apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I'm now a convert to Cable Turtles. I've already used three small ones and two large ones. And I've got the two-sided Velcro to bind together any adjacent cables. As soon as I receive my second shipment of Cable Turtles, I'll post pictures of my office space with controlled wires.

And I've almost got the front of my living room cleared out (yes, I've kept trucking)--and I'll post pictures and ask for advice about rearranging. Bash away.

(What's your blade? I just noticed that...)

Can you please tell me what the lamp is next to orange/red one, the one on the stack of books behind the mercury glass that looks like opalescent white glass. Thank you so much.

QUATro (as they say in the commercial).

Barbara--
That image is from a Crate & Barrel catalog, so I'd check their website.

Woo! I made it to the "Quote of the Week"! Heh. I will have to order in some Cable Turtles. I haven't done anything with my massive cable mess next to the PC... Yet another place to clean/purge.

I'm still waiting for my new filing cabinet to arrive. In the spirit of downsizing, I got rid of my massive beige office 4-drawer filing cabinet, but now I have to wait for the new one to go through the files.

On the upside, the new dining room chairs arrived this week, and my dining room table from my father is being refinished. I'm really looking forward to this. We've had the 'dining room' bare of stuff for the past couple weeks, just waiting for that table & chairs.

We moved our living room over to a new location, but it's still got 'movie theatre syndrome', with the sofa facing the TV. We don't have any armchairs to face the sofa with.

Ok, now that I've described so much, I really have to post some pics. :)

Choice of blade? Is that for those of us ready to slit our wrists because we're doing so poorly with the Cure? ;-).

Well, I'm starting my postponed vacation from my office this week so maybe I'll get some catching up on the cleaning that needs to be done. I know I'll have to do some prep work for painting later in the summer too.

yay for two-sided velcro!

'round here we're stuck on "buy a new vacuum," and i think, as an acute allergy sufferer, we're going with a miele. i never thought i'd spend that much on a vacuum, but considering we've replaced three cheapies since moving to new york, the investment makes perfect sense. at the moment i'm between the Galaxy Antares ($349 + $50 HEPA filter) and the Red Star ($599).

Red Star:
http://www.epinions.com/pr-Miele_Red_Star_Canister_Vacuum

Galaxy Series Antares:
http://www.epinions.com/Miele_S4210_Antares_Vacuum

We have a pretty small apartment with little storage. The space has wood floors and one persian-style 5x7 area rug. The Antares is convenient size-wise, but the Red Star seems like a nicer machine, and comes with a fancy power brush... and someone in a previous AT Miele thread said Miele wasn't worth it unless you got the original mid-sized canister (Red Star is mid-sized, Antares compact). Still, the Red Star might be more than we need. Any experiences with these two? Suggestions?

Serpah,

You can post your pics at the unofficial Apartment Therapy Cure Flickr group I started (just search for Apartment Therapy, it's the only one)

I thought there should be a place where everyone attempting The Cure could easily check out what others were doing; a visual support group, I quess. You'll see a bunch of the people you read about in the book blog comments there. The more the merrier!

Thank you, Patrick.

Who wanted the wall vase to keep flowers away from cats? Here are two from Pottery Barn:

http://ww1.potterybarn.com/cat/pip.cfm?src=schi1%7Cp3%7Cwwall%5Csvase&pkey=sa1s00vase%2Cwall&gids=p6839

http://ww1.potterybarn.com/cat/pip.cfm?src=schi1%7Cp3%7Cwwall%5Csvase&pkey=sa1s00vase%2Cwall&gids=p1147

I'm behind but so what. We had a few repairs done that have been very beneficial, and we've almost settled on paint colors. The job I had wanted to complete when I started this thing is still unfinished, but I've been swamped and maybe I'll still get in under the wire. If not, then in the fall.

Might even break down and get rid of JUST A FEW books.

I haven't been following the cure step by step, BUT...I definitely am obsessed with cleaning and arranging and rethinking my space. Today was a particularly humorous day. Though I didn't plan on doing this, right after breakfast, I thought "let's see how my sofa would fit if there weren't bookshelves there." So, I emptied every bookshelf and folded the ones that fold. The one that doesn't, I decided to try in the corner by my window...where my huge Ikea cd tower is. Long story short, I tried to move the teetering thing without emptying it first. A hailstorm of cds crashed down on me...cds flying out of cases, plastic shattering. This has prompted me to defintely get rid of the CD jewel cases...I am not comfortable going completely electronic, but I took this as a sign. While I was at it, I hate my bookcases. They just aren't all that attractive and don't match and just, well, bother me constantly...so I packed all my books in the empty rubbermaid containers I emptied of useless stuff last weekend and am planning on purging the bookshelves and waiting until I decide on something else. I'm thinking of either one solid wood (rather than ikea chipboard!) case or some wall-mounted shelves.

