• Cure Clock: 5.25 weeks remaining
• Assignment: Read Chapter 3
• Where is that mail landing?
• Can you get the door open without banging?
• Curees: 815 and counting...
>> New Flickr Group: AT Home Cure
>> Submit your photos directly to AT
It's been a busy week and a big thank you goes out to all who have shared your outstanding progress with us on Flickr and by direct submission! It's been fantastic to see all the wonderful changes and hard work that is going into your homes to make them healthier. To keep your fires lit we have a plethora of pictures and links to keep you motivated after the jump!
Week Three is here and almost out the door and although it seems like the road is still long ahead, we are almost to the half way point, so give yourselves a round of applause. This can be the trickiest time to keep the motivation going. We've all been hard at work decluttering, rearranging, purging and filling our outboxes and even though we have a larger picture in mind for things, it can feel a little overwhelming to be living in a space that isn't 100% set in it's ways! So chin up, we're right there with you and the ball is still rolling. If you feel overwhelmed, sit down with a good book and a cup of tea and give yourself a break from the changes. It's always easier to keep the fires lit under a big project when you have a small escape every once in awhile.
After having the honor and privilege of admiring the hard work and style trays of so many (thank you 100 times over for sharing them with us!) it's hard not to catch the motivated and inspired bug. For my own home this week I've been focusing on color (which hasn't felt cozy since we moved in) and our landing strip. Although my husband and I had one in place, we decided to make it even more functional to catch all of our clutter and "stuff" from the outside world at the door.
I can't even begin to describe, the difference it has made to detox our home at the door instead of letting everything filter into the rest of our space. Not only are we spending less time tidying, we have everything at hand when we're ready to leave again. Our home is finally taking a breath of fresh air and doesn't have the same small piles of things here and there.
One of the best ways to cure clutter is to keep it out of your home. Take the time to cut back on catalogs and mail that is unwanted. Often times a quick phone call, email is all it takes to be removed from mailing lists. We went as far as to set a recycle box in the lobby of our building for people to toss in their unwanted papers. Obviously things with important numbers would still need to be shredded, but it's been a great way for everyone to rid themselves of that extra "stuff" before tracking it into their home. We simply put the box out with the rest of the recycling each week! Remember, if it never enters your home, it never has to be taken out!
Here's some of our favorite links for some extra inspiration!
In my bag (I don't carry a purse), I always carry a little pocket sized floor plan to help me remember specific sizes and paint colors when I'm out and about.
It has saved me more times than I can remember from buying that great bargain piece of furniture that I think "might fit" but can't quite remember the exact measurements. It's also helped out when purchasing accent pieces for the house. Now when I run across something, I simply pull out the paint chips and see if it coordinates in the way I was hoping it does. Sometimes it matches brilliantly and sometimes it doesn't, saving us a return trip later for an exchange or return. It's been my best friend and I've even added scraps of fabric and magazine clippings that I really love for extra inspiration. Sometimes seeing a picture of a space I feel in love with helps keep me restrained from buying something that "will do" instead of "something I can't live without." You can see how it's done and more about what we keep on the ring right over here!
It's been a great week, so make this weekend work for you. The Cure doesn't have to consume your entire life, set a timer and get done what you can in the time you have to do it. Maybe it's 5 minutes here and 5 minutes there, no matter what you'll feel better about the space you're in for taking that extra 5 minutes and making it work for you. So, tackle what you can, forget about the rest until next time and don't forget to keep on sending us pictures to keep the inspiration rolling!
