Do garden projects count?

Really looking forward to shaping up my office (which looks more like a garage). I am on a super low budget though (recovering from a wedding). It will be interesting to see how far I can go with Ross, Craigslist and thrift-stores!

Definitely going to do this. It will help from a purely selfish standpoint from getting myself in order before I have to move. From a purely monetary point of view, I just read that home maintenance and spring cleaning saves you 10% in valuations (http://www.houselogic.com/articles/value-home-maintenance/) so this will be killer to get me on track. Need to squeeze out all the extra revenue I can - especially in this housing market.

I was just going to ask that question, craftscafe!! I want to do the Cure, but it's my yard that needs the it the most right now.
I'm signing up anyway, even if it won't officially count. It will still be a nice breakdown of the process.

Craftscafe and Lorigami, I'm planning on doing an exterior project as well. We've spent so much time working on the inside that the poor outside has been neglected. I've made a couple of failed attempts, so I think it's worth applying the Cure principles here and see how it turns out.

Here's my "Before" pic of the front of our home. I'm hoping to have a strong "After" by the beginning of summer.

http://www.kitschykitten.com/?p=202

Good luck!!

-Alana

Ugh! I just bought a house and every room needs redone including the yard. ... I know there's no way i can get it done in just eight weeks but i plan on doing the spring cure several times this year to get everything ready.

craftcafe and lorigame--I want to work on my backyard, too! I guess I'm doing a two-room Cure this time: my bedroom and my yard.

Does Apartment Therapy do an outdoor cure? I kept thinking they did, but maybe it was just an outdoor theme to the posts one month.

Can you do the Cure without the book?

I was wondering that too. I don't have the book either.

Tallgrass and DasBus - Get the book! It's cheap and you'll refer to it for inspiration for years. I do!

i've been wanting to do the cure FOREVER and i'm officially signed up, read (or actually re-read) to page 51.

however, as i was reading, i realized that the biggest problem with my place, by far, is its bones. they're bad--like fundamentally unfixable crazy slanty floors bad.

i'm renting (thankfully) and my lease isn't up until the end of august. i've been mulling over moving sooner anyway (there's a place two blocks away that's $400 less/month, with a laundry room, those much coveted even floors, and electric is included in the price!)

basically--advise me. is it worth doing either version of the cure (or some bastardized mish-mash) in a place i want & need to leave, preferably asap?

Hi Mandac! I think the Cure could still apply to you, in terms of editing and sorting stuff. In fact, maybe it's a great thing to do in preparation for a move! Besides, you'll no doubt pick up some great ideas through the process that you can apply to your next (fabulous) new place!

At first I was dedicating to just rearranging furniture and changing my decor. After reading the book, I realize I have a problem with clutter and cleaning! Instead of focusing on just one or two rooms... I need to focus on my entire home's bones, breath and head!

I dove into reading the book and started the cleaning and decluttering this past weekend. I gave away a little TV that I was hanging on to for no good reason and then added a shopping bag full of DVD's to the giveaways. Vacuuming and mopping my apartment was more of a challenge than I thought it would be -- I share a studio apartment with my son so it's easy to end up with too much stuff even if we're constantly editing. I've also started on the mini-repairs. Can't wait to buy flowers -- now I feel justified in doing so! I knew I NEEDED them!

Excited to do my first cure! I am a new homeowner in a 115 year old house/condo in San Francisco so there's *plenty* to do, in general. However, I am starting with a one-room-remedy for the office which I share with my husband. We spend a lot of time on the computers in here & there is a nice street/park view. Previous owner's tastes can only be described as "EarlyPotteryBarn"; buff-colored walls, red & khaki horizontal striped roman blinds (donate) & a dreadful wrought-iron scroll pendant light (donate). Hurl! I am focusing on decor projects, but I have tons of paperwork de-cluttering, as well. Budget is small, but I have leftover paint & some good ideas. Ready...OK!

We are moving to a new apartment that had been gutted. With a tight budget and tighter time schedule, we are almost on the mark. Move in is in a week. The space was disgusting and filthy, a fire had happened years ago and it was not inhabited since. So we are lightening our load (again) and moving into this slightly smaller space. I hope to make it bright and cheerful, light and comfortable, welcoming and warm.

I think my house is like 60 years old or so. So my cure is going to be just working on just how it looks right now. Then later i'll get into the nitty gritty details of electrical work etc. :-( So much to do!!!

I want my home to be minimalist, cool colors, and refreshing. Hopefully it will all work out. Unfortunately i got the wrong paint color for upstairs but it looks good so i'll wait awhile before i decide on painting again. :-D

I have never done the cure before, but anxious to get started. I am currently unemployed and would like to unclutter my townhouse to bring serenity during this time of stress.

I moved from a 3BDR house on 1 acre to a 1 bedroom townhouse. I am learning to downsize & declutter and open to ANY suggestions!! I love books, but they do contribute quite a bit to the clutter! I own my townhouse so have the freedom if not the budget, to do what I want. It is just over 900 square feet. I am doing a mix on low budget.

Still unpacking after a 1.5 years. A recent visitor thought I had just moved in so I was determined after that to get all of the boxes unpacked! I have started by removing boxes in AZ room. I folded up the treadmill and bought a used hide-a-bed couch for guests. I want to paint my bathroom, I started removing towel fixtures. Main focus is living room/Arizona Room and my bathroom and save the kitchen for next year. When I am able to afford anything for my place, I like to shop Ikea, Ross or Craigs list!

I don't have the book as yet, waiting for my copy.

lydster, you are so right! thanks.

for lazylizard (& any fellow book lovers): i suggest using maxwell's questions for the outbox (love it? use it? need it?) to help in the library, too. i am a massive bibliophile & bookworm, but this time last year i sold or donated around 75% of my books. and i'm SO glad i did.

i still have plenty of books, but only the ones i really love.

Thank you for the advice Mandac! I am very impressed that you were able to part with 75 percent of your books! My goal is to downsize my collection....."someday". How long did it take you? How painful was it?

