Do the apartment therapy 8-week home cure

• Cleaning the entrance and closet was easy seeing as how we have neither…:)

• I sorted through and discarded lots of old mail. All my magazines fit perfectly into a 5000 sheet paper box with lid.

• I bought the cutest pot of gerbera daisies for house, after not having had fresh flowers inside for quite some time.

• Since we got a bagless vacuum, it is kinda fun to see how much dust, dirt, and hair can be removed from the floors.

• Color analysis: We have begun painting our bland boring beige interior. We are using rich, warm colors of chocolate brown Caraway Seed, rusty red Dried Chili Pepper, and neutral Gaucho for the family room, and green Fava Bean and Gaucho for the bedroom next to it.

• DH and I just gave away our family room furniture which was too big for the room. All that remains there is the television and stand. We selected and purchased new furniture and accessories which are waiting in the garage until painting is done and carpet installed.

• We need to recarpet both rooms (family room, adjacent bedroom) and put up window treatments that will be effectively block out late afternoon sun which makes watching television impossible. We plan also build some shelves and mount the television onto the wall.

• Besides the family room shutters or blinds, we have determined that window treatments are absolutely necessary to prevent sun damage in the upstairs southwest bedroom and the kitchen windows. Also the faded old living room curtain has got to go!

• Shopping list: Carpet, pad, labor to lay carpet, television wall mounting kit, closet door hardware, floating shelves, matching shelf atop funky ledge, light blocking blinds (wood or faux wood) or shutters for at least three rooms, and more paint.

Yes. We are still slowly and intermittently doing our Apartment Therapy.

Week three and getting back to work. To do this week:

DEEP TREATMENT

• Vacuum, dust, and mop throughout home
• Clean the entrance and any related closets
• Arrange to have any repairs taken care of in the next three weeks
• Declutter the entrance
• Move all old mail, catalogs, and magazines to the Outbox
• Look into what you would need to do to create a landing strip
• Cancel any unused subscriptions
• Identify warm rooms and cool rooms
• Apply the 80/20 color rule
• Cook two meals at home this week
• Design an invitation for your housewarming

ONE-ROOM REMEDY

• Research your shopping list
• Start a list of proposed interior changes
• Identify cool rooms and warm rooms
• Determine whether window treatments are necessary
• Apply the 80/20 color rule
• Research and call in help this week

We did so well and then the work load got too much. His bikes live in our living room thanks to work on the pipes beneath our cellar room’s floor, and half of our our stuff from the cellar is momentarily stacked in a corner of the living room too, dust mice inbetween. It’s seriously dirty, such a mess – newspapers and magazines I’m not allowed to throw out bug me the most. We haven’t had anybody over for dinner in months except for a friend whose apartment in the East of Berlin hasn’t been redone since 1989 or something.

When I lived with other people, we also had something of a cleaning routine; with this guy, it’s hopeless. But I don’t want to give up. We need to set dates and stick to them. Fill a shoebox with stuff one night, sort out the most ridiculous music the next night. Tiny tiny steps, but it can be done.

The official spring cure should be at week six (light therapy) right now… I lost track. We were stuck with our entryway and kitchen for an eternity. But, finally managed among other things to apply new paint to the area around the kitchen window this weekend, something we should have done four years ago. We are such slackers.

The big project this time around was to redo the so-called landing strip (after months of this, the phrasing only elicits tired smiles). Thanks to a new hatrack from IKEA and other stuff, we can finally hide all that, err, colorful biking gear. Also, my boyfriend complied with my request that he throw out years’ worth of his favorite newspaper (size: think Sunday edition of New York Times).

In week three you’re also supposed to think about how color works in your apartment and apply the 80/20 color rule if possible. Impossible. But week four with its focus on decluttering the living room might come to the rescue.

Apartment Therapy has just started its big spring cure, they’re currently at week two. Very exciting to see what people are working on!

We got sidetracked during our first attempt at “apartment therapy” in October. After implementing the new dishwasher, for which we had to tear out the old sink and get a new one plus kitchen counter top, we were exhausted. Financially, too. Now there’s a little more money in the bank and the list of things to do/buy/repair/throw out has reached perfection. No stone will be left unturned, and so on.

I’m just not sure what to start with, but that’s something we’ll figure out in the coming days. The company car, another thing we didn’t have the last time, will be mine for a whole weekend. Glad about that. Bringing IKEA things home on the subway isn’t that much fun after doing it for the umpteenth time.

• DH and I gave away a perfectly good television and stand that we were no longer using.

• We bought a pretty little bunch of bright and cheery tulips for the center of our dining room table.

• I gathered several magazine photographs which we both really like. These are the beginnings of our Style Tray.

• I did a lot of cleaning in the kitchen, pulling out and cleaning behind and inside the appliances, and throwing away old food. I have very recently washed the window inside and out. I’ve also organized then polished the cupboards with Liquid Gold.

• I cleared the kitchen counters and washed them thoroughly. Then I placed a few unnecessary decorative items into the Outbox which is located in the garage.

• I tried running my hands over the interior walls but this exercise felt weird and then I came up against furniture and stuff that was in the way, so I stopped. It’s probably time to begin Week Three instead…:)

What to do in week number two:

• Fix one thing in your apartment yourself
• Clean the kitchen from top to bottom and throw away old food
• Buy a water filter and use it (and why I probably won’t do this)
• Run your hands over every wall in your apartment
• Clear space for an Outbox
• Clear one surface and use the Outbox
• Buy fresh flowers
• Determine your style
• Find a new recipe and cook one meal at home
• Choose a date for your housewarming

• Decide what activities you want in your room and where they will go
• Buy, borrow, or make a floor plan tool
• Map out the room that bothers you most and work out your solution
• Name your vision
• Build a Shopping List

• We made a list of repairs and solutions for each room of the house. DH glued a broken bathroom drawer back together and caulked the bathroom sink.

• I mopped (I actually like mopping) and vacuumed the floors using a borrowed vacuum with extra strong suction. Lottsa dust is now gone and we’re thinking of replacing our wimpy vacuum.

• Remove one item from your apartment and put it outside. Why is this so hard? I finally parted with a nineteen-seventies blender that has not been used in I don’t know how long.

• I didn’t buy fresh flowers. We put the Christmas tree up so late (I couldn’t seem to shake flu & bronchitis in December) that it is still fresh. I will try and replace it with fresh flowers this week.

• Sit for ten minutes in a part of your home you never sit in. After doing this we immediately rearranged that room for better flow.

• Choose one room. DH & DD selected the family room. They spent an afternoon getting ideas from HGTV (while I was at work) and drawing up decorating plans.

• Visit your favorite home store. DH & I walked through a furniture store about a month ago and discovered we mostly agree on colors and styles. Next should be a trip to IKEA to get us (him) thinking more out-of-the-box. Plus it would be a fun date!

Apartment Therapy is divided into two sections. Deep Treatment which “leads you through all the steps necessary for deeply revitalizing your home at minimal expense.” And One-Room Remedy, which “is for those who are ready to transform one room of their home.” I think we’ll combine elements of both over the next eight weeks.

• Make a complete list of repairs and solutions
• Vacuum and mop the floors
• Remove one item from your apartment and put it outside
• Buy fresh flowers
• Sit for ten minutes in a part of your home that you never sit in
• Look into earth friendly cleaning products

• Choose one room
• Gather pictures of rooms you love
• Start a style tray
• Visit your favorite home store
• Set your budget

DH and I did the walk through and evaluated each room, noting what we use the room for, our likes and dislikes, along with necessary repairs. We agreed that our house could function better than it does now as parts of it are serving only as storage areas.