January Cure: Closing Remarks

I have really enjoyed following along with Apartment Therapy’s January Cure.  I was able to tackle a slew of projects, clean my entire apartment, and just relax knowing that my space is clean and organized.  I am fairly organized by nature, but having a path to follow really helped me get outside of my routine.  I still have to empty my outbox and throw my party (on February 16^th), so I am not done per se.  This week’s activities were revving up to the party that would have been thrown over the weekend, so I did not have much to do.  As you can see, I crossed many things off my list.  I used highlighters to identify projects I am holding off on for various reasons:

• Blue - projects that need outdoor space, i.e. spray painting or refinishing
• Pink - items that require money that I am not ready to spend yet
• Green – projects that require sewing.  my sewing machine was in the shop for the last two months… long story

January 28^th: Catch Up & Take a Photo

For the most part, I have been documenting my process as I go.  In some cases, I was too excited to stop and take before photos…

January 29^th: Hang Your Artwork

Done.

January 30^th: Speedy Spruce Up

Every night before I go to bed, I straighten up my apartment.  I did not do a blitz cleaning, but I will this weekend.

January 31^st: Shop for the Get Together

N/A.  I did a media fast!  Sort of.  It was not that hard since I went out to dinner after work, so I was not tempted…  I have fallen into a bad habit of watching TV or reading blogs before work, so I did not do this and made it to work early.  There are definitely more media fasts in my future.

February 1^st:  Weekend Chores – Pat Yourself on the Back, Relax & Celebrate

Again, this really kicked off my new year in a productive way.  I have been inspired to creating a 30 day calendar for my February goal – fitness (don’t worry, I won’t share it here on the blog, since it is not DIY or ice cream related).  I think breaking goals into shorter periods makes them more manageable.  Rather than pledging to go to the gym “X” times a week for the year (overwhelming!), I am going to concentrate on exercising regularly for one month and see where it goes from there.

Lessons Learned:

1. A lot can be accomplished in 30 days.
2. Taking time to tackle projects that you will “get to eventually” is empowering.  For not only yourself, but others.  My parents have tackled a few problem areas in their house (And it looks great, Mom and Dad!).  And two other friends have remarked that my journey has been inspiring.
3. Carnations last forever.

My January Cure Posts:

•  Introduction
• Week 1 Round-Up
• Week 2 Round-Up
• Week 3 Round-Up
• Week 4 Round-Up
• Closing Remarks (this post)

Frozen Treat | Peanut Butter Peanut Butter Cup

For this recipe, I followed the peanut butter ice cream recipe in the Cuisinart recipe book.  I chopped up peanut butter cups and tossed them in the last ten minutes of the churn cycle.  Last Christmas, I gave my father an ice cream cone maker which we used to make cones.  It was good, but honestly too much peanut butter for me.  So peanut butter lovers, this is the ice cream for you! :)

Make Your Own Mopping Cloths

This tutorial can be used to create reusable mopping cloths for Swiffers, Ready Mops, and other similar products.  I got tired of buying and throwing away disposable mopping cloths, so I took a few old tee shirts and made some of my own that can be washed.

Ingredients

• 1 Swiffer, Ready Mop, or similar product
• 1 Disposable Mopping Cloth (for template)
• Old Tee-shirts or jersey cloth (another option could be microfiber, but you would probably have to finish the edges so it does not fray)
• Scissors
• Sewing Machine
• Thread

January Cure: Week 4 Round-Up

I am participating in Apartment Therapy’s January Cure, here’s my round-up of the past week’s activities. 

January 19^th: Get Papers & Files in Order

When I got this assignment, I thought to myself, “oh good, I just did this not too long ago.”  Well, I quickly realized it was about a year ago.  So after sorting and purging files - why did I have two separate file folders for medical papers and non-essential receipts?  I definitely have a lot less paper than the last time I purged; 90% of my banking and other paper generating adult expenses are conducted online.  I did manage to lose an important paper that was on my desk during this process.  I went through my shred pile (pre-shred, thank goodness) and the recycle pile and it was not there, so hopefully it will turn up.

I also took the time to check my credit.  Despite having great credit, I dread doing this.  I am always afraid I will discover my identity has been stolen and now I have to spend hours calling people and filling out paperwork, etc.  I also remembered that it took SO long to fill everything out the last time I checked my credit.  This time it was super easy and took all of five minutes.  I created an annual Google reminder to check my credit report.

January 20^th: Exercise Some Cord Control

When I cleaned the floors in my living room (during Week 2), I took a few minutes to corral some of the cords under my desk.  It is still a big mess.  I want to put all of the cords, etc. into a container (like this tutorial or this one).  I measured the approximate size container I need, wrote it down, and stuck it in my wallet.  I will keep you posted when I find something.

January 21^st: Bathroom & Medicine Cabinet Cleanout

I did this on Sunday when I was not cleaning my kitchen counters and oven.  Washing the glass shelves in my cabinet was on my overall list for the month.

January 22^nd: Looking at Living Room Lighting

As I mentioned in my last round-up, I do not have enough lighting in my living room.  The Cure recommends three lighting sources.  If that is true, then, my current three sources are my floor lamp I move around, a task light at my desk, and the lights from the adjacent kitchen that comes through a door way.  After assessing my options, I will phase in two more table lamps in my living room. 

As I look at various options, I realized I am not confident choosing lamps.  I am flummoxed when I think about DIY-ing a lamp.  This is at odds with my DIY spirit and profession as an interior designer (to be fair, I design corporate offices with downlights and standard 2x2 or 2x4 fluorescent fixtures).  I am looking forward to getting more light in my living room and will keep you posted on my progress.

January 23^rd: Flowers, Living Room, Lighting Refresh, Empty Your Outbox

I invited guests over for dinner on Sunday evening, so I really dug into cleaning the living room/spiffying up the rest of my apartment.  I caught up with a couple things in the kitchen – counters, outside of oven (still need to clean inside), and the hood.  I am ashamed (/proud?) that the hood is now a different color than it was before.  I also sent out the invite for a gathering at my place in mid-February.  I went lamp shopping and ended up purchasing a lamp which I will share with you later.  I am digging the amount of light!

Since I was busy cleaning and prepping for company, I did not empty my outbox this weekend.  It was also super cold out and I did not want to trek around the city.  I plan to tackle it over the next two weeks.  I want to hold on to some of the stuff that I think I can sell for a yard sale in the spring.  And I want to take some clothes to a local consignment shop and drop off a few things at the thrift store.

My guests brought me a beautiful boutique of flowers!  So lovely!  I love the variety of blooms. 

Lessons Learned:

1. Checking your credit report is not scary.
2. Choosing lamps should not be scary.

My January Cure Posts:

•  Introduction
• Week 1 Round-Up
• Week 2 Round-Up
• Week 3 Round-Up
• Week 4 Round-Up (this post)