Henrietta, Christine, I think as long as we're doing something, we ARE doing something. I have two more books on the counter that can go. Just two, but it's a step.

Christine, I have cassettes and records, and have a player for neither. I've never had my own record player. At this point, one of those ones that has a handle and one speaker would be fine. Okay, maybe real stereo sound would be good, or a headphone jack. So I have to either consider getting something to use what I have or get rid of what I can't use.

Christine: SHAME on you. IKEA has many solid wood items.
http://tinyurl.com/p7kg2
Leksvik, Markor (fiberboard back), Fjus, etc. And, if you think about it, there's a bonus to having a fiberboard back. Paint it. Cover it with cool wallpaper. Fabric. Cork.

Barbara: I looked on the Crate and Barrel website and found 5 of the 6 lamps. The only one missing is the one you liked!

DC Christine: Actually I have jewel-case-ophobia. Tower and Virgin both sell large CD binders. get rid of the case and keep the cd and liner notes in the binders. I'm not going to say that the binders are the most aesthetic objects imaginable -- nice if they cam in a color other than black -- but they tamed the jewel-case monster that was taking over my bookcase.

I'm not wild about using electronic storage either. I only store what I have to on computer. After that, I stick to the older methods.

An aside from a few weeks ago:

Whoever suggested framing the jewelry hanging on the wall in the blue bathroom, thank you!

I went to a flea market yeterday morning, picked up a wobbly gold frame for $10, used leftover spray paint to make it white, and added corner braces to hold it together. Less than 2 hours later, it's up on the wall, with the jewelry more closely spaced together, and looks great!!

I'm going to counter it with a similiar treatmeant on the mirro - since the mirror is big and rectangular without a frame, I'm looking for an ornate oval frame and will do the same thing, over the mirror.

Whoo! It looks really nice! THanks, whoever had that idea!!

Andree, don't worry--not dissing Ikea here. Afterall, I went on a mini-binge there this past week, but I am trying to be more "thoughtful" of my furniture purchases now...so I'm trying not to leap into buying anything else I might want to dispose of in a few months! I have some of Ikea's pine furniture--an Ivar tv stand that I stained and a bench/coffee table--that I stained to match. I actually get people asking me where I got them! My old bookcases (the folding ones) are actually solid wood--rubberwood from good old Ames, God rest its soul--but I'm looking for something darker now.

Thanks JonathanB...I'm probably going to go for something like that. I think I held onto my jewelcases so I could hold onto my cd rack that I carried in my tiny car up I-95 long ago, with the box sticking out both windows. After all that effort and fear of getting pulled over, I think I felt some loyalty to the thing, but it's time. :)

The cure will be continuing far past the next two weeks for me.

My obsessing over what light fixture to replace my pendant in the living room has me totally stuck. I was thinking a globe that hangs a foot below the ceiling but am not sure that will look any less off center in the room. I also haven't found a carpet for under my dining room table that is affordable right now.

The cure is habit forming though; I am really enjoying shedding stuff and look forward to buying flowers each week.

Jess: we have used a Miele Solaris for the past five years and love it. I read the other AT thread and have to say it is great for pet hair if you are using the right brush for your surfaces. We have non-pile and low pile carpets and find the turbo brush works great. I also love the upholstery tool. The power brush is for high pile carpets like wall to wall.
The canister size argument made for the larger machine is this: you get 20% more use out of each bag with the larger model. 20% of $2.50 per bag is .50 cents. I am guessing I use maybe fifteen bags a year, so the smaller model would require 3 more bags a year. So annually I save $7.50 with the larger model, and the two hundred dollar price difference is made up in 26 years?!?! The electric cord is cool but not $200 cool.

