Apartment Therapy January Cure 2014

Last year, I signed up for this. I didn’t do any of it…smh. THIS time, I’m getting it done. The task for today was to make a list of things that I need to organize or spruce up in each room. I actually managed to get most of this done. I’m trying to decide what is most important for me to get done for now because there is a lot that I want to do with my humble abode. I don’t want to bite of more than I can chew so I tried to limit each area to 6-7 projects.

Here’s what I’m working on:

Living Area
-Change the slipcovers on the sofa
-De-clutter the right corner in the LR
-Add a bookcase
-Change the coffee table
-De-clutter media console drawers

Foyer
-Make a place for incoming/outgoing mail
-Make a place for keys
-Add a basket/bin for returns/things that need to leave the house

Dining Room
– New curtains
– Storage unit/dresser/buffet
– Find 6 different chairs for dining table

Kitchen
– Make better use of open shelves
– Store away excess plates/cups/etc.
– Organize cabinets
– Get rid of old/unused/broken items
– Clean the refrigerator

Hall Bathroom
– Utilize shelving on the wall
– Throw out old products
– Get drawer organizers
– Get over the door hooks

Studio Office
– Organize papers/filing/trash
– Organize business cards
– Get drawers for organizing makeup

Small Bedroom
– Change the paint color
– Remove bookcase and put it in the living room
– Purchase curtains

Master Bedroom
– Paint the walls Silver Sateen
– Purchase curtains
– Change the knobs of chest of drawers
– Clean out closet
– Purchase area rug
– Replace old/mismatched bedding

Master Bathroom
– Add organizing shelves
– Toss any old products
– Remove small hook on the door
– Add over the door hooks

I’ll be taking pictures of my progress along the way. I’m excited to go through this process and seeing the change.

If you want to get in on this organizational extravaganza, you can sign up here.

Making Goals

Follow your dreams. Dream big. We hear phrases like these all the time. As much as they are nice thoughts, following your dreams can turn into the biggest waste of time if you don’t have any goals.

We are reaching that time of the year when people begin to make resolutions for what they want the following year to be like. We begin dreaming about weight loss, becoming more organized, or saving more. These are few of many ‘noble’ feats, but the more important part is how we get from vision to application.

Many times the words ‘dream’ and ‘goal’ are used interchangeably but they are not the same; although when used together, can be a great benefit. A dream is defined as something to aspire to. A goal is defined as the result or achievement toward which effort is directed.

You can have aspirations out the wazoo but if no effort is directed towards it, you won’t achieve a real level of success. If you want to go on a road trip and you have no car, gas, money for incidentals, or a map/gps, you won’t get very far. There is absolutely nothing wrong with dreaming, but if you want to accomplish anything, you have to work toward it.

In order for something to truly be a goal, it has to be measurable. You must be able to track your progress. Make a plan. Yes, I know. Plans can change. But at the very least, you have one.

So continue to dream big. But write your dreams down and break them up into pieces that you can put together one at a time. Before you know it, you’ll see a picture.