Week two of the January Cure hosted by Apartment Therapy has come to a close and it has been a busy one. I have to admit that I have not been able to dedicated as much time to the cure as I was last year but even a small amount of effort is helping me make noticeable progress. Each day of the week as the tasks are given I am forced to focus on a goal and even if I am not able to complete it right away I am feel encouraged to do it as soon as I can. Weekends seem to be catch up time but still I am able to get most of the tasks done. Here is how this week went.
Assignment 7: Do a Mini-Meditation
Find a spot in your home that you rarely (maybe never!) sit in that gives you a view on a room or area that you feel is especially problematic. Take a seat on a chair (or the floor) and just observe for ten minutes.
My daughter’s room has been in an “almost” complete state for quite a while now so I decided to have a seat and see what was left to be done. One or two of the projects are big but there are a few small ones that could easily be done in a day. Here is the list:
- Paint new desk and order new knobs
- Paint dresser
- Finish hanging wall decor
- Make DIY photo display
- Buy or make large artwork for over the bed
Part two: Review your list and choose a project to definitely complete this month.
I chose to do the two easiest on this list first.
- Finish hanging wall decor
- Make DIY photo display
I had most of the display items already but I had a few spots to fill in so I was thinking the real assignment was to go shopping!
Assignment 8: Quick Closet Clean Out
Pick a closet, any closet… Whichever you choose, keep it to one closet and 30 minutes only – you have the rest of the year to hit up more. See what can be accomplished in one closet in just 30 minutes.
For this one I chose my ten-year old son’s closet. He has been quickly out growing everything so the main goal was to purge all those items and try to get rid of anything he doesn’t use anymore. I was able to purge clothes pretty quickly but got overwhelmed by the small stuff. Luckily for me my son decided to take over where I left off. He took everything out of the closet and purged a whole garbage bag full of trash and another full box to be donated. I’m not sure what got into him but I’m sure not complaining.
Assignment 9: Task to Keep on Track
Choose a date and time for a get-together at your home on the weekend of January 29 – 31 (or whatever date is best for your schedule near the start of February). This assignment is designed to help keep you on track and motivate you to keep on powering through the rest of the Cure.
Sadly this is one of the hardest task for me since we just moved to new state and know very few people. I guess that means I should take this as a challenge to invite over some of those new friends and have a coffee or something. Does it count that I signed up to host Bunco in June. If all else fail surely I can have the Cure completed by June…
Assignment 10: Fill in the Blank Day
Spend some time on the project that you selected in assignment 7 and move it forward, or even complete it, if possible
Make DIY photo display. I shared last week how that project went and I am loving the results. Complete!
The second task I complete was to finish hanging wall decor. You can see from the photo at the top of the post things are coming together nicely.
I hate to give too much away before the final reveal but this display is one of my favorites.
Assignment 11: Give your bedroom a good, deep clean.
This should be a very thorough job. The aim is to rid the room of as much dust and potential allergens as possible. Here is a sample guideline deep clean plan that you can use as a checklist:
- Pick up and put away all clothes, books and belongings
- Declutter surfaces (remove change, jewelry, etc and put in proper places) Strip the bed
- Launder all bedding, including mattress and pillow covers
- Flip and/or rotate the mattress
- Vacuum curtains with brush attachment and/or clean blinds
- Clean windows and mirrors
- Dust all surfaces and wipe down light switches, fixtures and ceiling fan
- Push aside the bed, side tables and dressers and vacuum/clean under them
- Remake the bed
- Enjoy a sound sleep in your freshly cleaned room!
In the new house the master bedroom will be one of the last rooms to be completely updated. For now I’m struggling with wallpaper border and brown paint but a good cleaning is a move in the right direction. We have only been in the house for six months so we haven’t had time to need a full scrub down but clean sheet sheets and, holy cow, wiping down the ceiling fan are never a bad idea. I also had a giant pile of artwork that still hadn’t made it on the wall that I finally moved out of my path to the bed. Now that everything is clean and clear I am feeling really motivated to move on to the next step and finally get the walls painted a lighter brighter color.
Pick up your weekly flowers
This one is always an easy task for me whether it be plants or flowers I’m always game. This week I bought two Red Aglaonemas which are supposed to do well in low light. Hopefully they will thrive in my low light living room.
Okay guys, no more time for chatting I have to get back to work!
Wow, those are the tasks for one WEEK? I doubt I’d get that done in all of January, lol. That air plant in the bike in geometric shelf is the cutest darn thing I’ve seen in forever. Love it!
And PS – I’m definitely going to be looking for some of those gorgeous plants.
It is hard, I’m still working on the task of re-papering the shelves in my kitchen from week one, but I’m at least making some progress. The bike is from Hobby Lobby I knew that little basket needed a plant the first time I saw it. I am on the second air plant though the first one we killed so I opted for a fake one from target this time ?
You are a magician! I really can’t do so much in a week. Now I am planning to start with purging and I hope that for a week I’ll be able to go through the whole house. I really appreciate your tips! The tiny bike is really cute! 🙂
Thanks for your kind words Beulah! Take it at your own pace one step at a time, you’ll get there!