner of hate: http://flickr.com/photos/68987525@N00/2333045621/
I cleared out the bags and moved the broom & mop to another (hidden) spot, but it still feels junky. I definitely need to keep my grocery cart there.
Perhaps the problem is the chair... it's not really doing anything but taking up space. A microwave cart-type thing would be more useful: I have very little counter space and the only outlet in the whole kitchen is located right here... maybe I put a small shelves cart here & store my blender (and eventually a toaster) here? And maybe THEN i have room for a kitchenaid mixer!! :-)

Planning the windowbox:
I did research on my window box: it's north facing and gets no direct sunlight. I'm thinking i'll plant mint in a pot and maybe one or two other things (also in pots). I picked up a trowel. Next i'll get soil & the plants.

Here are my progress photos:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/68987525@N00/sets/72157604127114393/

Alana, thanks for posting that about Wende's wardrobe therapy - I caught the tail end of it last time and I want to check it out. I need it.

I swear that link had a Parsons table in it, but now it doesn't. Here's another: http://tinyurl.com/2jozjt

HollyinDC - sounds like you've been going to all the same places I have this weekend! I went to the new Target today, and I've been haunting the new Garden District store.

How did you level your stove? I have to level my washer and it's heavy to move and in a tight space, so I don't quite know how to do this.

Hey, Pixie, glad you'll be joining us.

I washed my kitchen and living room floors today.

I also sorted through the shelves in the living room (well, my daughter and her friend did--and let go of some colouring books, puzzles and games) and washed a few of them.

I vaccuumed furniture. I dusted.

I scraped away at candle wax. So much so, I'm thinking of banning candles for some time!

I'm exhausted.

Hey everyone!
Holly in DC and Pixie, I have yet to hit the new Target. I have a feeling since I live in NE and have a car, I might end up still driving out to PG county. I don't go that often anyway. Was it a madhouse?

I cleaned this weekend and finished my bookcase fabric cover. In the past week, I finished scanning a few articles I've had for--wait for it--over 10 years! They were "clips" of things I'd written. I posted about that on my blog.

http://compassandcoffeespoons.typepad.com/compassandcoffeespoons/2008/03/going-paperless.html

Not needed, but I didn't want to just pitch them, so I scanned. I've posted the flowers I bought in the last 2 weeks on Flickr.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/43851127@N00/sets/72157594155907871/

I'll get a new bunch tomorrow, though last week's lasted a longer time.

My big goals for this cure are:
--emptying the outbox that I filled in January and February and getting the things that I've decided need a new home to that new home
--Either redoing or selling/giving my old nightstand
--Finishing the paper purge and scanning of anything that needs to be scanned.
--finding shelving for my living room closet
--Going through the things I didn't hit in Jan/feb--my "old candle holder" box under the bed, my clothes closet and drawers, and my...dum dum dum....craft supplies.
--At least deciding on a rug for the living room. If it's out of reach affordability-wise, I'll save up for it.
--Painting my bedroom and accent wall in living room. I think what's been stopping me is a fear of commitment! It's like I don't want to admit I'll probably be staying in this rental a while. I got approval from my landlord ages ago, and haven't done anything but look at chip after chip. MUST PAINT!

That last one is going to be the hardest.

Well, I've gone ahead and posted the first "Before" pictures. They can be found in my sets http://www.flickr.com/photos/itsamio/sets/72157604123730508/
and of course on http://www.flickr.com/groups/39185427@N00/pool/

I'd love to add some color and ORGANIZATION to this apartment, as there is already little space.
My coffee table needs help, but I've collected many ideas in my Style Tray, once I get better pictures, I'll definitely post some of my inspiration.

I did follow through with buying fresh flowers this morning- stayed tuned for those in some minor "After" photos which I'll be posting tomorrow, when I have some daylight.

I've already gotten new curtains and shades but I suppose ;) I should paint before putting those up.

How could I forget?! I put an old surround sound system and DVD player on the curb today, YAY!

Christine (the one in DC) - Target was crowded, but not insane. Actually, only a bit worse that a suburban Target on a typical weekend. I love that it's there because I'm carless and it's great that I can take the metro or - get this - walk! Yes, I walked back from Target! I feel silly-giddy over this stupid store.

Target and the other new stores in Columbia Heights are the beginning of that neighborhood blasting off. The streets up there are what was crowded today. It was a lot of fun being there.