I had a entire wall of library shelves in my previous house, plus bookcases in every room. I originally envisioned creating another library wall with Ikea's Billy shelves. That has been my goal since moving in here. However, as I slowly unpack, the more items I shed (donate or sell) the more I want "less", if that makes sense. I don't know if you have seen the pictures of my living room on the Flickr page, but there is a mirror behind those shelves, completely covered up. I was planning to remove it from the wall to install Billy shelves. My new vision is to remove the tall bookcases and expose the mirror to open up/enlarge the room...and as you suggest, downsize my library!

I've ordered the book and it's on its way. Never done the cure before but really excited about it and having a community to back me up. I've removed the ugliest wallpaper ever from the basement bathroom and now I'm really on the fence about what color to paint it. There is a window that lets light in so I feel I can inject some color into the room. I've already ordered a new shower door (oil rubbed bronze with clear glass panels) to replace the wavy glass and cheap aluminum one the builder graciously installed 13 years ago.. yikes. The vanity which is white with a whiteish marble top will either be painted antique tin ( a really rich grey) or chocolate brown..(one guess, a rich brown) Floors/ shower stall is white tile. I'm looking for some fresh ideas to jump start my cure. Thanks!

I've started reading and have been lightening the "stuff" load in my space daily. Feels really great to be cleaning the slate.

Since the main cure page mention giving away 10 copies of the Small,Cool book to some lucky gradute curees, I'd like to suggest making it easier to find the past contest posts. It would really help me if 2008 and earlier had entrants organized by size like 2009 was.

I'm super excited to start on the cure. I KNOW I have way too much clutter in my house. There are a few closets I would like to tackle and then I'd like to work on a more cohesive decor for the living room. I have rearranged the furniture just the other night and am working on a project or two.

I have ordered the book and just can't wait to get started. I am going to also create an inspiration board that I will post to my flickr page. I made one for my wedding and it helped a lot when visiting with vendors and things. I think I am going to go big with the inspiration board just so I have something I am constantly working towards (i.e. I'd love to get new couches at some point as mine currently are hand me downs from my grandparents, but it's just not in the budget). So having that look I am working towards and be able to truly find the perfect pieces that fit will be nice.

Good luck everyone!

This is my first time doing the cure. I currently live in a 1 bedroom den, 968 sq foot suite, in a newer apartment building. The suite is nice, but very plain. I’ve lived in it with my husband and two cats since January of this year. Prior to that, I lived in a beautiful loft space and I really miss it.
I have serious clutter concerns. For the last 6 months I’ve been facing my clutter problem head on and I’ve been in a continual state of pruning. I hope that this process can help me tackle my paper problem and my clothing problem more effectively.
I am a clinical social worker and I have loads of paper all over my apartment that I need to develop a better system for organizing articles and resources. I’ve also expanded my waist line and need to downsize my ill-fitting clothing. My job is high stress and I need my home to be organized and more visually calm than it is now.
I’ve only recently finished school and would like to invest in better quality furniture. Most of my furniture was purchased haphazardly on a limited budget, or handed down from friends and family. I have no pieces of furniture that I actually like and I think accepting what I have and slowly aquiring more quality/cohesive furnishing will be a challenge. I suspect I will have a difficult time being content with the furniture I do have throughout this process and I hope that that doesn’t discourage me from developing my rental space into a home.
I’m still waiting for the arrival of the book, but I’m pretty excited about being deliberate in creating a healthy/happy home for my little family.

This is my first time doing the cure. I have been reading the book and am really looking forward to getting started. We bought this house about a year and a half ago, did lots of big projects in the month between when we bought it and when we moved in, and totally burned ourselves out. I'm excited to get back into it and finish all of the unfinished projects, de-clutter, deep clean...

This will be my first time doing the "cure" (and I still have to get the book!) I live in a two-room apartment, although now I'll probably use the bigger room with the windows as a bedroom. I desperately need to make changes; I've lived here for nearly 20 years and have never really felt at home ... more on that later.

Thanks to all who have joined The Spring Cure so far, make sure to get your photos uploaded to Flickr by tomorrow afternoon to have them considered in Wednesday's Show & Tell post!

We're excited to have everyone aboard with us, new Curees and old alike!

-- Sarahrae

What is 'show & tell'?

I moved into a small rented bungalow-style house a few months ago. I'll be doing the one-room cure on my upstairs/bedroom. It's pretty sparse right now as most of the old furniture didn't work with the attic-style ceilings.

Before set: http://www.flickr.com/photos/94538466@N00/sets/72157623636109100/

I love this house and I think this space could be really cozy.

lazylizard, what's your flickr name?

to answer your question: not too painful! (although i did have a beer or two during the process.) and the longer you put it off, the harder it's going to be!

what worked for me was turning up my stereo & my brightest lamp. listening to something upbeat makes any dreaded home issue, big or small, much easier.

i angled the lamp so i could see which books were the dustiest (and thus used the least). after that, just shelf by shelf. i also used the cure's "outbox" idea as opposed to donating them right afterwards.

i guess i'm a little confused. on the sign up page, it didn't mention anything about reading a book? or maybe i completely missed that part. in fact, i felt the "instructions" for this event were really vague. what i got out of it is that you just pick a part of your home you want to change, and take before and after pix. i have done that already today, changing my entryway. i posted pix on flickr, but because i use my flickr account for my business and don't exactly want all my clients to see my ugly before pictures (yeah, they're somewhat shameful) i made my pix "friends only." so is there a way to change the settings on pix that anyone in the flickr group can see them, without making them public on my photostream? anyone know?? i just want ONLY the flickr group or apartmenttherapy to be able to see my flickr photos, not the whole public. so far the only options i see for controlling that is "friends only" or "family only" but would i have to add everyone in the flickr group as a friend??
help!
thank you kindly!! :)

best,
vintagedress
www.thevintagescene.com

p.s. i posted them in the flickr pool anyway. i hope everyone can see them. they are just the before shots right now. the afters are coming.
yessssss i am def a newbie. :)

Technical question about taking room shots. How do you all get such nice full shots of the room? I'm focusing mostly on my bedroom this time around and all I can really shoot is one wall at a time, forget about including the floor. Is is my technique or my no-frills point-and-click camera?

btw, my flickr name CrocodileAnnie.

