The January Cure: Assignment #1

2014 has arrived! And this year I am following along with Apartment Therapy's January Cure and I'll be blogging my efforts here. We are in the process of selling our home in Massachusetts, so our Seattle area apartment soon will truly be our primary home. Therefore, it felt like a good time to well and truly make our apartment feel a bit more like a home - and along the way give it a good thorough cleaning and organization effort!

Assignment #1 was create a project list. "Do a walkthrough of your home and make notes on any trouble spots as you move through each room. It's easiest to organize your list by room... Start at the front door and do a thorough "inspection", noting each area or item that needs a good cleaning, a de-cluttering or a re-organization... select a few (3 - 5 is ideal) key areas from each room that you plan to focus on - the spots that will make the biggest impact on the look and use of the room as a whole when they are improved...."

Matt and I took a walkthrough our of small apartment (all 777 square feet of it) and came up with the following list (keeping in mind that not all of these projects are intended to be completed this month!):

ENTRYWAY.

• General de-clutter (ie find home for cacti planting supplies, winter wear, etc.)
• Create "drop zone" for keys and "heading out" supplies
• Organize shoe closet

KITCHEN.

• General cleaning of all surfaces and appliances
• Organize cookbooks and printed recipes
• Create better system for spare utensils and knives

BATHROOM.

• General cleaning of all surfaces and appliances
• Organize under sink
• Replace shower liner

LIVING ROOM.

• Organize bookshelves
• Organize DVDs and games
• Create office space for Matt (small desk and chair for laptop)
• Donate old laptop and old computer base

MARY'S OFFICE.

• Organize paperwork and supplies
• Digitize handwritten notes
• Add small table/shelf for additional storage (move side table from bedroom?)

BEDROOM.

• Obtain additional sets of sheets
• Organize under the bed storage
• Organize/digitize historical archives
• Organize/digitize current paper files
• Find artwork for room

BEDROOM CLOSET.

• Create better storage for Matt's gym clothes
• Obtain additional garment hangers for Mary's clothes

BALCONY GARDEN.

• General cleaning of surfaces (sweep, deadhead, clean wicker furniture and fountain, etc.)
• Organize spare pots and garden supplies

Checking off even some of this list should be a nice way to bring some "home" into "home sweet home" this year!