• Cure Clock: 3.5 weeks to go
• Assignment: Read Week Five: Getting Into the Thick of It
• Members: 1,735
So we've arrived at Week Five of the Cure, which demands some crucial tasks, like de-cluttering your file cabinets, but also some fun ones designed to help you settle more comfortably into your home as it evolves. You may have noticed by now that the backbone of the Cure is really about achieving a kind of intimacy with your home, a heightened awareness of its "well-being," and learning to maintain that awareness as a lifestyle. This week's tasks get at the heart of this goal.
Can't wait to see how it turns out!
But before we talk a bit about those tasks, an item of business: I've noticed the submissions have started to slow down. We're not seeing as many photos coming in from you guys, and I'd just like to encourage you all again to send us your photos, please!
Don't feel like they have to show immaculate finished projects, either. We love to see your work in progress, your Cure dilemmas and conundrums, and even your out-and-out failures. We can all learn from each other's diverse experiences of the Cure. And we so appreciate those of you willing to share! Now, without further ado: Week Five.
Sometimes a simple solution is best!
De-Cluttering Your Files
Like all of the more laborious tasks involved with the Cure, sorting through your files can be made less taxing if you give yourself a few fun incentives. Consider investing a small amount of money in some new, cute (and color-coded) file folders. Check out the options in these posts:
• Roundup: Fun File Folders
• Faux Bois File Folders
• Using Color to Organize Your Files
I also can't emphasize enough how much easier this becomes if you use a label maker. Clearly marking your files will help increase your awareness of what's inside them, so that fewer papers will get buried, and records will be easier to find when you need them. Plus, there's something about a label maker that brings out the organizing nerd in even the messiest of us. You might find yourself getting a little crazy and labeling everything in the house (just try to keep away from the pets). Here's a roundup of label makers to get you started.
What's important about de-cluttering your files is not only getting rid of stuff you no longer need, but also becoming aware of what exactly it is that you have. I've found that tasks like closet, drawer, and file cleaning can ultimately be comforting, because they remind me of what exactly is behind my home's closed doors. And the result is always a more open feeling throughout.
The Hard and the Soft
Last week you took stock of hardness and softness in each room of your home. Now's the time to decide what you need to add or remove in order to restore the proper balance of these elements. I love this part of the Cure, because again, it's all about really getting to know your space and identifying how you feel inside it.
Flickr member Mburcim is working on the dining room above (cute dog!). The wooden blinds you see on the left window were previously on all windows, but with the shutter-door sideboard, it seemed like too many horizontal lines. Even with those blinds removed, the room needs softness to counteract all the glossy wood of the floor and dining set. New window treatments are in order, and this is a great opportunity to soften up the space. A Roman shade that gathers into folds would be a nice choice. Once there's a carpet in place, as well, the room will feel much warmer and more balanced. Any suggestions for Mburcim?
Here are some tips for softening up your space:
• Consider alternative ways to use fabric. Jenicra84's curtain above the bed is a great example. Draperies don't have to be confined to windows; they can be used to cover unsightly walls in a rental, or to cordon off part of a room.
• Try a palm. Plants of any kind add softness, but palm trees are especially nice because they're evocative of relaxing locales. Certain varieties of palm trees are excellent indoor plants, and they're relatively easy to care for. Click here for some palm advice.
• Think about rug size. Sometimes the balance of hard and soft in a room can feel off because of the ratio between rug and exposed floor. Consider a larger rug if your room is feeling dominated by tile or wood. This discussion of rug size is especially helpful.
If your problem is, instead, that your room feels too soft, sometimes artwork is the answer. Groups of framed photographs are wonderful because they add simultaneous warmth (from the artwork itself) and a sense of geometry and clean lines (from the frames).
We like her idea of bringing in a few patterned frames to punctuate the black ones.
Flowers and Food
We'll leave you today thinking of fresh flowers and delicious home-cooked meals. As you go out looking for flowers this week, remember that now is the perfect time of year to decorate with branches. If you have trees in your yard, give them a little pruning and bring the branches inside for a vase. This arrangement (below) really only has a few elements; the framework is the gorgeous oak branch, bursting with fall color.
This week the Cure asks you to cook at home Sunday through Thursday. Since it's Wednesday night, let's check in: How's the cooking going? Are you starting to feel more comfortable in your kitchen? Trying new recipes? Check out this simple vegetarian meal of ratatouille and couscous from SeattleHoarders:
If you want to try this yourself, here's a different style of ratatouille recipe from The Kitchn. Here in the Bay Area we've still got a few late-season tomatoes to play around with. Enjoy!
TODAY'S COMMENT QUESTION
How does it feel to cook at home every night? Do you see yourself making this a permanent lifestyle choice?