Geeze, I'm chatty today, sorry for the long post.

yay liz! thanks for your vacuum thoughts (probably not a phrase often used as a compliment). i think we'll probably go with the smaller model as a matter of storage space. it doesn't come with the turbo brush, though - that's (of course) a $99 add-on with the small models. But I think we'll try it first with the included combo floor / carpet tool, since we really do only have the one rug.

guess it's time to embrace our impending yuppiedom - who knew we'd actually ever think this much about buying a vacuum cleaner?

I have a large CD collection, and I'd do CD binders but I have a lot of opera recordings, many of which are packaged in those fat jewel cases with a libretto booklet inside. So I bought three high-capacity unfinished pine CD bookcases and stained them charcoal gray myself. When I was decluttering, I decided two CD bookcases was enough and sold a third of my collection.

I have two gray IKEA bookcases with frosted glass doors, and they are actually quite strong and durable. I think chipboard/veneer is fine for bookcases as long as the veneer is a color like gray, white or black. I don't like the wood-tone stuff. I think if you want wood, you should buy wood.

Cure progress: The desk is being delivered tomorrow. The Room & Board bed and mattress are being delivery May 31. The Fiestaware, pillow forms and shams I ordered showed up last week. The sisal rug I bought for the kitchen and the table lamp I bought for the main room in my studio are working out wonderfully.

rachel - i'd love to see a picture of those frames - sounds nifty!

we are not quite up to lighting yet, but today I did ...

Hang my vintage portrait collection...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/22555946@N00/150648872/

and hang the "wall art" from West Elm in the bedroom:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/22555946@N00/150648875/

In addition to the mirror thingy, which is the perfect size for that wall (I think, anyway), we picked up some fun new sheets that were on sale at West Elm (you can see them in the second photo above) and two new allergy-proof pillows that are just smooshtastic. Hypoallergenic pillows sure have improved since last time I had one, which was like 1986.

Next on the list is to push out of the outbox the boxes of books and clothes. I'm also hoping to get a new lamp for our dresser and a mirror for the wall behind it. And then there's the vacuum dilemma to solve. But the place is definitely beginning to feel much better at this point.

Vacuum aside: I buy the least expensive Hoover, with a bag, upright. My first vacuum was a more expensive Hoover, and I went through the motor in a year or so. Taking it to the repair shop, the guy wanted $50.00 just to look at it, and then added on the motor, bringing the cost to over $100.00, and all I had was my old vacuum with a new motor.

I won't buy anything with expensive filters. I won't buy anything that has specialized components that require ordering from the manufacturer, I like being able to pick up generic vacuum bags from hardware stores, or grocery stores.

There's even a Hoover parts store in the area, that would allow me to pick up items if I needed them, and the prices are good.

No, I don't like the idea of "disposable" vacuums, tossing out the old and buying new. That seems a waste. On the other hand, with the costs of labor to repair the old one, being the cost of a new one, I see no other choice. That new one has all new parts.

So, whenever the vacuum dies, I get a new one. Which may mean a new vacuum every couple of years. The $600.00 vacuum would have to last more than 12 years in order to be a "good buy". Or do the job MUCH better than mine.

Also, I added on the least expensive Bissell Quick Steamer Plus upright (or something like that), also under $100.00 to my cleaning routine, as I have carpet. It amazes me at how much that little cleaner pulls out of the carpet that the vacuum doesn't get. The water comes out black sometimes.

No, I don't track mud in my home. I'm barefoot. But guess what? Feet have oil. If you walk around with bare feet or moisterize your feet, you're spreading oil, that attracts and clings to dirt.

You can try out this test at home. Put on fresh white socks and walk around, after you've cleaned. If the bottoms of your socks get dirty, your floors aren't as clean as you thought they were. And vacuums don't suck up grease/oil.

None of this makes any difference if you're loaded with money. ;) You can buy whatever you want, no matter what the cost. I can't.

re CD binders: yes, those "speciality" boxes are fun, aren't they? I have a few myself. The binders are stored on a bookshef, and since I don't have all that many special cases/boxes, I just stack them along side the binders. It works if there aren't that many of the multi CD sets.

If it matters, I had a chance to check which brand I bought. If it makes a difference (which I doubt) it's Case Logic.

the thought of a small car with cd rack wings is quite a vision....

Yeah, I plan on keeping my specialty cds in their cases...but I don't have many of those. And, to be honest, though I am not going to go completely digital quite yet, I don't listen to my cds often enough to warrant having them on display!