I tried The Cure on my own back in November, but got derailed during the Xmas holidays (excuses, excuses...)!
Now with a Cure Support Group I'm hoping to finally "move in" to my New York 1 BR rental apartment (when I first arrived two years ago I was a physician with no life, then lived with my boyfriend - left behind my career and the boyfriend as well, so instead of my apartment being a repository for clothes and Things I Don't Use, I'm planning on making a home!
The only real accomplishment leftover from my previous cure-attempt is a lovely new dining table and chairs!
A few before pics are on Flickr
http://www.flickr.com/photos/brainygirl/2329761315/in/pool-39185427@N00
and this week I did an overall cleaning of the place (which was hard given all the stuff everywhere!); I had made a repair sheet and given it to my landlord months ago - no progress!
Finally, after some pleading, the super cleaned and repainted the bathroom!
My new Sloane shelving is due to arrive next week, so...hopefully things are on the right track!!

p.s. although I have signed up for The Cure and the daily newsletter - twice- I still am not receiving emails! Help!

Hi Everyone,

I hope that you are having a productive weekend. This is my first Cure and I am already feeling liberated from getting rid of stuff! This weekend, I took an inventory of all repairs needed. My brother and I got rid of a ton of books. I mopped the kitchen floor and cleared the counters.

Some photos
http://www.flickr.com/photos/23241665@N08/sets/

brainygirl - check your junk mail. I was getting the emails and then suddenly I wasn't and finally found them in there.

Spent most of last week and all weekend in NYC on a rare getaway with husband. We're back home now, so I have to get to work today de-cluttering and cleaning floors.

Hi there !
Not much visible progress in my home, but i've
- sold a bistrotable i had no need for anymore
- bought flowers
- vacuumed and mopped my floors
- went to the recycling center to bring away old magazines and papers ( well, this i do actally every saturday, as the recycling center is just down my street, 1 minute to walk )
- ordered an email-repair to take care of some broken email in my bathtub
- took measurements for some new shelving / credenzas in my living room and bedroom in order to create my reading corner
- already fixed the date for a birthday dinner party and invited friends , it'll be before the end of the cure though ;-)

i took some pics of the flowers, more will follow next weekend when i'm going to attack my basement storage which frightens me, but absolutely needs to be done.
http://flickr.com/photos/36m2/sets/72157604068598538/
Have a nice sunday !

My biggest accomplishment of the week was to take all my "before" pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/laurelann/sets/72157604118508837/

Just looking at the pictures has given me all sorts of ideas - I'm seeing things in a way I never did before, and I've noticed a few things that I'd forgotten about in the 5 years I've lived here.

I moved some stuff to my storage space, and I took my old foot bath thingie to the curb. I also took my old but working toaster to the lobby of my building, hopefully it's gone to a good home!

I made my repair list (not too many) and started thinking about projects such as hanging shelves. I started cruising eBay and etsy for materials for a couple of projects.

I'll be mopping my floors as soon as I finish this post!

And - I bought beautiful white tulips which have brightened my living room all week. I'll pick up some more on my way home from work tonight.

wig3000

thank you. I rather wish I had room to display more of the them.

Alana

Good points about converting to larger spaces. But for the record, I don't think of you as a crazy woman. Crazed, yes; crazy, no.

Wende

(if you're out there somewhere) love the closet cure (gee, I wonder why?). But for shameless pampering, I'd suggest a full day of services at a spa.

DCHolly:

Love the phrase, corner of hate. Most (small) places have somewhere where everything seems to go, and now there's a name for it.

DCChristine

I'm envious. I've been meaning to scan my clips for years.

I'd doing the cure super light this time around: some minor repairs, like replacing a broken tile in the kitchen, rearranging some art work, getting more throw pillows for the sofa, and, of course, continue my quest for the perfect door pulls. The current state of my mess can be found at:

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

By the way, where are people posting responses to their AT interview questions?

So far, so good for me!

Yesterday I dusted, vacuumed, and used my Omop to clean the floors. I even moved the couch cushions and vacuumed under them. (Gross!)

I got rid of an old stereo system that we just didn't use any more and a bunch of other stuff. I had also cleaned out my closet a few months ago and had bags of clothes sitting in the office and ready to go to Goodwill, but I just hadn't taken them yet. So I took all of it in yesterday and it's great to reclaim that lost floor space and closet space!