Waahooo!! Book just arrived from Amazon. I just took a look and was slightly confused because Week One starts at Chapter 4 (not Chapter 1). I think it might help to clarify and cite to the correct chapter for the selected reading.

I mean I was able to figure it out, not that hard. Just a thought.

Squirrely,

In my non-professional/in-experienced opinion, I'm pretty sure you need a camera that has a wide-angle lense. I have a regular cannon point-and-shoot digital (it's the SD98), but it is a newer version with a wider lense. It just picks up more in each frame.

Oh and question, how do I know if my photos are in the flickr pool? Do you have to create a special tag or something?

I'm somewhat new to the inner workings of Flickr.

KatHord - Right next to where it says Group Pool above the pictures, you click add something?

Ok...I'm freaking out excited I found this site and have started 'The Cure'. I don't have the book yet...am waiting on it to come it...but have already started my vision...Will take pictures tonight and post...

this is my first time REALLY cleaning out my closets. Anyone else having a hard time giving up stuff. I am stuck on stuff from my childhood that i know i don't need and that i totally forgot i had. what am i supposed to do with this stuff?

Weird, I started clearing out the storage room. I am shooting for an hour a day 5 times a week. Last night (Day 1, first official Cure) I did pretty good, I brought 6 bags to our landing which are headed to the goodwill in a couple hours. Mostly clothes and magazines. What I found myself wanting to keep is a West Elm box. Really?! It is from a Parsons desk and is made really well. Perfect to store framed art in. I am definitely gonna have to throw it out quick. I think the mentality is from my grandmother. She values boxes and packaging material because she does a lot of shipping. "They are expensive." After all, I grew up sorting Tupperware orders for her. A very good 'matching like things with like' for a developing young lady.

From this, I've decided to keep a journal of all these thoughts and memories that come out. It is better to have all of them in one notebook than filling 1000 cubic feet. :)

Started curing my garden. It feels so good. I lost a lot of top soil and backfill this thaw so I've been filling furiously with abt 8 buckets of each per day. Now it looks darn spiffy if I say so myself.

Today I took my "before" pics for my Flickr page and put a few on the pool. And I assembled and set up a new Granemo TV stand (will post a pic tomorrow--too dark to get a good shot of it now). I must say I feel pleased! Tomorrow will be some further unpacking of dishes, now that I have my kitchen pantry set up, and working mostly in the guest/junk/unpacking room, which has become the catchall space since I moved in 3 months ago. As soon as I FIND my copy of the AT book I will read up!

Ohh I'm excited about this! I just got rid of the furniture my ex-husband bought for "us" eight years ago that sent me into premature labor! As you can imagine when my new furniture was delivered to my home I purchased 1 1/2 yrs ago, I could have cried from happiness! I have a vision and I'm going to commit myself to this project! I'm going to see if I can get my pictures on flickr! I feel happy :)!!

Oh I forgot, I donate my old furniture to Salvation Army on Tuesday, that made me feel good :). Someone else can use it.

I just wanted to say that after one week, I can already tell a difference in my home. Instead of saving all of my 'curing' for the weekend, I schedule something each night in my planner. Once I put the kiddos to bed, I tackle a project. So far, I haven't been to bed earlier than midnight, but I somehow still feel sooo good in the morning. We're watching tv less and (finally!) just enjoying each other's company more... maybe because we've actually got more room to play. I tried the cure last fall, but I punked out early because I realize now that I was way too critical of my home; I was picking on it. I think in the past few months, I've made peace with it (my hubby bought this house before we were married, so I've never really felt like it was my own) and am now starting to appreciate it for what it is. For me, the cure is not just about fixing what is wrong, but really embracing all that is right with my home... The best to all of you over the next few weeks!

I've jumped headfirst into this cure and I'm loving it. I'm blogging my before shots / inspiration and progress reports over at http://littlegreenhaus.blogspot.com

I could REALLY use some help from apartment therapy-ers and Cure people. If you have a few minutes could you check out/comment on my flickr albums? One is of pieces I want to keep/include/work with and the other is the sad state of affairs :(
http://www.flickr.com/photos/21103179@N08/sets/

I'm very excited about this project. I'll have to adapt it to our life in some ways----as I suppose everyone does. It's a last minute project so I'm not starting from Ground Zero (a clean house) as much as I'd like to. I've been feeling really overwhelmed by possessions and kind of not in control of my house of late so it's very fitting in that way. My sister moved in with us a year and a half ago and brought things. She died a couple of months later and now my mother has just died so I'm trying to empty her house....so there are things I really want for sentimental reasons and things I want for practical reasons but that means I need to get rid of a lot of stuff....and everything I propose getting rid of make my 8 year old cry and protest "but I have memories with that thing." So having some guidelines will really help! I will be blogging about some of it on my blog www.thesandwichlife.com. Thanks for all the inspiration!

I thought that I performed well at last Fall Cure as far as decluttering goes, but I was wrong. My belongings arrived from my other home to my primary one only today, I'm amidst total chaos and all I hear is "Why on earth do I have all these things?". To be honest I feel repulsed and I'm thinking it's impossible for me to ever be able to cleanse my home from all the "stuff" (the way Getting Things Done would define it). Clutter is gross. Seriously.

My book arrived! I read up to page 69 and I'm so excited about this process.

I borrowed my parents Dyson and vacuumed every inch of my apartment except for the den. It made a big difference in the space. The air feels fresher and I identified some areas to work on as I vacuumed and moved clutter to vacuum around.

My outbox is full already with mostly junky stuff. I'd like to find something nicer to part with.

I need to create a style tray. I'm going to go pick up some magazines and spend more time browsing the house tours tonight.

I've dusted off the ol' blog and will be documenting my progress there. http://paper-scissors-kaylin.blogspot.com/

I'm going to get my before pictures up on flickr tonight. Even my disaster of a bedroom. Yikes!

Still waiting on my book. I had a WONDERFUL weekend writing our vision for our family home and actually started on some projects...it just felt sooooo good. I've needed this! I can't tell you how downtrodden I've been regarding my home. I took pics, etc. And hope to upload them tonight. I have to say...I love CompanyC...I'm a graphic designer and WISH I could afford to purchase some items from them...LOVE the colors and found pages of inspiration from their catalog!!!

