I think I'm doing this wrong.

I went on a little shopping spree at IKEA last night. IKEA helped me to not go overboard with the spending since they didn't have everything in stock. I ended up getting a simple, black TV console (I need to find a way to make it look a little less utilitarian) and a table to use as craft workspace.
I wanted to get a sleek and slim bedside table to use as a landing strip, but they were sadly sold out. They also didn't have any of the vases I wanted and the "jewelery tree" that I wanted wasn't really suitable for a jewelery tree at 20" tall. And I cannot for the life of me find the kitchen rails and accessories at IKEA. Someday I'll find them... or ask someone where they are.

Last night I stayed up til 2:30a putting together the TV console and table. I'm still in the process of moving everything into the new console and setting up my craft area how I want it. But I'm starting to think that I have a habit of doing things wrong, particularly in my room.

I put my table in the open space behind the door in my bedroom. It fits perfectly there, and with the door closed it's opposite my computer desk, which is ideal. But with the table behind the door that means that I can't open my door all the way. I don't mind it, it opens up past the door frame so it's not like it's in the way. And I have a tendency to stick random things behind my door regardless, so it's not like I could ever open my door all the way, but I think that's part of the problem.
I try to use every inch of space in my room, and while it's nice to have a place for everything, I don't think I really HAVE the space for everything.

The table is a step up from sewing on top of my dresser (in the closet) and doing projects on the dining room floor or coffee table. But I have a feeling that the table is going to eventually feel like more clutter in my room, even if it's kept clean, simple, neat and organized.

Perhaps this just means it's time for me to reconsider the arrangement of my bedroom. Oh joy! Hopefully I'll get some inspiration while I finish organizing everything.

Anyone need some motivation?

If so, you should head to IKEA. They're having a SALE! 20-60% off "things" from now until January 21. The only catch (or, well, catches) is that it's an in-store sale only and Houston, Seattle, Sunrise, Orlando and IKEA Direct aren't participating.

Take a peek at some of the sale items. It's the Burbank, CA since that's closest to me, but you can search for a sale flyer for your store.

I have a feeling that, in addition lots and lots of cleaning, I'm going to be making a couple large purchases this weekend so I can get back into the swing of things.

When did this month get to be the most stressful?

Ugh, December! You're getting in the way of my normal life!
All I've been doing for the past couple of weeks is making Christmas gifts and getting ready for a week in Boston, while being sick and attending holiday parties. And I still am not even close to being finished with everything. The cut off date is tonight as I'm flying out first thing tomorrow morning, so everything is going to be "done" whether or not I'm actually finished. :)

Needless to say, I haven't made any more progress with the de-cluttering of my room. In fact, I think I managed to clutter it up a little more in the past couple of weeks, hehe. Hopefully by the new year I'll have much less on my plate and have more time to get in the "starting over" mindset.

The things you can accomplish when you just do them.

I attacked my room last night. And it only took about 4 hours, which is not bad considering I usually take an entire weekend to do something like re-arrange my bedroom. The makes much more sense now, but there's still quite a bit of clutter I need address. But I did start to get rid of things that I just don't like and started re-purposing things that I DO like, but didn't have a place for.

For example, I tossed an ugly/obnoxious pen holder cup and replaced it with a candle holder that was sans candle.
The only eyesore in my room that I'm stuck with is a my effing hugeass CRT monitor. I have to pull my desk about 6 inches away from the wall in order to make the monitor fit. That thing has to go, luckily it was free when I got it.
I may set aside some money after the holidays to buy a slightly smaller flat panel monitor, but we'll see.

Once I remove all of the clutter I'll update with photos.

There's so little time after work!

I attacked my closet this evening. I'm not sure if it's a bad or a good thing just yet. Only time will tell. But at least now it's arranged the way I want it.

I was inspired by this house tour on AT. These are photos from the tour.




And when I realized that I actually HAVE this shoe rack

I figure that there's no reason I can't make my closet as organized and streamlined as this one.