This afternoon I'm going to finish reupholstering a chair that I've been working on for a month. I'll post pictures when I'm done.

Miss Pixie:
Apparently stoves have adjustable feet on them (found this out on the internet). I raised the front of the stove over an inch- and it is so much better! This morning I didn't have to chase my over-easy eggs from the corner of my frying pan - they were perfect!
I can't believe how excited I am about this. It's really dorky.

Not sure about washer/dryers- I imagine that you can put a small piece of wood under there or something.

On Target:
I went the first day at 8:30am (I walk by it on my way to the metro in the morning) and it was spectacular. Sparkling clean, shiny, completely stocked, few people shopping- I felt like I was touring Willy Wonka's factory or something.
I also went yesterday. It's starting to look more like suburban Target- packed, some empty shelves, not so sparkling anymore. But still good. And they have a bunch of Dwell stuff left.

I'm about the clean the floors after spending all day yesterday reorganizing my front door closet. It was SUCH mess!

Before:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/allabouteve/2334406794/in/set-72157604122297971/

After: http://www.flickr.com/photos/allabouteve/2336358216/

The outbox is growing with suff that will either go to charity or in my locker. I also grouped all of the haircare products for blond hair that I have to give to a blond friend, since I went brunette last week. :)

I need flowers and may go out to the market to buy some today.

I cleaned and vacuumed my living room this week and posted the photos on flickr (I'm ce_pelle there). On Friday I bought a washer to replace mine that broke BEFORE XMAS and that I was procrastinating to get. (There seem to be no appliance stores in Downtown Montreal I didn't want to impose my pedestrian self on a friend to take me to the 'burbs for such an awful task.) Washer was delivered this morning so I've been working on a frightful pile all day (3 month's worth!). Also working hard to enact my new "no clothes left behind" rule (aka folding clothes and putting them away, as opposed to leaving them in laundry room!)

My goal for the day is to clean my bedroom perfectly (no small task... it's the size of many NY apartments! ok, slight overstatement, but it's pretty damned big (mirror image of my living room dining room!!)

I also spent some time trying to shovel my deck... My neighbour's house has been *condemned* because the weight of the snow on their deck is threatening to collapse the roof of the store below. An hour of work on the 4 and a half feet of snow and ice has barely uncovered the top of the patio table and we've given up. What we need, is many consecutive warm days with lots of sun!!

Photos of my misadventures will be posted within the hour. (Oh, BTW, I'm so envious of all of you who are preparing to PLANT, of all things. Like spring comes before June in some places!)

ChristineBadina--I hadn't realised you had got that much snow in Montreal (though my m-i-l had said there was a lot). That's quite the image.

JonathanB--I'll accept "crazed." It's very odd how the cure releases some sort of cyclonic energy in me.

I posted my progress this week.
http://prairiehometherapy.blogspot.com/

and my pictures to flickr.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/46773919@N00/

Alana in Canada: We are about to break the record snowfall in all recorded history for the area. Last time it snowed this much was in 1971!

Without exaggeration, we've had a significant snowfall everythird day since late november.

Here are the photos of my disaster zone (indoors and out!)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/21305917@N06/

It is great to read about the Spring Curers. I just started my Spring Cure today, this time around I hope to deep clean my apartment and to do the one room cure on my bedroom.

Today I vacuumed, washed my floors, dusted my bookshelves and even washed some windows. It is nice to feel a sense of accomplishment. My next task to start working on a budget to re-do my bedroom. I will post some updated photos this week. Here is a link to my cure photos from last year.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lffrank/

Hi all! Its so nice to see some familiar faces from last time around.

I posted my before pictures here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/suziegoombs/sets/72157604069466780/

and I am blogging my progress here: http://suziegoombs.wordpress.com/

After doing a few hours of bills today I realize I won't have much money for this cure so I'm trying my best to come up with a realistic to-do list (posted on the blog of course). I think I will be most happy about cleaning out my closets and making them useful again.

Hello Everyone! I'm a little late in getting started. Just ordered the book today. I live in a 101 year old house in Philadelphia with lots of rooms that need lots of help. I've been working hard at decluttering my clothes, kitchen, knick knacks, and books over the past few weeks. I've also made a detailed list of what needs to be done in each room. So, depite my late entry, I feel like I'm on my way. I'm looking forward to finding ways to dealing with the following obstacles: (1) the enormity of the tasks overwhelming me, (2) feeling intimidated by the beautiful postings and pics I see on AT, (3) feeling like I don't have enough time to make my home the way I'd like it to be [I work and have a 1 year old child and a husband with a 60 hr per week job], and (4) finding aesthetically appealing and inexpensive ways to furnish and decorate,. Despite this, AT really has inspired me and encouraged me since I discovered it about a month ago, so I'm really looking forward to the Cure. Pics to follow soon. Thanks for reading!

