Little Black Guidebook

Bedroom was definitely the easiest to Spring Clean. Clothes used to be the biggest trouble for me, but now I regularly flip my hangers around to keep tabs on what I am actually using.  So today I just grabbed all the hangers that were still backwards that were still winter clothes and put them in the house outbox. Done. Change the bedding, flip the mattress, throw the laundry in the wash, wash the window, dust and vacuum, done done done. Next? Ok, ok, tomorrow I’ll post an after photo.  For now I’ll leave you with these more attractive inspiration photos.

Bedroom Spring Cleaning List via Simply Stated:

1. Flip your mattress if recommended by the manufacturer.
2. Wash mattress pad and bed skirt. Dry clean or launder comforter and pillow shams.
3. Wash heavy winter blankets and store until fall.
4. Wash or dry clean heavy sweaters and put in storage.
5. Swap out cooler weather clothing with warmer weather clothing in closet and drawers. Wipe down closet and dressers while clothes are in transition.
6. Polish leather shoes and send those worth repairing out to a cobbler.
7. Polish and/or dust jewelry per manufacturer’s instructions. Have damaged items professionally repaired. If applicable, have wedding band and ring steam cleaned at a jewelry store.

Moving Overseas Purge – Bedroom Edition

1. Use the hanger flipping technique to reevaluate clothes seasonally – Took a look through all of the hangers that are still backwards in the closet. Anything that is winter clothes that still hasn’t been flipped around hasn’t been used since last fall and regardless of any excuses has to go. I have had business, formal, funeral, wedding, and every other conceivable “occasion” during that time so if the hanger isn’t facing the right way it hasn’t been used.
2. Evaluate condition and fit of remaining clothes – Some things get worn beyond their fit and condition. I’ve told myself to repair something for over a year and it hasn’t happened? Its going to the sewing room or the purge pile. And those size 12 clothes? Do I really want to mentally hold onto them, just in case? NO. Donate clothing that is ill-fitting, and repair clothing that needs tailoring work.
3. Do I need this many? – Ok it fits, and I’ve used it in the last 8 months. But I’m talking about items that don’t add anything, 32 pairs of socks, 20 bras, how many t-shirts? It really only adds up to being able to do laundry less often and letting things pile up more. This is where the Moving Overseas game really works! I would never have room to take all of that with me so I really don’t NEED all of it. I will be putting some of it
4. Would I buy this again? – Or do I have this t-shirt because it was free and might be useful at the gym? Do I love this?
5. Why is this in my bedroom? – Our house is large enough that things other than regularly used clothes, a book on the night stand and jewelry really don’t belong there.  Hiking boots, wedding dress, 15 books I plan to read soon, Legos? (we don’t even have kids, where did those come from!) etc. etc. etc. probably belong elsewhere.
6. If I was really moving – Total reevaluation of whether something is climate and culturaly appropriate. Everything else: in fashion, prime condition, needed, etc. is done already.

My desire to wander is unsupressable. I am dealing with it in two ways. First is the big Moving Overseas exercise. 2nd, I’m planning my next trip. So pause all the home improvement posts for a sec and let’s talk logistics.

New Jersey and New York public transit. All I have to say is, “Thank goodness Google has a public transit route planner!” I have the perfect storm of obligations occurring next month all in one-week that will have me flying into Newark, going to Philadelphia, West Point New York, New Brunswick New Jersey, and New York City. The turn around times just don’t make renting a car feasible. Its too expensive to rent, park, navigate and the trains just seem way more convenient. But it does take pre-planning of routes, trains, back up plans, coordination and flexibility. A car just goes with you when and where you want it to.

Tale of two methods of travel.

Take the first leg of my trip for example, Newark Airport to Langhorne, PA to visit my Grandparents.

• My parents: land +1 hr to collect bags and get to rental counter, +1 hour to pick up car and arrange family and bags in car, +1 hr stop for dinner once safely outside of airport pricing zone, +2 hours to drive to Grandparents if all goes well. This works for them, there are 4 of them to worry about now that 3 of us are grown and its more cost effective and less stressful for them.  (arrival time at Grandparents 11pm)
• Me and hubby: land carrying our bags, +1 hr to get to train station in time for 6:40pm train after grabbing a quick bite to eat when we land at the airport or eating prepacked snacks; arrive train station where Grandparents are waiting to pick up 7:57pm; arrive Grandparents house 20 minutes later) (arrival time 8:20pm, cost $14.75 each train ticket)

Next up I have to figure out trains from PA to Grand Central Station, NY then on to Garrison, NY to meet the ferry to West Point. Then ferry back from West Point, train to New Brunswick, then train back to New York and once more back to Newark for the flight home. Hopefully it will all work out smoothly, and thankfully if the plan doesn’t work and I have to adjust things as we go along, we don’t have pre-purchased Italian train-tickets and no Italian language skills.