Got my book at Barnes and Noble Friday night and stayed up late reading and taking notes. It snowed on Satuday which ruined my plans for working in the garden, but that turned out to be a good thing as my husband and I spent the day cleaning. I started posting progress on Flickr as I slowly (working with a hand injury) organized things in our laundry closet and bathroom. I started a blog (lifeinthefortress.blogspot.com) to chronicle the process and feel like I've already improved my life in a myriad of little ways. I got a jump start on this week by replacing a couple of burned out lightbulbs in the bathroom and hallway and my husband fixed a clogged sink in our kitchen. Can't wait to add some art!!

KeepCalm,
Even though I don't USE the stuff from my childhood, I do keep what is sentimental to me because I remember how much I loved the stuff that my mom kept from her childhood. The things she kept from her childhood were my favorite things, too. I hope to pass on what I loved from my childhood to my kids as well some day. If you don't plan on doing that, though, perhaps you could give them to nieces and nephews or friend's kids so that you know they will be loved. Or see if your parents want the things. Or even find a way to display the items in your home. Kids books from when you were little can go on your bookshelves, art can go on the walls, etc. Good luck!

Am I a cool person or a warm person? I have never been able to figure it out.

Warm: Love to cook, fridge is always stocked. I have a lot of little objects that I love, none of which are well organized. In some areas of the house I have way too much stuff.

Cool: I never entertain because I have no idea how. This sentence describes me perfectly: "may need a little help moving IN, finishing up and keeping your space clean and cozy, as opposed to dusty and uncomfortable". I don't really USE most of the furniture I have, because it is badly placed and badly chosen, but I don't know how to make it better!

Sagekitten85, I think we're all a combination of warm and cool, but one predominates. I'm a bit of both, but as I read the descriptions, I'm mostly warm, with cool overtones (!). Or maybe it's more like a spectrum, like that between introversion and extroversion. I'd look at the cures that are specific for what you've identified as your areas for improvement, whether they be warm or cool. But it sounds from your comment like you're to the cool side of the mid-spectrum. IMHO!

So I thought when I first started the Cure that I was never going to post the *real* before photos... And then as I was getting into the think of things, I figured that I might as well be bold and share them. Which I did. The question is now, how do I change the *before* photo that I submitted with my commitment sign up?

I was trying to figure out why I was so sore tonight when I suddenly remembered all the sweeping, vacuuming, and mopping I did yesterday. Oh, right...

This is my third attempt at the Cure. But this time around, I am focusing on the Deep Treatment and *nothing else.* I think that trying to do a Room Remedy at the same time as a Deep Treatment was a bad decision that led to my being unable to stick to previous Cures. Here's hoping that weeding my "current projects" pile down to "Deep Treatment only" will be successful.

first time at the Cure and done with my week #1...wish i can carry it on and make to the 8th week!

blogging my progress here:

http://everylittlethings.wordpress.com

welcome to drop by :)

Anyone know of a good way to clean stainless steel appliances without having to buy the special stainless steel cleaner?

well, week one and the beginning of week two has been interesting for us. we moved to our place 5 months ago, never really liked it and we were just very unhappy with it. most people in NYC moving into a 2,000 sq ft space would not feel this way, but we did. the amount of work we had to do seemed (and still is) so over the top, we can't see the light at the end of the tunnel. after reading the cure book, we realized we are 'warm' people living in a cement box, with white walls. we have so much space that we are not used to, it is over the top.

we have to make sure we maintain the functionality of the space (photo studio) and keep it somewhat business-y. We were so worried about it being de-personalized it was making us miserable. so the new take, you will love visiting the photo studio and hanging out just as you would the lobby of the ace hotel, or any other hotel where you love to look around and absorb the environment. still professional, but not a white box.

so on to complete week two! the layout of the furniture in our living room area is KILLING us (and has been for months). and with the new couch purchase looming, we want to figure it out. actually, by the end of the week, it will be figured out.

cure forward!!! william brinson on flickr

Joymich, we just wrote a post about this! You can shine stainless steel with flour. See it here: http://www.re-nest.com/re-nest/cleaning/tip-shine-stainless-steel-with-flour-112001

I am excited to do this cure! I have been studying Feng Shui and beginning to put some things into practice. This falls right in line. I am starting my second business and I think that clearing my house will make room for the good things to come in from that.

I've been using post-its this cure (my second try) every time I have an idea about something I want to change in my apartment. That way, I can write the idea down before I forget and place the post-it directly on the part of my apartment that my idea relates to (e.g. "Pegboard goes here," "This shelf should go away," etc.). Yes, there are tons of 2x2 neon squares all over my home now, but it's very easy to visualize the changes I'm thinking about and give them some time to sink in before I act on them.
Also, image spark (imgspark.com) has been great as a virtual style tray. I think it's way better than flickr for collecting images that inspire you (see example here: http://www.imgspark.com/image/listing/annenelsen).

...or here (minus parenthesis): http://www.imgspark.com/image/listing/annenelsen

Is there a way to edit our posts?

@anneavece: Only through reading a preview of the comment, then fixing before submitting.

And I agree with you on Image Spark; the only things I have a problem with are that you can make only two mood boards simultaneously and also that often people don't put the source of the photo into the comment field.

Well, got through Week I of The Cure; I couldn't believe how much cleaning I actually did. Still trying to find a "vision" though ... and I'm stuck between two concepts: go for a) "beach house" look (light and airy - lots of blues and whites) even though I live in an apartment in New York OR b)Zen-like (lots of whites, very simple.) Downside to a): I wonder if it'll mean alot of redecorating once winter comes again to give more "warmth" to the apartment; downside to b): am I really going to be able to keep things that clean? Any comments, suggestions more than welcome.

My vision may be "I've got to move" - Not just fitting my space to my (and my future husband's) needs, but also downsizing due to the economy. I'm not the only one, I'm sure!
But regarding the vision: how many of you are "visioning" as couples, and how many are just picking a vision no matter who else lives there? How do you engage a reluctant partner in imagining how to use a space? My fiance has never had any inclination to design a space. "You got a space, you live in it". I'd love to hear some stories on how to make this happen.

