Autzve's landing strip has been tidied up and the bright blue of the bookshelves echoes other parts of her home.
- Cure Clock: 5 weeks remaining
- Assignment: Read Chapter Seven, declutter all media and create a master shopping list
- Flicker Pool: Southwest Cure Pool. See how everyone is doing! Upload your progress photos!
- Quote of the week: "Holding on to old books [and media] doesn't allow you to create space for new ideas and ways of thinking to come into your life"
This week, the deep treatment takes us into the living room. Here, we confront the books and media we often store there. Doing the one room remedy? It's time to start your shopping list
We're coveting some of the items, like this great tray, that have made their way into TV Jessica's outbox.
Books, videos, DVDs, CDs, magazines, catalogues are the big challenge this week. They often take up a lot of space and can sit for ages without being used on a regular basis. When weeding through these items, ask youself the questions we've been posing for other things: Do I need it? Do I use it? Does it make me happy? Remember, if you get rid of something, you can always find it again at your local library or DVD store, and through services like Netflix and Blockbuster. We uploaded all our cds, sold 'em, and had money, and room!, for some great new accessories.
Deep Treatment
- Clean up Living Room and Related Closets: often there's a scary closet attached to the living room that holds suitcases, out of season clothing, empty boxes from electronic equipment. Clean it out and make room for the things, like coats and athletic equipment, that you really need to have access to here.
- Take care of Repairs this week: schedule professionals if you can't do it yourself
- Declutter all books and media: the rule of thumb is to have at least 10% open space. If you haven't done so already, consider uploading all of your cds to your computer and selling them.
- Cancel 75% of the catalogues you receive: Consider services like Catalog Choice or just call the toll free numbers on the back of the catalog you receive and ask them to take you off their mailing list.
- Empty your Outbox this week. Post your items on Le Swap for others to consider; check out Goodwill, Council Thrift and Out of the Closet as possible places to donate your items; sell your cds at places like Amoeba in Hollywood, Heavy Rotation in Studio City and Second Spin in Sherman Oaks and Santa Monica. In Austin, we've heard Cheapo and Waterloo are the places to go.
- Confirm what you need to increase or decrease colour in each room: Remember the 80 / 20 rule -- 80% neutrals and 20% colour. Add these items to your shopping list.
- Identify what you need to increase or decrease softness in each room: Aim for a 50/50 balance here.
- Cook three meals at home this week. Check over at our sister site, the Kitchn, for easy weeknight and slow cooker meals.
- Send out your housewarming invitations. Evite, email or snail mail? Whatever you're using, aim to get them out by the end of the week.
san diego at is getting inspiration for her home decor from Laurel Restaurant
One Room Remedy
- Begin your shopping list and enter all prices into a spreadsheet
- Decide on the total scope of the work to be done: What can be done in the next 5 weeks? Scale back if necessary.
- Consider hiring a professional organizer: Contact the local chapter of the NAPO to locate someone near you or consider our own BethZ's organizational boot camp.
- Visit a paint store this week to get samples: Test your paint choices on the wall or on pieces of foamcore and see how they change with the light. Can you live with them?
KokoStudios has these great lockers in her entry way.
I don't understand the logic of the first photo--landing strip has keys, phone chargers and wine?
view Palmetto's profile
I'm excited for this week! I'm going to rip all my CDs and consolidate all my music to a new harddrive (right now it's a bit all over the place). I'm going to keep most of my CDs, since I can probably get all of the ones I really love into one CD binder (that's not 500 and bursting at the seams).
I'm also going to finally clean up my "media center," get everything networked and functioning properly (hopefully AT&T will hurry up and fix my internet!), and do a whole lot of cable management! Woohoo!
view sparkle's profile
These are great ideas. I'd add another one. My husband and I are currently building bookshelves in our living room (rather than pay a cabinet maker a small fortune to do so). We have 150 boxes of books to empty. So for every book that goes on the shelf, another one is donated to our local library. That's the rule. No deviating!
view Home Girl's profile
Palmetto- there really isn't logic behind it. We've just been charging our phones over there for so long, and I don't want to freak the b.f. out with too much change!
Our front door opens directly to the living/dining room and the way it's laid out, there's no way to put a nice table or even a chair nearby. We used to keep keys and phones on one of the bookshelves, but I moved them to the bar.
The wine is there because it's technically the "pass through bar" of the kitchen and it just made sense there, but it's not permanent. It may get moved to the dining room; I'll decide this week.
So yeah, not really logic, just some order until we get a house. : )
view ashleym (aka autzve on flickr)'s profile
don't know if it's just barrel distortion from the camera but the bookshelves in that first photo look like they're bowing.
kind of confused by their odd spacing as well.
view jmorey's profile
I am sad. I have given up on the Cure. Hopefully, I can do the spring cure.
view chusmabilly's profile
I think I'd move the keys and phones back to the bookshelf--you could have the keys hang under the shelf. The wine and stuff that goes with it makes more sense in the kitchen, and then the landing strip stuff all lives together with coats, helmet, purse, leashes, etc.
view Palmetto's profile
"Declutter all books and media: the rule of thumb is to have at least 10% open space. If you haven't done so already, consider uploading all of your cds to your computer and selling them."
Yeah, that is essentially illegal. Not saying I'm above the idea (;)), but I am surprised to see you guys suggesting it, I guess.
view xkmkmlmx's profile
xkmkmlmx, I think they meant ripping the CDs to a digital format for yourself, and the selling the used CDs to a store.
view sparkle's profile
Yes, but that is still illegal. When you sell the CDs, you sell the rights to own the music.
We've got all ours on ipods, and have the physical cds stored in those ugly books in the closet.
Plus, you never know when your storage solution could crash.
view ashleym (aka autzve on flickr)'s profile