Before means "Never Again"

Thank goodness I have done a fair bit of work in the last few weeks. I'd hate to have to post pictures of the way my Writing Room looked even two or three weeks ago!


For the record, here is where I'm starting for the "Great Alana Hybrid Cure of April/May 2011" --


Entryway/Landing Strip: Doesn't look too bad, although I need to find a better place for the little cart! I use it for toting groceries, but also put the laundry basket on top of it for trundling down to the laundry room (my wrists object to carrying things). The major work to be done here didn't get photographed -- I need to do some clearing of things in the coat closet so that people can hang their coats in the closet instead of on an over-the-door hook on the outside of the closet!

The kitchen: Not too much to do here. Just a deep-cleaning of the counter, and of the grouting. And the wretched drip-pans under the stove elements.

The living room's main problem is the stuff that's "hidden" (and I use that term loosely) behind the two large chairs. That needs to be moved to the storage room when the storage room is ready for it. There's also a large black and white photo by Robin King (see list of favorite artists) which is out being framed right now. It will replace the painting that's been up since Mum & Dad moved into this apartment in May of 1991. (That's the outbox to the right of the farthest chair, as well as the current Place to Stack Library Books.)

And just for balance -- the other side of the living room. The top of the china cabinet (which is really my grandfather's barrister-style bookcase from 100 years ago) needs tidying.

The bathroom just needs a bit of cleaning. The shower curtains need to be taken down and laundered. I'm happy with the decor. At first I wasn't keen on the peachy-orange countertop, until I saw the bright orange Garbino trashcan in the Umbra store, and decided to use bright orange as my accent color. I now love it!

Looking into the bedroom, one sees a bit of a mess -- but most of that is easily dealt with. There are two bags of "stuff" that need going through, a couple of things on the bookcase that don't belong but currently have no proper "place", and some fabric/clothing on the rocking chair that will be turned into a costume for a Singalong Sound of Music I'll be attending in the near future.

This picture is deceptive. There is quite a bit of stuff under the bed (bad Feng Shui, and a definite dust trap!). That also needs to be hauled out and found a place in the storage room. The dresser needs to be tidied (and two drawers emptied of papers and other detritus). The top shelf in the closet could do with some tidying, too.

The Writing Room -- most of it is done. That part is not pictured. There's a little bit of tidying to do on one bookcase. Most of the trouble is the "sorting bed". It's waiting for space to be cleared in the storage room. There are also three large rubbermaid bins in the closet, you guessed it, waiting for space in the storage room. Everything hinges on the Clearing of the Storage Room.

And here it is. The Dreaded Storage Room. I hear you saying as you look at this picture, "Doesn't look too bad"... Just you wait. This filing station was moved from the sorting bed in the Writing Room to the top of the dresser in the storage room just a week or so ago, thanks to some wonderful friends who helped clear out a bit of stuff and move stuff around.

And now, with a muffled drum roll, here is the part of the storage room that will be my major focus for the next several weeks, either in clearing it out, or filling it up (neatly)...

And that's it. That's what I'll be dealing with during our 8-week Hybrid Cure. Let the games begin!