My first cure, although living in a small house (for southern california - it's 915 sq. ft.) I try to always be aware of clutter. But who knew that being aware and actually doing something about it don't always go together, so the cure is a great idea. I've already given clothes away to charity, gotten rid of unused and outdated reference books, reorganized my main closet which is now more open and fuctioning better in its varied roles (clothes, books, printer, router). I'm looking forward to the second chapter of the book tonight!

Like some of the others above I used ImageSpark for my style tray. Also, floorplanner.com is great for coming up with a floor plan! Very useful in these early stages of the cure. I blogged about these and some other helpful online tools on my blog.

@rktrixy: My husband has always been very unconcerned with "the vision." He is a minimalist but doesn't care where things end up and I am a planner/minimalist wannabe who craves style and function. I started the Cure without him as a means to make our house more presentable before the in-laws come to visit in May/June. I started asking him for his opinion more and more often... "What color curtains do you think would look nice in the living room?" When he says, "I don't care" I say, "Well, I'm trying to decide between green and gold." He inevitably says, "Green, gold is too fussy." This is how I subtly drag him into decorating with me. lol Or I say, "What do you think... Pink or orange?" and he freaks out and I can say, "Well, what color would YOU pick?" The more you present options you like and have him help you with the final decision perhaps the more interested he will become. Then when he sees the difference it makes in his surroundings maybe he'll want to get really involved! That's how we planned our wedding, anyway. :D

ok hitting the ground running!! Or least I am going to try to once the Amazon gods deliver my book. For now, here are my before pics. Please offer suggestions!! I will reciprocate with blog/flickr love!!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9515859@N08/sets/72157623529646267/

this is my confessional!

i've chosen my bedroom to redo. my problem is my art/craft stuff that i haven't made time to give away. a liberating thought is...WE ARE NOT OUR STUFF. it doesn't make me any less of an artistic soul if i give away the piles of paper i've accumulated. if i had a space for a studio, more power to me, i would not have to use my bedroom for storage! as it happens, NO studio. hence, i do not use this paper at ALL.

i've lived here for three years and have not even looked at this paper pile except maybe twice. it really needs to be in the hands of someone who will use it. and the markers i've collected over the years...holey cow. the kids will get those and use them. i've had them since 2000. TEN YEARS OF NOT USING MARKERS?! for crying out loud. they are not even dried out; they're like brand new still.

rubbermaid containers full of little clippings and ribbons and buttons and crap i just could not throw out....it's like my STUFF has its own room and i'm just allowed to share it or something. my stuff was owning ME.

this is the most liberating project!! thank you, maxwell! now i can make room for ... i don't know... breathing?

and i'm adding some of the action items from the deep cleaning list as well, like buying fresh flowers. right now michigan is still snowy and cold, and the smell of fresh flowers just makes the house feel more alive. sitting intimately with the different rooms really helps me to connect with this house. my whole entire goal for this house (including my bedroom) is for it to feel loved. i want people to walk in and feel at home and ... hugged.

NOT suffocated.

:) xo

oh, and livec and keepcalm--idea for small items to keep: last month, martha stewart had an article in her magazine about a woman who puts her kids' cherished keepsakes (clothing items, toys, etc) into shadowboxes and displays them on the wall. very, very cool and artfully done. xo

i can't believe how much fun this is! it's so nice to be doing this kind of stuff with a bunch of other people, so it's not just cleaning, or rearranging, or organizing, but a big fun event. :)

i'm blogging progress here: http://skinnygirlslovebacon.posterous.com

trying to keep up the progress...next is the media room and our kitchen...

@xoxotoe: I could not have said it better myself. After having been in agony for a couple of days, amidst basically crap, I've realized that the stuff has owned me. I've felt emotionally attached to gifts, way too much so, and things that once resonated with me, but which don't feel like me today, are not to demand attachment anymore either. This realization is a huge rush of relief.

Last Fall, the Cure meant that I started viewing things out of a practical perspective; "Do I really *need* this?". This Spring, it's finally about letting go, also of things that I might need, but which I have several similar items of. The things I really need and love will have more room to breathe and so will I.

@bronxbeach, I don't think you'd necessarily have to redecorate a "beach house" in the winter, just change or add a few accessories with some warmth or texture. If you add some candles, a cable-knit lap blanket and a seasonal centerpiece, you may be surprised at the change! (I'm picturing the winter version looking like a cozy, unpretentious Maine cottage.) That is the one I would choose because I like more color and informality than is traditional with Zen.

@LazyLizardStudio and Mandac, I find it easier to let go of my books when I know they are going to a good home, so I use www.paperbackswap.com (user name "chispea") to trade my books for book credits... to use to request other books. Yes, I know, it's a vicious cycle! I have gotten rid of 10 more books than I have requested, though.

Abby: thank you! I found I was more drawn to the "beach house" concept (makes me think of sunshine and the outdoors) and it gives me, as you noted, more color. I already purchased some new draperies (a light turquoise in a very soft fabric) for my bedroom/sitting room windows and I love the way they brighten things up. If I get enough nerve and can carry through on everything, I'll actually post photos. In the interim, I also arranged for the landlord to paint (overdue!), retile the bathroom floor (broken) and got a new refrigerator to boot since the super felt the one I had was on its last leg.

Oy. I had to combine Week 1 and Week 2 in this weekend. Last weekend was full of illness and 4 year old's birthday. :)

I am inspired, since I have started a "yard sale" pile, and have found a tremendous amount of stuff for a yard sale 2 weekends away from now. And I have cleared out some stuff that had been sitting, just have to wait until next trash day to get rid of the last.

I started a style tray http://www.imgspark.com/image/listing/Skerri/ and found a ton of things that I would love in a 'perfect' apartment. (Some things will actually be worked into this Cure, if I can wing it.)

