apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

on the survey, i chose "still going strong" but my real answer is "picking up steam". i feel like i got off to a slow start, but now i'm doing better.

my favorite home improvement so far is the pair of curtains i started last night and hope to finish tonight for the window in my entryway. all i have to do is add the trim - right after i switch out the thread in my sewing machine.

Where did you get the cute orange and yellow printed tins in your cupboard? Or how did you make them? I love those patterns!

nsolis, believe it or not, I got them from IKEA! It was a few months ago, though, so I'm not sure that pattern is still available. I foundthese canisters on the website, which are the same shape...

I'll be completely honest: I've fallen flat on my face for this cure. I have no energy right now.

I recently moved to a new state and that comes with a new job. I'm a high school math teacher and we work 7am-5pm M-R at our school. I get home and I'm worn out. I've got a 3 day weekend but my husband works nights so those days are the only times I get to see him.

Not complaints, I totally love my new city and my new job and hanging out with my husband. I'm just exhausted and cleaning and organizing is the last thing I want to do most days. Sleep is more like it.

I'm hoping that this week I'll be able to get back on the wagon!
I know that I'll have more energy when my house is cleaner and stops draining the energy out of me. [jumps back on the wagon]

I love the re-purposed bar! What happened to all the media stuff? That is giving us a problem... currently, the receiver & speakers are in the basement gathering dust. We now use our tivoli alarm clock in the living room & have it wirelessly connected to the computer (that lives in the kitchen desk area) so itunes can be played. We struggle with still needing the dvd player for movies, so we wheel in a cart with that on it just for when we watch movies; otherwise, it lives on the front porch (along with way too many other pieces of furniture!). I dream of the day when I can just wish for what I want to watch or hear & then it just miraculously appears without needing cables, cords, boxes, etc...

tallsarah, we had a receiver, record player and speakers in there that were gathering dust, and we gave those to my brother-in-law. We also had a 17" flat TV screen and DVD player in there, which we've moved to the bookshelf in our living room (which totally worked out since the screen is small and flat). Other than that, we only had a handful of DVDs which are stored on our bookshelf now. The rest of the cupboard was full of papers and misc stuff, and that we just cleared out, stored, or threw away.

I cant say that I love the now doorless cupbords, maybe they could have been painted to change the look....I just think it makes it look to busy.
On a positive note, I LOVE the bar, looks great!!

Rosamware, I would have loved to paint them, but unfortunately I live in a rental and am very, very limited in what I'm allowed to do. (I'm actually not even allowed to paint the walls in my apartment!) I agree that open shelving is not for everyone, but my cupboards are very cheap, flimsy particleboard, and getting rid of the cupboard doors was the best way I could think of to downplay their shoddy construction. And it really does make the kitchen feel more open!

And by the way, the low cupboards still have doors on them, even though they're organized now! It's just the upper cupboards that are open.

thank you for being brave to share the real 'before' of your cupboards! It helps give me strength when others are able to let it all out there.
I'm hoping to do some double-time this week with the cure. I spent a lot of time last weekend DIY-ing my Halloween costume (and then sleeping in) instead of being a good curee.

yay fiestaware!

I'm doing the Green Cure, the Kitchen Cure, and the Apartment Cure all at the same time, which is too much I've decided! I'm focusing on my kitchen, which includes a landing strip, cluttered cabinets, and entryway, so all Cures are done in one room.

My favorite so far has been the purging of excess stuff. We moved in February, and got rid of a lot of things in the process, but more stuff seems to have made it's way into our lives! With this Cure, I'm being mindful of all things that come into my home, and shopping smartly, so that new un-needed things do not take the place of donated items. I'm loving the free space in the kitchen, and having all my mail, keys, etc in one place!!!

I admit I've been really picking and choosing which part of every chapter to do (unemployed=lots of time but NOOOOO money for upgrades, repairs, etc.). BUT the purging is totally working! I've already emptied my Outbox once and find that my mentality about my possessions is really changing. :) I am definitely one of those peoples who attaches an unreasonable amount of sentiment to waaay to many things, but I'm really paring down and trying to only hold on to the things I love or need. Yay!