I still think that I need to rethink what's in my closet (like laundry baskets and empty boxes/random storage), but for now it's definitely an improvement.
Clothes (organized by color, yay!) and shoes in one section. Sewing and storage in a second section. And laundry, extra blankets, pillows, etc. in another section (one that doesn't need to be open). I can still stand to get rid of more things though... it'll happen eventually. Things can only go up from here!

I also started brainstorming how I could rearrange things in my room and took some measurements and had a lot of "well why didn't I put this here in the first place?!" moments.
I'm going to separate my "work area" from the rest of my bedroom (it'll get it's own nice little corner) and actually put my two bedside table on the sides of my bed. I'm not sure what else I can/should do, but once I draw it all out, it should be a pretty quick project. I hope to have it finished before the weekend.

Back at it.

I have to admit, I sort of left The Cure project hanging. There was no "finishing" done, no party thrown, and there's still an outbox sitting in my dining room. But as much as I've tried to motivate myself to do these simple tasks, I always knew that that was not going to make any difference... I would still feel as though I haven't actually completed the project.

Looking back, I think that it would have been best to focus on one room. It was really nice to bring life and personality into the shared living spaces (and hang our art correctly, hehe), but it was pretty much impossible to compromise with my roommate in certain areas. Creative decisions like "should we paint the walls?", "what colors should we use?", "what kind of furniture do we want?" were all easy compromises. But when it came time to talk about a budget, we were on complete opposite ends of the spectrum. It's easy to agree to having a beautiful apartment with awesome furniture, but some of that has to come at a price. Big things like reupholstering the couch, getting an actual dining room (i.e. table and chairs), and replacing our $20 Wal-Mart "tv stand" with a somewhat substantial entertainment center never happened because of the price. All of the reasoning is understandable (like, why reupholster the couch when we don't know how long we'll be here or be living together?), but that doesn't mean that I'm ok with it.

I've grown tired of our couch and how the cushions sink in from sitting in the same spot more than 2 days in a row. I'm DYING for a freakin' dining room table. I want to do things differently, but I don't want to subject anyone to my non-traditional ways. And... well... frankly, I'm sick of not getting my way. :)
Yeah yeah, I know I'm a spoiled brat, but I've been living with roommates for almost 7 years now. Being an only child, THAT'S A LONG TIME! It's not easy for me to compromise, but I've done it (and I've done it without being a spoiled brat about it, too) and I've gotten much WAY better at it. But I need some change. I want everything to be different.

And that's how I've come about all of these new ideas and dreams. Wanting things MY way is only just a nice thought... unless I actually make it happen. And the only way I can make it happen is if I put myself in a position for it to happen. Confusing? Yeah, I haven't quite worked it out into a plan yet, everything is still just a "nice idea."
I really would like to downsize my life, as a whole. Well... a partial whole. Bear with me. :)

Living with a roommate in years past has mainly been for financial and selfish reasons only. Those financial reasons are kind of obsolete now and the reason they're obsolete is because I'm not AS selfish as I used to be. I'm not addicted to "my stuff" and "things" like I used to be and therefore downsizing to a studio or small one-bedroom would be plausible (and rather quaint and enjoyable) and thus living by myself would actually be affordable.
The other financial part of having a roommate is splitting bills (cable, electricity, etc.). For the past two years I've been paying all of the bills myself and seeing my roommate's half as just extra money. So again, I'm not really worried about the financial part of having my own place.

Obviously I'm not going to just up and leave my roommate, that would be rather dick of me. But I'm going to start living with the idea of having my own place in mind. And that all starts with getting in the habit of doing what I want in my own space... my bedroom.
I did quite a bit with it during The Cure, but it's still not exactly what I want. So my plan is to pretend that I'm starting from scratch by tossing out everything (and I mean everything) that I don't want or actively use and put everything else where I want it.
I need to rethink my room layout and plan it out on paper (or computer) before I start trying to just "make everything fit" which is kind of where I left it. :/