• Cure Clock: 8 Weeks to go
• Assignment: Read Week One: Creating Your Own Vision
Each Wednesday during The Spring Cure, we'll be bringing you fabulous photos from readers just like you. We're documenting our homes as we go in our Flickr Pool, so make sure you're tagging your photos for us to see! Down the road this space will be packed with makeovers and amazing transformations, but for now, we'd like to show some support for those sharing their "Before" photos with us. We all have clutter, but having a game plan for where you'll be taking each room is important, onward to see what direction others are headed in and offer your suggestions, after the jump!
Thanks so much to all those who have already contributed some "before" and "in progress" photos to our Flickr pool. Being honest about your space is the first place to start and photographs always seem to be that for us. If you add any photos to the Cure Flickr Pool that aren't of your own personal spaces, please make sure to note that in the comments to better help us locate all of your amazing handiwork!
Above are a few of our favorite photos, some with questions, so make sure to weigh in with your friendly suggestions on what should happen in the spaces listed below.
First Row, Left To Right
• Whoopsadaisy_anna would like to work on organizing her stunning bookcases this Cure and is considering painting them white. What do you think?
• Miss Anthropology is looking for a few clutter busting tricks to control her accessories on her dresser. Do you have a solution that works great in your own home?
• Joymich is considering relocating the tan sofa to open up the traffic pattern and create a little more space. Sometimes living with less makes all the difference!
• Meisty has a light, bright and out of sight breakfast nook. She's looking to polish and declutter the space, we can't wait to see the results!
• Chickencoophouse has the same problem that many of us do, using the back of the toilet for a catch all or storage space. It always seems that as soon as one thing lands there... the entire bathroom does!
Second Row, Left To Right
• ms.alianator's dressers suffer the same plight as many bedrooms. Their clear surfaces become a great place to toss clothes or all that other stuff that seems to find it's way in. We love their color (even if it resembles car primer in tone!).
• diademydo would like to lighten up the look of her nursery. Although the color is a good one, there's not enough light in the room to support it and keeps the space feeling heavy. We can't wait to see the after photos!
• CrocodileAnnie is well on her way to making her bedroom a more personal space. She's put out a muffin tin for a humidifier, painted a filing cabinet for a nightstand and has some makeshift curtains in place. What would you add for wall and window treatments to make this space come together?
• kimba714 made great strides in the Fall Cure in this space and is continuing on this time around with plans for a new desk, a reading area and wall art!
• Mrs.MessyJessi is in the middle of painting the kitchen. Even though it's easy to get discouraged while working on one room and things feel displaced, don't let it get you down. Keep one room in your home clean at all times and use it as a refuge away from the madness!
Third Row, Left To Right
• Smark31 has an great wall of bookshelves that rest under the windows. One of the hardest things about bookshelves is resisting the urge to put everything on them and finding homes for the remainders. We're excited to see the results of the organizing!
• ereuyi has the makings of a landing strip in place and although space is tight, thinking about it now is a great idea!
• paradem has one of the best outboxes we've seen in the last 2 years! Complete with a Feed Me sign! There's a space for things to be donated, things to be taken to work and things to be given away to friends. Once you start thinking about all the extra things you're living with, it's liberating to add to your outbox! Nice Job!
• dancingcalliope has recently purchased a new sofa, but doesn't spend much time in the room. Do you have any pillow or lighting solutions for her?
• alahoop is working on clearing out the guest room. It holds extra bedding, could be heavy on furniture and is on it's way to having real guests inhabit it! We love all the white and can't wait to see it's outcome.
Post Index
Week One - Maxwell's Intro
Jessica's Crafted Space
Ana Creates a Community at Home
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Ercol Bar Stool
True Greek Recipe: Paximadi Bread Salad with Tomatoes, Feta and Capers
True Greek Recipe: Paximadi Bread Salad with Tomatoes, Feta and Capers
Ok, I was hesitant about signing up for Flickr (another online account to keep track of!!!!), but this has convinced me that it will be worth it! Thanks for sharing everyone! Can't wait to see how these all shape up. :)
I just moved into a studio so, I already donated/tossed out a boatload!! Im kinda starting off with a fresh canvas, but still need lots of help and my place is already starting to look cluttered. Doubt I'll be a major overnight AT candidate, but Im looking forward to learning how to tweek my place into a sweeter, functional space : )
I'm very depressed by what some people consider "cluttered."
I'm with Ande2994; noticing what some people consider clutter makes me realize that I have a long way to go!
Me too. I would be happy if my worst room (my own bedroom) looked as nice as some of these before photos.
I would think clutter would mean anything that feels out of place to you... (IMHO)
My husband is one of those minimalist people that feels *clutter* at a single book laying down on a bookcase on top of the others all lined up... I on the other hand feel the *clutter* just before the bookcase topples over. We meet in the middle with lots of books and some open spaces on the shelves.
It's all just about making us happy and comfortable and proud to include others in our personal spaces... Right?
Maybe instead of the word "clutter" think of things that need more permanent homes. The word clutter is a catch all because saying, "Stuff that got thrown there because I was too tired to put it up... wherever up really is" ... is kinda tricky to say in a blog post.
Everyone has different levels of clutter, at one point in time I had an attic, two car garage and basement full of things that needed homes. Now even the smallest amount of "clutter" drives me crazy.
The Cure is a journey!
Idk guys, my FIL thinks clutter is a bookcase filled with books. (And yeah he doesn't read)
That's my guest room. How exciting! I love seeing all of the before pictures, and I can't wait to see how everything looks after.
