Entry Closet

A (poorly panorama-ed) photo of my progress in decluttering my entry closet... I'll be doing some additional work to figure out how to most efficiently store my winter scarves and purses.

Week 3 Done List

Bones:

• Vacuumed, dusted, and mopped.
• Cleaned my entrance (although there still is more to do here)
• Started thinking about how to accomplish my needed repairs (and made one of them, too!)

Breath:

• Decluttered my entrance (again, still a little to do here) but I did get rid of the old mattress that has been cluttering my entrance for over a month!
• Ordered a landing strip (due to be delivered tomorrow!)
  
• Decided not to renew my magazine subscriptions (the internet is a suitable substitute)

Heart:

• Thought about cool and warm rooms
• Thought about the 80/20 rule (will post more on this later)

Head:

• Uh oh, nothing to put here this week. I was out of town on business this week, so no home cooked meals or housewarming invitations yet. But given that I was in another state for much of the week, I feel great about what I have accomplished.
  

Repair Number One

I made my first repair this weekend (well despite my best intentions, my friend did most of the work and I watched). When I installed my murphy bed three years ago I had to remove the trim between the floor and the walls. Until today I never repaired the few inches of trim on each side of the murphy bed cabinet. Which also means I was storing the long lengths of trim this whole time too. Now it's all repaired and I've disposed of the extra trim. Ahh, the sense of accomplishment...

Week 2 Done List

I'm a little behind this week but here's my done list so far:

Bones:
Cleaned kitchen/Threw away old food
Using a brita filter (pitcher)

Breath:
Cleared space for an outbox
Put lots of stuff in the outbox!

Heart:
Bought fresh flowers (put the ones from last week in the bathroom, they still have some life in them!)
Style: organic modern

Head:
Cooked a couple of meals at home.

Ideas for Greening the Cure

I've been thinking about ways to keep my Cure green. I've come up with some ideas, but would love to hear some other suggestions.

Reducing Waste

• Donating/Selling the contents of my Outbox.
• Craigslist.
  
• Freecycle.
• I just learned that my local animal shelter will take my old ratty towels.
  
• Recycling items that nobody will want.
  

Lightening my Demand for New Resources

• Buying used.
  
• Buying products made of recycled materials.
• Really asking myself whether I need something before bringing it into my home.
  

Indoor Air Quality/Toxins

• Not allowing toxic items into my home.
  
• I recently bought a new mattress and did a lot of research to make sure that I was getting one that wouldn't release Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC's). (I settled on a natural latex mattress.)
  
• I'm currently trying to find a rug pad that won't off-gas toxic fumes.

Supporting Local Economies

• I'll be cooking my homemade meals for during the cure with produce from a local farm (I joined the CSA, Community Supported Agriculture, this year.)

Starting in on Week 2

Week 2 includes a very thorough cleaning of the kitchen. I have a lot of stuff in my kitchen. Way too much stuff.

This evening I had some extra time so I removed EVERYTHING from the pantry, cleaned it all, and then selectively put things back in. The first image shows the mess in a portion of my pantry before I started this evening. The second photo is of the items from my pantry that I will be moving to my outbox. The third picture is my pantry after I cleaned it. I still think my pantry could make more efficient use of space, but this is certainly a start. Later this week I'll tackle the rest of the kitchen.

Week One: Done List

Here are my accomplishments for week one of the Cure (Deep Treatment):

Bones:
Made a list of repairs (see previous post)
Cleaned the floors

Breath:
Removed tea kettle from my apartment (gave it away). No matter how hard I try to clean it, it always looks dirty and since it sits on top of my stove that's no good. I can easily use my saucepans to boil water.

Heart:
Bought fresh flowers from the farmer's market

Head:
Sat for ten minutes in my hallway.
Earth friendly cleaning products: I didn't do any additional research on these, as currently I use baking soda and vinegar for just about everything, and I am very pleased with the results.

Repair List

Living Room:
Repair plaster under window
Install missing trim
Fix murphy bed so that shelves hang plumb
Refinish wood on chair and loveseat
Refinish wood on storage box

Hall:
Fix/Repaint to fix scuffed walls
Repair holes in wall

Kitchen:
Remove stains on counter
Fix scuffs on pantry door
Fix scuffs on floor

Bathroom:
Work toward remodel!

The Interview

According to the book, "Apartment Therapy" by Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan, an interview is a good way to start the Cure. It is a good way to learn about me, my favorite things, my style, and the problems I am having with my apartment.

Favorites

Actress: Film noir femme fatales

Actor: Roberto Benigni

Artist: Magritte, Rothko, Alcocer

Books: Anna Karenina, Short stories by Dorothy Parker, Catch 22, Blindness, A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain, hard boiled detective stories

Music: 1920's crooners, 1930's jazz and blues, 1940's bluegrass, 1950's R&B, 1960's phsychedelic and garage rock, 1970's glitter and soul, 1980's new wave and punk, current indie and miscellaneous.

Restaurant: Java Green

Automobile: My bicycle!

Television Shows: Lost, Twin Peaks

Clothing: Vintage, Ann Taylor Loft

How would you describe your style?
1. Colorful
2. Modern
3. Simple

Personal History
Where were you born: Grand Rapids, Michigan
Where you grew up: Grand Rapids
Where you lived as an adult: Ann Arbor, Michigan; Seattle, Washington; Washington, D.C.

Whom would you consider a role model? The Dalia Lama

What three adjectives describe the qualities that you admire in this person?
1. Happy
2. Generous
3. Simple

Apartment
What is the problem with your apartment?
1. Hard to keep neat
2. Not a good place for everything
3. No outdoor space

If your apartment could speak, what would it say is the problem?
You say you like me when I'm neat, and yet you never put anything away. (It isn't easy enough to put things away, the places some things belong are too difficult to reach.)

What one thing would you like to do more of in your apartment?
Entertain spontaneously.

Eight weeks from now, when this project is done, if friends came to visit, how would you like them to describe your home?
1. Cozy
2. Spacious
3. Colorful

The Cure: Introduction

During the next eight weeks, my apartment and I will join in with the Apartment Therapy community to undergo some intense therapy, including (but not limited to) performing much-needed and long-overlooked repairs, and purging clutter. I will attempt to keep my cure green by doing what I can to limit negative impacts on the environment and I will post my progress here.

To learn more about the Cure, visit the Apartment Therapy website.