Eve: wow! That's an impressive difference between before and after.

ChristineB: Spring before June in New York? What spring? New York doesn't have spring before or after June. On the other hand, we don't get a lot of snow either. That's: a lot of snow.

epheme:

thank you. As for claustrophobia, you wouldn't be alone. Because I'm tall, I'm sort of higher than most of the stuff: it doesn't feel as if it's all bearing down on me. Curiously, despite the abundance of stuff, most would regard me as a "cool" person.

Hi!

Jen64 here. It was a good week! Ceiling has been painted, so we were able to replace the fan! Finished one panel of curtains. Wow. Just looking at a pristine white ceiling makes all the difference! Need to get some flowers tomorrow.

http://flickr.com/photos/jjburke/sets/72157604069588155/

jen64--you are just going gang-busters!
You painted your bedroom, the ceiling and replaced the fan in one weekend?

I am in awe.

Glad to see there's a couple other Washingtonians here! I would say the new Target is busy, but not necessarily crowded or crazy (I've been twice!). They do a good job of having a lot of check-out lines open, so things stay moving.

Holly, where is Garden District? There's a couple of garden stores on 14th, but I don't know the names of them. And I'm curious to know what you found out about edible plants that grow in low light. I live in a basement, and there's one window that gets a crack of sunlight, but it's not much. Would like to know if growing anything is possible.

My digital camera is out of commission, so I won't be able to post pics for a while, but I did establish my Outbox already. Just imagine a square yard of stuff piled anywhere from 1 to 3 feet off the ground. Since in my apt the office, living room, and kitchen are essentially one room, I may try to combine some weeks. Given the small size of the place, I thought the Outbox would make the whole apartment look like a tornado swept through it, but I've found that keeping all my crap contained to one corner actually allowed the rest of the apartment to look cleaner. I even had dinner guests and they didn't even notice the Outbox right away.

Alana, the bedroom accent wall was painted earlier. We only painted the ceiling, replaced the fan and I finished a curtain panel this weekend. But thanks for the compliment!

amendoza215 - the brand new Garden District for indoor plants is on 14th, just above P St, on the left as you're facing north. (The first Garden District is all or mostly outdoor plants and is right near Home Rule on 14th.) It's fabulous (it should be featured on the new DC AT!) There's so many plants in there that you get high from all the oxygen. Go and they will talk to you about low light plants.

JonathanB, you're right, what Spring? In Montreal we go from snow to 25 degrees (celsius) in one week and call it summer :P

i posted my before pic today.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/emilyjp23/2340716170/in/pool-39185427@N00

My cure includes finding the perfect greige color for my small 250sqft studio. I also have a list of repairs, cleaning, decluttering etc. I would also like to let more light into the space and add plants.

Im already off to a great start. this weekend i swept and mopped, painted my ceiling, and trashed an unsightly plastic storage drawer unit that was driving me nuts.

All this talk about a brand new target is making me so jealous! I stopped in the Target in Atlantic Terminal (brooklyn) this weekend and it was awful. I expect it to be crowded but it seemed like they had even less in stock than usual. I saw a few Dwell dishtowels and thats about it. very dissapointing. I walked out with cereal, bread, and coffee :P

This was a really busy cure weekend for us. We replaced a broken mouse on our computer, and then purchased a small flat screen for our other computer so that we could get rid of the giant monitor that took up most of the desk. we bought dvd and game books so that we could discreetly store our movies and games, and then were able to dispose of the hundreds of awful plastic cases. the book shelf they used to clutter is now a great display space for our things.