I'm still considering Ikea as a bookcase option--but the ones I have right now aren't working for me. The one I have is their lowest option...I paid $17.99 for it because I was just desperate for extra space and didn't know what I wanted to do when I got it a year or so ago. I'm actually looking at the "woodwind" ones at Room and Board. Has anyone seen these in person? I've never been to the store.

Still way behind on my cure. After working at home all week I was desperate to get AWAY from it this weekend. But tonight I did clean out the underwear drawer. Woo!

A while back I asked a question about my landing strip and Mary told me to reconsider using a picture rail. Well, I've got everything up and have some before and after photos to share (for that and some other stuff). Still working on lighting, art, window coverings...

Your landing strip looks terrific Kristie!

Sorry I haven't been that chatty. We got our table in this past weekend, and I put together two of our chairs from Costco. Amazingly, Costco has some very affordable and very nice looking furniture. Plus their stuff is pretty sturdy.

Joan, thanks for the wall vase links. I have discovered that kitties don't go up on the floating shelf by the bed, so I have a small glass of daisies there now. I'll look into those vases.

I still have to get up and post some pics. I have a flickr account, but it limits my picture uploading per day. How are you guys able to share so many photos? Is there a free photo-sharing site that I should know about?

Re: CD racks. After visiting a really packratty place, I was inspired to purge. One lingering result was that I got rid of all my DVD and CD cases. I do have some operas with librettos, which I have been keeping in their boxes, but I just got so sick of having to store jewel cases, which always break, and DVD boxes. My thought was that it's only packaging!

Oh, and I use CaseLogic CD and DVD binders as well. I have about 100 DVDs that take up about 1/3 of a shelf. That's really what I love about them. :)

Haven't tried Case Logic for DVD's yet -- just don't thing I have the critical mass (or mess) of DVDs yet -- but I'll look into them anyway. Perhaps the time to start saving space is before critical mess.

Serpah - Thank for the CaseLogic suggestion, I think I need it.

Re: Flickr - it may be that you need to reduce the size of your photos. I've got the free account, and the limit is 20 MB (I think) per calendar month. When I uploaded pix of my living room, for instance, which was about 12 pictures, I think, I had used up only 5% of my limit. I reduce them to about 4 x 6, at 72 dpi, and in Photoshop I choose "Save for Web," which reduces the memory required even more.

P.S. I've been working on cord control at my work area. I went so far as to buy five cable turtles (two large, three small), and then I had to buy five more--that's ten cable turtles in all! And it's still not enough. I'm sticking to the black two-sided Velcro, now.

Another convert to Cable Turtles here. I picked up half a dozen at The Container Store last week. The mini has been excellent for a too-long iPod headphone cord that would otherwise end up hooked on the button of someone else's coat.

Also, whoever posted their new rule about "Don't buy any books you're not going to start reading within the next 48 hours," I've adopted that as my new rule for the past couple of weeks. Not only have I avoided untold potential clutter, but I've actually started catching up on all the backlog on my shelves.

re: CD housing.

So, my cd tower is still in my living room (kind of its outbox for now), and my cds are in a box awaiting my new cd system...which I ordered today. I got these:

http://www.bagsunlimited.com/cart/detail.asp?cat=2&subcat=415&product_id=su10211

which kind of enable me to have a jewelcase experience without the jewelcase. I'm planning on finding a CD box with index to put them in (have a few in mind, but want to measure end product first) and then shelve on my tv/stereo stand. What a difference in space that will be--not that my tower was that intrusive--less than a square foot of space, but the visual clutter was something else, not to mention the danger of it crashing down on me! I'll let you know how the end result works out.

I still need cord control. I got a few of the cable yoyos for my ipod cords--but my other cords for electronic stuff is a bit out of control despite my binding and wrapping. I'm thinking one of the zippers? Problem is that each of the cords are so long and go to different places--my phone, my cable modem, my vonage thing, my computer, and then all the cords that connect each of them. Okay, I'm making myself stressed just talking about it!

I couldn't find any Cable Turtles for sale in the UK, so I contacted the manufacturer and I'm now selling them online myself, take a look:

http://www.cableturtles.co.uk/

Hey, I just found your site while looking for: how far above the table should a chandalier be?
I'm purging, too! I got rid of MOST of our books for our move & it feels great! I have a ways to go, but am at least in the PROCESS! :)
Lynne in Greenville, SC