I love The Cure!!! It has really inspired us. I thought about what I wanted to accomplish, it is a long list but we are already tackling it. This past weekend we cleaned like crazy, it felt wonderful. I emptied 2 closets, pulled out tons of new dandelions from the front lawn, picked up all the lose twigs and branches that fell over the winter, uncovered my fig tree which I love, not so much for the figs but for the leaves. My husband transplanted some bulbs that were languishing in the garage...I also started the redo of the bathroom, mud room and kitchen, these are the 3 rooms that I am going to paint, and tweak by Memorial Day....I am cleaning out the dish cabinets this coming weekend and giving most of them to my sisters and friends...as I only want white dishes from now on!

Well, it's taken me a while but I have just figured out what my style is -- Modern Exotic! and this will help me in deciding what to get rid of and what to buy so that my home fits my style. It sounds like nothing but to me it felt like an epiphany!

has anyone built there own fireplace mantle? we have a faux fireplace in the room i need to spruce up and a mantle is needed.

This tip saved me today (from http://www.popularmechanics.com/home_journal/how_to/4290501.html) :

"One of the basic challenges of many home-improvement projects is removing a painted-over screw.

THE QUICK FIX
If you don’t have a screw extractor, try this trick from Douglas Adams, of Adams Construction in Brooklyn, New York, who has faced this many times. He says, "I use a lighter or match to heat the head of a nail or screw until it is red hot. [Editor’s note: Grip the nail or screw with pliers to avoid burning your fingers.] Touch the head of the heated metal to the head of the painted-over screw and the paint will burn off. The heat will also make the screw expand. Cool it with a small chip of ice and it will contract, making it easier to remove."

Thankfully, the paint didn't burn off so much as gently melt off- but this really worked! I got the decades old hinges off of my pantry door with no trouble at all!

This week, I've done so serious changes. The most serious one being I've signed up for DSL service. Yes, I've been living in the digital stone age for last three years. This all started when I finally updated my operating system for my Mac Tuesday and spent the last three days updating iTunes, Quick Time Player, updating OS X Tiger to 10.4.11 and Safari to 4.0.2. All on a dial-up system. What this means is I will have a large electrical bill next month. No more. I've joined the 21th century and signed up for an upgrade to my service yesterday.

we have decided our style is something we are calling industrial chic. high contrast colors but very neutral, lots of texture and reclaimed furniture.

yeah! we have a plan!

I'm feeling a little discouraged at how slowly things are moving; of course the fact that I moved cross-country just three and a half months ago and had been packing for six weeks prior to that means I've been in "transition" mode for five months, so I guess I have to cut myself some slack. I did put together the Lycksele sofabed for the study, which has become my main focus as it's been the "junk" zone since the move. So now I have a peaceful sofabed corner carved out amid the junk. And I'm not going to push myself to paint yet; it's just too daunting to think of at this point.

Oh, and I washed the windows in the study. I wonder if the previous occupants of this apartment ever knew the windows tilt open for cleaning, because they were seriously filthy. I had done all the others in the place while waiting for my stuff to arrive from CA, though they could use it again. It makes such a difference!

This past weekend, I powered through so much paperwork! Most of it was not needed (as it turns out) and was shredded and thrown out. The little I have left (tax returns, for instance) is going to get scanned and sent to my storage unit. Does anyone know if you need hard copies of returns and W-2's if you don't itemize your returns?

I am 90% finished with the refrigerator cleanout and am tackling the stove tomorrow. I got more inexpensive matching clear containers for pantry items -- looks sooooo much better than the mish-mash of boxes.

Am feeling bolder about getting rid of recipes on slips of paper that could be either put into my cooking class notebook or scanned and saved in my computer...

Although I have a ways to go, I feel like I have some real momentum!

Ugh, I feel like I'm going backwards. I made so much progress on the bathroom, but after a week it's junked out again. Not as bad, but I'm in such a hurry in the mornings I don't have time to put everything back in its place -- especially not the hot flat iron. I'm sure this means I just need to get up earlier which is my goal for the week.

The living room, which was in decent condition until last Thursday, has been destroyed by one of my sewing projects. I really need to get in gear and fix up my sewing room.

On a positive note, we tackled the kitchen dishes yesterday and it felt amazing to get that done. Our dishwasher is broken and our landlord won't send over a repairman unless someone is at home, which we never are during their business hours, so it's been broken for two weeks. I finally put flour and sugar in two of my lovely glass jars (still wondering what to do with the little jar) and we put most of the dishes away. I need to go through the cabinets and get rid of some things, but I'm pretty good about keeping those paired down.

I'm doing a combination of the Deep Treatment and the One Room Remedy. Mostly, I'm trying to finish my apartment after moving out on my own. I'm also in law school, so my time is at a premium. I did weeks one and two last week, which culminated in cleaning the heck out of my floors. I was behind the toilet, wiping down plumbing, reaching under the fridge, cleaning baseboards... I wasn't going to do my small laundry room, but then I caved, and ended up cleaning the washer and dryer, too. I wouldn't have made it without the gloves. It was disgusting. But I still haven't tackled my pantry, which is really the only problem area in my kitchen. I'm a little intimidated by it.

The good thing about my apartment is that since I just moved out in August, I don't have a lot of "stuff." Not that my Outbox isn't growing, though. I'm pretty proud.

One of my biggest challenges is cleaning and downsizing so much stuff while my boyfriend pretty much lives at my place during the week. This results in the spread of his "stuff" all over my apartment, while I'm trying to purge so much. It's distracting and frustrating, when I'm getting rid of so much, but there's still this stuff, and I can't do anything about it. Anyone else have this problem with their S.O.?

I'm pretty excited for my curtains that I'm hoping will soften the coldness of my tall, mini-blind-covered windows, and a chair I'm hoping will break up the "bowling alley effect" my layout suffers. There's just a lot of little stuff that I'm hoping to finish during the Cure. I'm having a hard time resisting the urge to "finish" everything at one time.

@anniekins, I had that same apartment with my boyfriend! I didn't feel I could ask him to help clean, since it wasn't his apartment. And he did need a place to put his stuff, since he mostly stayed at my place. My solution was to put a big laundry basket in the corner and ask him to keep all his stuff in there. Also, if I picked up his stuff, I just tossed it in there without having to do any real work. Somehow, this laundry-basket corralling worked, and there was domestic harmony: we moved in together, got married, and then bought a home!