My husband and I also spent about five hours purging all useless paper from our apartment. Old bills, junk mail, mementos that no longer carried any weight... i'd say we easily cleared fifty pounds of paper and junk away. the corner where stuff went to die is now spotless and makes me smile every time i look in that direction.

i also cleared out our bathroom after a little inspiration about cleaning out your medicine cabinet that was posted on here. the medicine cabinet seemed like a small task, so i tackled it easily, however i'm terrified of doing our kitchen. it seems like such a mess!

flikr link here, to our mid process photos:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/24405287@N07/

Well so far I've gotten my before pictures up (except for the basement because it was too scary) at http://www.flickr.com/photos/36448194@N00/sets/72157604097538246/ and I'll be blogging as much as I have time for at http://www.vintage-green.blogspot.com
This weekend we got a whole bunch of bags of clothes from the last cure over to the thrift shop (finally!) and I found out my parents will be having a yard sale in the beginning of April so I'll have a place for my outbox stuff. Yea!

I still need to take some before pictures, since my husband and I moved apartments last fall right after the fall cure. Which I have to say is great because we adore our new place, and this cure is really going to get our new place in shape.

This weekend we swept, vacuumed, and mopped. I cleaned the bathrooms, and we started our repair list. This week will be the kitchen - getting our spices in some sort of order, going through the pantry, and cooking tonight.

It might take me a day or two to get pictures up, our home computer is having power issues and we need to bring it back to the Apple store to make sure they fix it this time. :)

Woah, Jen64, you're killin' us! Painted a ceiling, that's enough to make my mind spin!

OMG Pixie, I totally didn't know garden district opened an INDOOR plant store...I was thinking you went to the outdoor one. I've gotta check that out!

Ack! Just looking at that before picture you linked to stresses me out -- it already looks much better. Will try to take some pictures tonight -- painting starts tomorrow!

amendoza215:

The guy at GD recommended mints and lemon balm for lower light situations. I confirmed this online - just google "low light herbs." I think I may also try parsley...

suziegoombs - ha! we have something here in DC that you new yorkers don't! it's about time. nyah, nyah.

Pixie, I appreciate the Garden District info as well. Hopefully it will make up for losing The Third Day.

I have no camera. I am in the middle of unpacking from my recent move. I'm trying to keep up with things, but I can't clean in the midst of a sea of boxes.

I'm also dealing with laundry and just clearing the floor to clean it. I've started an outbox for my office. And I'm holding off buying some daffodils until wednesday so they'll last thru the weekend.

I'm very behind, mainly because of the piles of laundry everywhere. But we've got a four day weekend coming up, so we're going to do a major clothes cull! I haven't actually bought cut flowers, but I bought some potted pansies and hyacinth bulbs that are going into the window box in the front 'garden'.

Here are the before photos:
http://flickr.com/photos/24626823@N05/

We have a looong way to go!

I've taken all my Before shots & updated with a few improvements.
I mopped all the floors except the kitchen which is so inaccessible!
I bought some lovely flowers & a much-needed new dresser, completed a throw pillow project, and reorganized my closet & entry.

I'm looking forward to Week 2. My kitchen needs the most work.

My flickr: Very_Lame

Weekly Update

I think as soon as I post this Maxwell will put up a week 2 post, and this will get buried, so I may re-post.

Here are my pictures to contribute to the group, it's the "office" that I was too embarrassed to photograph last Cure. I can't wait to get this organized all nicely, I think it will make me more creatively productive.

http://flickr.com/photos/12721467@N02/

After reading some people's posts I'm felling very far behind but hopefully I can spend so time tonight catching up. Though I'm going to try to follow the house cure the kitchen is going to get most of my attention since it's been in the middle of a remodel since november. As of last night we finally got ever cabinet in, level, and secure so that the countertop guy can come later this week and measure. So exciting to know that we could actually have a countertop by the end of this week. It will be a big improvement over the plywood we've besn using for the last 3 months.

Oy. You posted my pre-pre-cure living room photo. Though it does show a good example of the clutter I am tackling this week. This week I am:
- Washing the floors, dusting, and cleaning the bedroom shutters.
- Dealing with the excess living room clutter and organizing the bills.
- Putting away the winter clothes... spring, here I come!

I also found an abandoned picture frame on the sidewalk and repurposed it for a painting I did in art class a few years ago.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/urban_hipster/2342983257/

mY UMi SaYs:

Thank you. I'm flattered. That's quite a distinguished company of favorites you've put me in.

Everyone:

so far on my cure light list: had the closet doors fixed; started rearranging the art work in the bedroom office; and began shopping for throw pillows for the sofa in the living room.

EastVillageAmy:

Thanks.

If you like that sort of thing, try Timbuktu in the East Village -- Second Avenue around Second Street. Or Leekan in SoHo.