I can't wait to tackle our guest room. I've never had a real guest room before, and I'm really excited about setting this one up. I'm making myself do it last to help motivate me to get through all the other rooms that need to be done.
I ordered curtains last night!!! I'm so proud of myself!!!
I think the descriptions for dancingcalliope and alahoop are meant to be switched.
Fun post! I am excited to see how everyone's homes evolve. I'll have to upload some pics to flickr...
alahoop, I love your guest room it looks lovely! I would want to stay there.
Nope, description is correct :) Nothing like seeing my living room on here for a little motivation...spent my day filling the outbox and I won't lie, it felt good!
Making sure to work one task at a time to avoid feeling overwhelmed...also spent some time with my inspiration board and it's beautiful!
--Amber (DancingCalliope)
I actually find it really inspirational seeing these 'before' photos and it's got me excited about sorting out my place. Some of these space are really beautiful and it's great to see people actually LIVING in them! What a refreshing change to ironed curtains, artfully arranged vignettes and images photoshopped within an inch of their life...
So you have to sign up for a Yahoo account to join this flickr account?
Annoying. I hate yahoo. I use it at work and hate the obnoxious advertising, etc. Talk about CLUTTER.
AT needs to post more info about joining flickr and twitter for those of us who avoid them like the plague they are.
Seeing these homes make me happy. Not only are they wonderful, but very encouraging too. Perhaps I am not too far gone as the most under loved place in my home (my laundry room) is right on par here. I feel so much less paranoid!
Very inspirational photos!
@aurelais: Basically you have to use yahoo mail once, after which you log in directly from the flickr start page.
Flickr user CrocodileAnnie here.
I am ridiculously excited to see that photo of my shameful bedroom on the internet! But don’t mistake it as “well on its way” to anything but an overhaul! That “curtain” is a fitted sheet hung up with rubber bands and the filing cabinet, which is now peeling paint, is a holdover from our one-room apartment days that will soon be banished to the basement.
I want an elegant, calming room.
Some of these are cracking me up, because in the time it took to take the picture, upload the photos from the camera, get them up on flickr, and describe them . . . the clutter could have just been cleaned up.
Wow, thanks! This is great. It's unbelievable how motivating all the encouragement has been. Baby Maxwell and I will be playing with my pile of color chips tonight. Let's see which ones he picks!
It's kind of relieving seeing other people's "clutter." We have an ongoing clutter problem that I hope to get (mostly) rid of with this Cure. I'm getting started this weekend!
livc, Thanks! I love every room in our house, but that was the one I was standing in when I decided I wanted this house. I am sure the guest room will be MUCH more comfortable once I get a bed in there!
NorNor, In case you haven't read the book, I am pretty sure you are a "cool" person.
Some of these pictures make me very anxious. Too much stuff!
Makes me anxious as well, and I LIVE here with all this crap (even the cats are shell shocked). Which is why I'm participating, and excitedly working towards a refreshed, organized, and mostly clutter-free home in the next few weeks. Fingers crossed...
When you don't know where to start, sometimes it helps to do a "temporary" decluttering. Pick an area of your room and temporarily remove everything that doesn't belong there, even if you don't have place for it, even if it's just for a few minutes (although you will have to deal with it at some point). It will remind you how great your space can look without all the extra "stuff." Seeing immediate results (even temporarily) is SUCH a great motivator.
what you do is schedule a donation pickup at your house, via satruck.org, then you WILL get rid of things. that's my trick at least.
i started out believing that a mix of deep cleaning AND one room would be the way to go for me. boy, was i wrong! there's so much to concentrate on just with one room, there's no way i could fit in the entire house in 8 weeks. so i am choosing my bedroom--no pic yet, but forthcoming--because i want a calming respite and not a chaotic dumping ground for crafts/clothes/toiletries/gifts/stuff to save/stuff to give....Oh my god.
it has gotten out of control and is the only room in my house that hasn't been touched since i moved in. we've already done a deep cleaning (exorcism, if you will. the ex-wife moved out 5 years ago) in all the other rooms, including the basement and the backyard and garage. we've redone the bathroom, kitchen, back room and the kids' bedrooms. they are not perfect, not the way i would ideally want each of them to be, but they are clean, organized and healthier.
now it's time for me to indulge a little, spend a little money and have the beautiful, restful bedroom we deserve. all the clutter in the room is MINE, mind you, not my boyfriend's. i have toiletries in bins, craft stuff in boxes, papers to save forever, pictures in piles not in frames, stuff spillng out onto the floor. whatever space he has on top of "his" dresser contains all of his stuff, so his stuff takes up about 2 square feet of space in the entire bedroom. oddly enough, he is a "warm" person, and likes a lot of stuff, very nostalgic about his belongings. and with all of the cleaning and organizing i've done over the past year, i am morphing into a "cool" person. so, i'd like to split the bedroom space 50/50 as much as possible and create some cosmos out of the chaos in this 8 week cure.
i read the first 50 pages of the book last nite, and i was astounded, awed at the insight, staggered at the stuff i had never even considered. those first 50 pages are worth the $15 alone. i love the house as a living organism theory, with head, heart, breath, and bones. this really helps me with my task, and i can see where i've gone wrong and even right with all the previous cleansing.
i'm very excited about this upcoming transformation, and all the stuff i will learn during this project. with the way the book breaks things down, i'm not even feeling overwhelmed this time around. waiting to exhale, xo