- POST INDEX SPRING 2009
• The Spring Cure: Landing Strip Week 3 - Tips and Tricks
• The Spring Cure: The Landing Strip Week 3 - Intro
• The Spring Cure: Clearing the Path Week 2.75 - Show and Tell
• The Spring Cure: Clearing the Path Week 2 - Tips & Tricks
• The Spring Cure: Clearing the Path Week 2 - Introduction
• The Spring Cure: Creating Your Vision Week 1.5 Show & Tell
• The Spring Cure: Creating Your Vision Week 1 Tips & Tricks
• The Spring Cure: Creating Your Vision Week 1 - Intro
- CURE INFO
>> Main Cure Page - Spring 2009
>> About The Book
>> Excerpt from Chapter I
- BUY A BOOK
>> From Amazon
>> From Powell's
>> From Barnes & Noble
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Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Hose Jockey Wall Mount
20 Scrumptious Brunch Recipes 
Magic One-Ingredient Ice Cream 5 Ways: Peanut Butter, Nutella, and More
Comments (20)
It's funny that you mention 5 minutes. I've been slaving away at a research proposal this week but still want to work on my entrance. So I pulled out the timer and have been spending 20 minutes on my paper. Then 5 minutes on the entrance and 5 minutes on fun stuff (usually interneting). Surprisingly enough the entrance is almost completely decluttered and cleaned from top to bottom, the paper is an hour or two away from being complete and I don't feel burnt out on either one.
Oh man, I love that pocket floor plan idea!! Brilliant!
I love the ikea hack! I'm still trying to decide what to do for my landing strip (I have about 3 ft of wall that the door opens onto) but something like that just might do the trick!
Color selection is well on the way, and I should be ready to paint as soon as I have the money to do it.
Oh, and Leigh Anne, that is a great idea! I just finished writing my almost last paper (a mini assignment that is late still needs to be done) but switching between the two seems so much better than just dying while doing one! I've been up since 6am writing, and paper writing seems to involve a lot of dropping everything at the door, no matter what it is... Time for a break before I finish this next assignment!
thanks for sharing my picture :)
i hate to be nitpicky, but i dont have a "h" on my name! (pet peeve of all sara's without an h)
My sincere apologies Sara! My brain knew that but my fingers didn't follow through. It's been changed!
-Sarah Rae
Haha - I'm a Sarah with and "h" and it's a pet peeve when people leave it off! ;) Love your photo, and I want to just pick up your cat and cuddle!!
Your cat is the cutest and so well behaved around flowers!
Wondering where that wall mounted headboard came from. I could use one :P
I LOVE that landing strip and was considering putting one like that up in my teeny hallway ;) I'm glad to see it turned out for someone before I did it myself!!
I'm not a cat person AT ALL but that cat is pretty frickin cute.
alisaan, the wall mounted headboard came from the hardware store. It's just a sheet of plywood that I upholstered and then my husband mounted with french cleats (flush mounts). Nightstands are the same idea, but with Ikea malm nightstands attached, which took a little engineering on his part. The whole project didn't take very long, a couple of weekends because the fabric was delayed, but it could have been done in one weekend easily.
Two seconds after that photo was taken, that kitty knocked over those flowers.
thanks :)
she is pretty well behaved around flowers, or rather we keep her from doing too much trouble making
My girl cat would just eat the flowers. And then, ... well, never mind.
I also love the pocket floor plan!
kcmo - nice work. your new bedroom looks really warm now.
stinkycretingurl - the hack is brill. wish i'd thought of it myself! how many times have i passed that thing in ikea and not thought outside the shoebox?
chottomotto, you've been so hard at work. i can't even begin to think of my files yet so kudos to you.
joymich, totally craving guac now! this weekend i'll try your recipe.
sarah, you're paint chip idea is what i've been needing and haven't thought of. going to do this tonight in preparation for todd farm flea market tomorrow.
sara, your cat is so sweet and coordinates so perfectly with the tulips, heh heh. one of my tasks is to find cute kitty bowls for my cat, scarlett. you know, one's without paw prints on them.
beautiful cat! signed dog person.
Love the serene expression on your beautiful cat's face! Love her eyes...she looks like a sweet little lady!
This weekend I prepped for painting. I spackled & sanded & cleaned the walls and the old grout work. It's only because I had done the kitchen clean up that it was so easy. I gathered all my tools and was ready to start in under 15 minutes. Everything moved along quite quickly. Im ready to start priming and painting this week.
It's usually a pain to start a project cause I spend so much time looking for what I need and I end up running out to buy stuff only to find I had it all along. Not this time
Thx AT for the cure it's working already.
It's Monday night... is there going to be a post today? We like to link to it in the Flickr group...