POST INDEX
• Week 5 - Intro with Maxwell
• Week 4 - Show & Tell with Laure
• Week 4 - Tips & Tricks with Susie
• Week 4 - Intro with Maxwell
• Week 3 - Show & Tell with Abby
• Week 3 - Tips & Tricks with Sarah Rae
• Week 3 - Intro with Maxwell
• Week 2 - Show & Tell with Abby
• Week 2 - Tips & Tricks with Susie
• Week 2 - Intro with Maxwell
• Week 1 - Show & Tell with Laure
• Week 1 - Tips & Tricks with Sarah Rae
• Week 1 - Intro with Maxwell
DISCUSSIONS
• Green Cure
• USA• North
• Canada
• South
• East
• West
• Australia
• UK, Europe & Beyond
CURE INFO
• Main Cure Page - Spring 2009
• Sign-Up Here
BUY A BOOK
• From Amazon
• From Powell's
• From Barnes & Noble
Veronica & Keith's Handmade Chic 
The World's Ugliest Condo: The Big Bathroom Reveal 
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Hunslet Dinner Plate
A Beginner's Guide to Superb Stir-Fry: Quick, Healthy Meals from a Wok
Homesteaders' Cocktail Recipe: Lovage Simple Syrup
Comments (9)
I just discovered the Fall Cure and even though it's too late to sign up officially, I'm trying to work some Cure magic on my living room and entryway in the last couple weeks. I guess I'm doing a speed cure. I've been going over the old posts and thinking about totally revamping my coat closet and bedroom closet for much increased efficiency. I've got some hook installing and file-cabinet buying to do. And I've found the first thing I'm getting rid of - my TV! I never use it - my bf and I always end up watching DVDs on our laptops - so why have a big TV in the living room? It will be good to get that out of the apartment and have one less object.
Thinking about hard and soft elements is helpful for me in figuring out what else I can improve in my living room, it definitely helps put a finger on what may be out of balance about my space and how I can change that. I've got some thinking to do about it...
Oh, and I always cook at home anyway, so it is not a lifestyle change for me at this point, but I'd definitely urge anyone who doesn't cook at home to do it frequently. To me, taste is so personal that part of being really comfortable in a place is knowing that you can find great food close by. Once you learn to cook to your tastes, there is nothing better than the food you make for yourself, because you can make it exactly to your specifications. Something I really enjoy is going to the farmers market every Sunday, buying my fresh produce and flowers, going home and putting the flowers in vases, and then cooking with that produce throughout the week. It definitely makes me feel more in tune with my space, the community, the earth, and my own health.
Love that headboard! What a great idea. :-)
I finished painting the bedroom and will submit pics soon - it looks so great already, and there are still curtains and a new dresser to come!
The new A/V cabinet is set up in the living room and all those unsightly cords tucked away inside. We sold two matching arm chairs that were just too big for our space, and I'm looking for a replacement chair and side table for the living room.
This weekend, we'll be taking the outbox stuff to goodwill and I'll be so happy to have that pile out of my house!
I got additional bath hardware installed! For the master bath, I put a hook on the wall so that I could hang our bathmat each day so it will dry thoroughly. That bathroom just has a shower, so we can't just throw it over the side of a tub. In the guest bathroom, I put a hook on the wall so that it is easy to grab a towel after a shower or bath instead of dripping across the floor, and I put another towel bar on the wall. These seem like minor changes, but they really help with quality-of-life!
livc, i got rid of my tv for the same reason! i posted it for free on craigslist, put it on the porch, and it was gone. it felt really good, not just because it was big and we gained space, but also because it carried some emotional baggage. i'm really glad to have it out of the house.
the hard and soft balance is tricky for me. i'm looking around my house and not figuring out what, if anything, i need more or less of. i'm not sure if that means there's a good balance, or i'm just blind to my own problems.
Cooking more is not the issue since I cook almost every day. Knowing what to cook is, and on particularly indecisive days I end up begging my husband if we can go grab some fast food or a pizza. It'd be easier if we weren't such picky eaters... :P
I can't remember if I mentioned this before, but just in case I haven't: For those who want the cheer of fresh flowers but can't afford the weekly expense, I've found candles to be a great alternative. Their warm glow and pretty scents make home seem so much more homier. And they last longer than a week! I like to group three fat candles of varying heights on a mirror or pretty plate.
Lizzy: I love quality of life home improvements! I get so excited when I can find a simple fix for an everyday annoyance!
Love the DIY headboard!
Cooking isn't an issue for me, either, since I much prefer a good home-cooked meal to restaurant food. I'm focusing on de-cluttering, and have taken several car loads to Salvation Army. It always feels so good to get rid of the excess, and this is something that is a bit of an ongoing project for me. When something comes in, something goes out. Having too much "stuff" around just truly stresses me out!
After removing 11 boxes of books from my library, my shelves are now easier to look at, and books easier to find. I've also cleaned out my excess art supplies and donated quite a bit of stuff to the school where I teach, so I can enjoy watching my students use my materials! Now I'm in the process of organizing what's left in my studio. It feels great!
I have to admit that the "retail therapy" is lost on me, since I detest shopping! That said, once I free myself from some antique furniture, a forest of extra chairs, a too-big stereo system, a large record collection (33 1/3s), and a bunch of furniture that doesn't fit with the architecture of our house, I'll reward myself with a single armoire to hold a new (smaller!) stereo/CD player, our collection of board games and CDs. I also hope to find some small "remote" speakers for the new, smaller stereo.
I cook at home most nights anyway, simply because we are on a budget! But we've been getting more creative with our dinners, trying new recipes, making pizza dough from scratch, etc. It makes me feel more connected to my house, and my fiancee is amazing at doing dishes! =) We've found that we can both be in our small kitchen together, and it's fun!
The retail therapy will be small (again, budget). I want to find some white vintage vases for my diningroom table, small med large. Other than that, I've just been moving things between rooms, giving the house a new look with stuff we already have. Love it!