Viva la Difference!

A few years ago, in a fit of DIY Craft-astrophy Syndrome, I had the bright idea to paint our kitchen cabinets a vibrant, glossy, apple green. We have had to live with the results for five years - Marty even pretended not to hate them (why I married him, people!). So, the hubby and I have been thinking about getting new cabinets (actually, it's more me going, "I WANT NEW CABINETS OR I'LL DIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIE!!!!!"). Of course, it's never as simple as waltzing into Lowe's, choosing the goods, and slappin' 'em up there. Oooooh no. First, we have to get permission from the co-op board. Then we have to order samples. Then we have to decide on a look. Then we have to do the order. Then we have to hire a contractor. Then we have to demo & and figure out where Sebastian and I will hole up until the project is finished. Then (and here's where it gets REALLY good) we have to have two walls ripped out to replace the wiring, have the kitchen counters and plumbing moved up by one inch, rebuild the walls, put in the cabinets, and clean up. THEN I will have my new cabinets. So, I just opted for this:

Bilious Apple Green Cabinets.....

To this!



Simple AND thrifty (under $18!). And fancy. This will tide me over until The Great Kitchen Renovation, and was such a great reminder that a simple coat of paint can completely change the look of a room for a ridiculously small sum. AND, if you hate it, you can just start again. And again.

Turning Thrifty

I haven't ever been what I would call a "spender", but I won't lie to you and tell you that I'm super thrifty either (hey - wasn't thrifty the new forty? wait.... that's something else.). Well, Dear Reader, I aim to do better! I call it "The Economy Sucks Motivational Project", and Part 1 is (cue dramatic music) a SPENDING HIATUS!

Have any of you ever done this? I got the idea quite a while ago from some article in a magazine. A family of 4 went on a four month spending hiatus, purchasing only absolute necessities (food, insurance, strappy sandals deodorant, etc). It was so neat to hear how creative they got, using what they had on hand which normally might be wasted (the cotton from the Tylenol bottle, for example) or going without. Being as my life is decidedly more challenging with the hubby gone, I'm aiming to stay on the "fun challenge" side of this as opposed to "self-imposed hell". We'll see how it goes! I'm going for one month, wish me luck. And send presents.

Death By Clutter?

This happened a while ago, but, being somewhat behind in my odd news consumption, I just heard about the woman who was found buried under clutter in her home in Las Vegas 4 MONTHS AFTER HER DEATH. Wait - it gets worse - search dogs had already gone through the house, and her husband was still living there! GAH! Read about it here.

Clip from "Hoarders"

If you've ever watched the show "Hoarders" (and if you haven't, you totally should), it's easy to see that there's a thin line between your eccentric Aunt Dolly and her creepy marionette collection (that takes up four rooms and a quarter of the kitchen), and compulsive hoarding worthy of reality TV. Like any other mental illness, it manifests itself in varying degrees of severity, ranging from an irrational refusal to get rid of outdated documents to full on every-room-crammed-so-full-of-stuff-the-house-is-condemned compulsion. Here's a website that explains the ins and outs of the disorder.

I was surprised at how common it is - some experts believe it's about 1% of the population (that's a lot, ya'll!). I know at least two hoarders personally - one even sleeps on a small piece of foam beneath their desk because they can't open the door to their bedroom for all the clutter. I actually lived with a hoarder for two months while rehearsing a show in Boston (that was fun), and vividly remember having to inch through the small paths carved through mountains of papers, magazines, and other clutter to get from room to room. She also liked to talk. A lot. Fun.

I suppose I'm like the "anti-hoarder" - I'm readying bags for Freecycle as I write this. It must be truly awful to be so deeply attached to stuff that you can't tell where it ends and you begin.

My Final Post for Lifeclectic!

AND it's a topic near and dear to my heart - simplicity and de-cluttering! I'm going through such an I'm-ready-for-my-horse-and-buggy-now time, completely overcommitted. Um... didn't I promise myself I wouldn't be here again?! (the answer to that question is yes) But THIS time I mean it! Here's a link to the post. And some Amish photos from my trip to Lancaster county a few years ago - BONUS!

Hmmmm....

Lifeclectic #9

One of my final posts for Lifeclectic! Secret mommy confessions..............

Cold little monkey!!!!!

Lifeclectic #8

Sebastian will be TWO on Thursday! We celebrated with immediate family and a wicked good cake - he really enjoyed it (as you can see).

It got me thinking about birthday parties for kids, and managing their expectations. Whatever happened to eight close friends, cake, silly hats, and some games? Time to stop the insanity, ya'll. Here are my thoughts (such as they are) on the subject!

Day 108 - Fantastically Functional

I know I said I was going to do more on emergency preparation, but it really seems pointless when, if you're so inclined, you can get all the info your heart desires at http://www.72hours.org/ (it's phenomenally complete). Besides, I'm only about 15% done with my initial go-bag - it's gonna be a long-ish project!

My amazing hubby is home for 6 more days before he has to head back out, and I've been zooming around like a demented bumblebee trying to Get Everything Done before he leaves. We're contemplating getting new kitchen cabinets (WOOT! The ones I have now SUCK and are going to dump my dishes on the floor any day now), and poor Marty's Honey-Do list is a mile long. Sebastian is mostly potty trained (again, WOOT!), and gets mini marshmallows for his successes. He calls them "marsh-berries" - I love this. This is our lives in a nutshell at the moment.

My dreadful kitchen cabinets that don't close

All this talk of new cabinets brought up the topic of Functional Space, which, weirdly, I hadn't really considered much before. Living in NYC, we're used to packing everything up and moving every few years, so the routine is to stick everything somewhere and make do with whatever "eccentricities" your apartment might have - like a toilet in the kitchen, or the front door opening directly into your bed. A few years ago, we bought ourselves a small apartment in Queens, and, until now, have continued with this model. Why? I don't know either.

For the past week, I've been looking at our home with new eyes. In "Simple Home: Calm Spaces for Comfortable Living", it's photo after photo of uber-spare, clean, sparse rooms that I could just fall into and be perfectly happy. Clearly, no children live in this book (I would miss Sebastian!). Lesson gleaned: once you've purged down to the bare bones, store the rest conveniently where you need it, out of sight. Honestly - it was a revelation to me that I didn't have to keep my toaster on the counter, it could be put in a cabinet. Revelation, people. Of course, this requires Storage Space.

Europeans have turned functional space, from storage to multi-purpose items, into an art form. There's also a fun "Small House" movement gaining popularity in some areas of the country, where people are living in about 400 square feet (this fun episode of Design Star works with exactly this), which necessitates everything doing double duty, and some really clever space saving solutions. This totally gets me going, ya'll! How much space can we reclaim? How much easier can I make my day by putting things where I use them, and in an arrangement that makes sense?

If your space isn't efficient, then you will automatically procrastinate - it's harder to work, harder to clean, harder to relax, etc. I procrastinate with meal prep because knives are over here, cutting boards are over here, measuring cups are over here, you get the picture. I realized there are lots of places I'm wasting time and energy, so this is what I'm tackling next. What about you? Do you have any clever ways you've saved space or made it more efficient? Share - I need some creative ideas that don't include shoving things under a table and hiding them with a curtain!