Lizzy, thanks! That is a great idea! I think I'll buy him his own special laundry basket this weekend. If I can keep all his stuff from driving me crazy, I might not even mind the possible marriage side effect. :)

@shoestringgirl, it'll make the move so much easier! By editing your belongings now, you'll have only what you need to start off on the right foot in your new place. You could also do the exercises about defining your style so that you're ready to do the adding when you move.

Oh man, can I just say that I think I'm finally getting over 30 years of pack-rat-ism! I have moved boxes and boxes and boxes for most of my adult life a minimum of once a year, sometimes I've moved 2-3 times a year (mostly in college). It just progressively got worse. Until this past summer. I got married and then we moved all the way across the country. My husband helped me purge a lot, but there was still an entire huge U-Haul worth of crap that we brought with us. But since beginning this cure, I've begun to cut even the things I thought I couldn't live with out. It feels great now. I was previously almost physically unable to let go of things.

What changed? I let my husband throw things out with out my knowing (I promised him I wouldn't get mad, either). Once I got over the initial shock, I actually relaxed and saw how much nicer it was without all that stuff clogging up our lives.

Now, my outbox is growing. It's really nice, actually. I can see us getting things under control and being able to enjoy our space by the end of this. My clutter will no loner keep me from having friends over and entertaining.

I've officially entered the last few Cures, and never completed them. This time, no official entry, and I'm getting a ton done. I found a great cabinet that let me get rid of both a big dining room table and a shelf and p, moved a mirror into a much better space, and have one big bag ready for goodwill, and am looking for more to get rid of. I've bought flowers, cooked, and started cleaning. Yay!

Well, this isn't exactly a 'landing strip' question - more general. I want to turn the largest room in my apartment into a bedroom (one zone) and possibly small living/sitting room (another zone). My bedroom furniture is light colored; I just picked up a wicker chair, ottoman and small padded bench in a darker shade. What do you think of the idea of different tones? I don't like matched sets (think matching nightstands, endtables, etc.) but I'm lost on the color concept. Love the new furniture (all clearance!!!!) I'm going for a "beach cottage (in a Bronx apartment) look. Thanks!

I'm officially doing the cure! I've been reading the book and following everyone on the comments stream. I decided to finally load my before photos onto FLICKR so I can fully commit to this.
My boyfriend and I moved to a new apartment (combining our seperate apartments) in February so we did a ton of "pre-work" for The Cure when we moved. Reading the book I've realized there's still room for improvement! The first thing I did was give away our coffee table which we knew was too big for the space and took away from some of the nice furniture we have in the living room.
This week I've re-edited my book collection (and am forcing the bf to do the same with his books) and am painting the apartment! I've done 2 walls (plus the whole entry area) and am thoroughly happy with results so far. I went with a light off-white that changes do a deeper gray/cream/green at night. It's 1,000 times better than the "construction white" we were living with before.
I hope everyone has a productive weekend! We'll be painting, painting, painting.

I scanned through the comments but didn't see this mentioned. Sorry if it's a repost.
I'm making progress: cleaning things, clearing things out, dumping junk, etc.
It's all great except for one kind of big thing...
I come into my home or walk into a room and it doesn't feel like it's my apartment. It's not that it's too sterile or doesn't look lived in but it doesn't feel like it's my space anymore.
Maybe it's I've lived with my stuff for so long it feels empty to have breathing room and space to move. I dunno. It just feels kind of phony.
Anyone else feeling like this?
Thanks!

I finally caught up on all the reading! I bought the book for the Kindle (less clutter, yay!), but my husband has been using it a lot lately and I haven't had much time to read. I feel like I am making good progress though.

I finished the guest room over the weekend. I had planned to do that room last, but my daughter's new mattress was delivered, and my dad was visiting, and since I was setting up the bed in the guest room anyway, one thing led to another.

I didn't do much in the kitchen, as we moved recently, so it's not bad. We also cook at home most nights anyway. I did move a table out of the "eating area" of the kitchen, and unpack a bunch of boxes (one more to do though!).

Right now I am working on getting the living room under control. Our new couch is coming Wednesday, so I want it ready for that.

Thanks to an impromptu Easter lunch with my parents, our house looks great! My husband and I whipped it into shape in about 4 hours. There's still a lot left to work on, but the majority of the visible clutter is taken care of. Now to purge the clutter hiding in closets and the garage!

The cure continues to motivate me. I started my summer clean up early, usually I start working around the house memorial day weekend this year I hope to have everything done by memorial day..........a big improvement...

What can I do with my bicycle and bike rack for the car? My apartment building does not have any basement storage, so they have to live somewhere in the apartment. Any creative ideas?

I bought the book a more than a year ago but had just started a new job and it was too hard to do it all at that time. Joining the Cure online motivates me to keep going.

Of course life still "gets in the way" but I'm not discouraged and I've been leaving a trail of sticky-notes where I don't have time to do something during the week it's supposed to get done.

This past weekend I finally got the time to clean the rest of the kitchen. It felt SO good to get rid of all that old food. The kind of stuff you bought but never got around to using. And it forced me to make lasagna for the first time since we had a box of noodles for it that I didn't want to throw out. Yum!

We might move at the end of this year but the Cure is still great for two reasons:

1. It helps you enjoy your rental while you're still there (in a deeper way)

and 2. We'll be much lighter when we finally re-located.

Thanks AT!

getting extra holiday here in HK for the Easter break so combining wk 3&4 cure last weekend and progressing well...will be posting foto soon hopefully...

And also done extra curing to my make-up dresser and spring cleaning all tools, i feel so much better (even prettier?) when i rushed thru' my 5 mins makeup at the newly arranged makeup "station" this morning! that's truely freshen up my spirit :D

Welcome to drop by my blog at http://everylittlethings.wordpress.com/ where i'll be (trying to) blog my progress all ways long!!

Thought i'd drop by and list all the projects i'm working on or have done already:

I got rid of a mini forest in my backyard. I'll replace some of the trees later for an ornamental/edible landscape.

I got rid of a six foot wide bush in my front yard.

Working on power washing the house and garage. I'm half way through that project. I didn't have a hose long enough to finish the project.

I painted a built in bench.

I'm painting built in shelves in my dining room.

Sanding the dining table and painting along with all the chairs. Got a table cloth made with my mom.

Started painting upstairs but ran out of paint :-) gotta get more.

And last but not least, i replaced a light fixture in the kitchen.

Oh! and i found some beautiful marble in an alley that i'm going to clean up and get put into my new counter when i have a chance.

I also had some electrical fixed but i need to get it all repaired and i'm getting a new hot water heater. but i'll be replacing it within a year or two for a tankless, solar hot water heater. don't worry though, i'm not going to throw the other away. It will be sold to pay for the costs of the energy efficient one.

I have a serious question concerning how the eight weeks are structured... Where does the party _before_ getting painting fit in?? :) It's just such a pity to miss the chance...

(My little silly AT blog:
http://www.photoblog.com/TransientPixels/ )

Is it just me? Like I replied last week on Tuesday, I'm disappointed when I have expected Monday's post to have been posted on Monday. Maxwell wrote his "To be continued" very late on Monday, then continued it extremely late (European time) on Tuesday if I remember correctly. I as well as a few others had voiced our disappointment as first comments in the thread of that particular blog and they were then removed for readability's sake.

Now it's Tuesday morning again here in Europe and there is no Monday post in sight. And I'm disappointed once more. I seriously can't imagine that I'm the only one either, because there are many others this year who seem to struggle with this thing. Which the AT team has picked up, I'm sure, at least if they have read any of the reader comments. So why not help us by posting a full article when it has been promised? There is a whole week since the previous one to prepare for the new one, so I can't imagine it's impossible to squeeze those 15 minutes out a bit earlier than on American Tuesday morning.

If you have been checking out Flickr regularly, you know for sure there are many feeling a bit stressed out due to lagging behind. We really need the support and regularly if it is promised as such.

:( -Nina-

IT'S COMING NOW! SORRY FOR THE DELAY

Update:

Apparently some carpenter bees and bumble bees thought it would be nice to put up a hive in the middle of my tree in the front yard. I cannot even get to the door of my home without being chased half a block away by the terrible swarms. So this week and next week i will be getting rid of bee's, painting my dining room, buying a fridge and stove and also taking the tree down so that i can replace it with a weeping cherry tree. I also, am going to replace the roof with a beautiful steel roof as well. :-) Wish me luck! I only have three weeks to complete it all!

SPEAKING of bees! Is there any preventative measures a person can take against bees and wasps? I hate the daily sprint to my front door past the wasps nest :(

I am so behind :( The apartment was looking nicer, all put-together...and then the bf finally moved the rest of his stuff in.

Boxes and duffels in the bedroom and living room! It's driving me crazy, and I don't know where to start. We have so little storage space and apparently too much "stuff". He won't part with his unused CD jewel cases, or pare down his DVD/comic collection :(

HI there,

We recently bought a walk-up apartment in Singapore, and have built a loft for our bedroom and study.

However, we realised a problem: Ventilation.

On the first level, we have beautiful windows and light, but the second level does not have any.

As the first level and second level are open concepts, it seems that there will be a possible ventilation problem. If we switch on the aircon, it will cost quite a bit in electricity bills and will not be viable for long-term sustainability.

Any advice?

I've made a major dent in the original plan of my storage room but work and volunteering has gotten really busy. When it rains it pours and I haven't been down there for 2 weeks. In the meantime, I've made the best of it, completed the book and have appeased myself with completing a few 1 hour projects when I'm home and have been making list of what I'd like to continue to accomplish as the weeks push forward to the next Cure.

I love the bedroom chapter and want to make my room like a massage room I was just in. Very warm, dark and relaxing. Programmable shades for my lonely window maybe require otherwise I may never get out of bed.

Looking forward to all the last prep and progress that everyone will post and I'll still post what I accomplished the next week.

Thanks for this fun, social group.

Funny thing. I'd been having an extremely hard time picking a new colour for my living room walls. When I did and I had them painted, I wasn't happy at all.
When I found the time to sit down for more than five minutes, look around and reassess my list of things to be done, inspiration hit. After writing down everything that needed to be changed (especially in terms of colours) I was finally able to visualize several satisfactory ideas, and most importantly, realize that one of the walls has to be repainted and in which colour. I plan to do this myself in a few days, but I wanted to point out one thing:
We people who are awful with colour, probably work better with iterations.

x

Well, I didn't really accomplish anything major in my bedroom. I'm disappointed, but I just haven't had the time. My mother-in-law was here for four days, then my father came and stayed for four days and we had a very busy couple of days last weekend.

I did put together a mood board for it, but one of the quilts I want is on sale at Anthropologie, but I can't buy it yet. So I'm thinking it may not be there when I am ready. Oh well. I'd like to paint over the bright blue that is in there now, but the bedding I chose has bright colors in it (including that blue), which makes me wonder if I am being influenced by the blue, even though I'm planning to change it. I am not doing the party this week, so I am going to keep working on my bedroom.

I knew it would take us more than eight weeks, so I don't mind not being ready for the party yet. It works out well that I am hosting book club here at the end of the month. It's a little smaller and easier to handle for now, and then we'll do a birthday party for my oldest daughter in June. We'll have a lot of people then. My goal is to have everything absolutely done (or as done as I can get it with what I have) before that.

Although I haven't gotten everything done that I wanted to, I have made HUGE progress from where I was before the cure started. "Life" happens sometimes to throw off the timeline, but I'm not done just because the official time is over. I have been working with a look I wanted, been open to opportunities (like a craigslist dresser from the 50's/60's that was outside my "style" but inside my color story - love it!), have a "landing space," have cleaned closets, kitchen, bath, under beds, fixed things that were broken, caulked, glued, painted, spackled, nailed... SO, even though it's not ready for prime time, it's looking and feeling much more like a home and a refuge from the madness of NYC. Will post pictures of before (oh no!) and where things are now at least -- and, again once I have completed everything. I'm so glad I did this so I'd have the motiviation to keep at it.