Even with English not being a barrier, do you know how hard it is to figure out public transportation in American cities sometimes? There are exceptions like DC’s metro, but even then have you tried using Metro buses? Its like a secret club, once you figure it out, you’re in and party to some good, cheap transportation, but its not really accessible to tourists or travelers without a lot of effort on their part. Of course, I’ll admit, by the time I figured out metro buses, I was glad those obnoxiously loud Hard Rock Cafe clad tourists weren’t crowding my metro bus like they were my Foggy-Bottom metro stop during certain hours. I just wanted to sit in peace with my headphones wearing my business suit (but no flip-flops or sneakers so I wasn’t a completely assimilated to DC commuter).

Wow, now that digression came out of nowhere. Here’s hoping for the best.

Now that the Kitchen is cleaned and purged for the Move Overseas its time to move on to the Bathroom. A cold, but sunny Saturday is the perfect day to work on the bathroom, because it just looks so shiny when you’re done. The inspiration photo above is like 10 times bigger than my bathroom, but no matter. It’s simple, clean , white and inspiring.

Spring Cleaning Bathroom List: via Simply Stated

1. Clean medicine chest, disposing of medicines properly.
2. Launder shower curtain and replace liner if mildewy.
3. Inspect grout, caulk, and seals on sink, shower, bathtub, and floors. Replace/repair as necessary.
4. Soak shower head for one to two hours in a zip-top bag filled with white vinegar. Attach zip-top bag to shower head with rubber band or binder clip. Flush with water afterward.
5. Toss expired makeup and toiletries.
6. Wipe down the shower rods and rings.

+ This list seemed a little light on actual cleaning and seemed to be more geared towards periodic maintenance so here is a bonus overachiever list because I’m cool/an obsessive list maker.

1. Clean the tub and shower.
2. Shine the mirror.
3. Scrub the sink.
4. Disinfect the toilet.
5. Mop the floor.
6. Clean the wastebasket
7. Wipe the faucet and fixtures.

Purge

The bathroom purge wasn’t nearly as dramatic as the Kitchen one. I didn’t make a list this time. Instead I went with a, “Would I mail this to myself to make sure it was available where I move?” approach. Then I looked at what was left and my waste not want not nature took over. This called for further action.

1. Expired or never used, but open products. – Tossed.
2. Almost empty products – Placed prominently so that I am reminded to use up these products.
3. Travel size products – Right now I can live for quite awhile on hotel bar soap without buying any more body-wash, so some of this is going to the local women’s shelter and the rest is being put somewhere it will get used.
4. Linens – Two people don’t need 12 bath towels and 5 sets of Queen sheets, its just a side affect of getting married and still having wedding present linens 5 years later. Repurpose, toss, donate.

via: I Am Design, Korea

Have some tea on the go this lovely Spring morning.

One of my favorite flowers Hyacinth via: Tim-Clinch-Photography

The week 2 tasks of the one-room remedy Spring Cure, didn’t apply too much to the kitchen. Instead I’m pretty much taking a break this week from Curing and continuing on with the Spring Cleaning. I will take one tip from the deep treatment list and buy some fresh flowers for the house (using a gift certificate so still within no-spending month rules).

1. Decide what activity you want in the room and where that activity goes? – Uh, cook? Maybe I could break that down a bit more and separate it into cook, bake and eat. Yum, eat, definitely its own category.
2. Make a floor plan – Floor plan is fixed as I don’t think I’ll be buying new cabinets for this kitchen.
3. Oh oh, build shopping list, the fun part! So yeah, no spending month means that I’ll be re purposing almost everything and going to the landlords for the rest. I’ll call it a product list instead since no actual shopping will be taking place for awhile.

Product list:

• New light fixture
• Backsplash tile
• Flooring
• Countertops
• New waffle iron/George Foreman grill combo (replacing two worn out appliances with one and its dishwasher safe so less likely to clutter my counter waiting to be washed)

Random image from the Inspiration folder felt especially appropriate today. I’m going stir crazy being at home this long!

Ok, now that the kitchen has been Spring cleaned and I’ve got my inspiration for the One Room Workout Spring Cure it was time to purge as if I was moving overseas.

For inspiration on what a truly awesome, but tiny kitchen consists of I turned to my favorite food blogger Smitten Kitchen and her list of items to build a smitten kitchen with from her tiny New York apartment kitchen. If she can survive without 17 bread pans, I can!

Next it was time to make a list of what was staying. My list is based off of this Kitchen_clean_out list from helloKitchen. I had to make my own because honestly no can-opener on the list, but the have ice cream maker?

Then it came time for the actual purging. Here’s the process if you want to try it at home.

1. Lay out a queen size sheet on the floor.
2. Reference the list and remove each item from the kitchen to the sheet one by one checking the item off of the list as you go.
3. Take all remaining items out of kitchen and put them in another room. If you haven’t gone looking for it and used it within 30-days it goes to goodwill.

The 30-day items work like turning your hangers backwards in your closet. After several months, anything still hung-up backwards isn’t needed.  Same thing applies here for extra spatulas, mixing bowls, Tupperware, etc.

What went in the garage sale: (140ish individual items)

1. 2 Qt. Revereware pot w/lid
2. 1 Qt. Revereware pot
3. Kitchen scale – plastic
4. iced tea pitcher
5. 12 farberware steak knives w/wooden handles
6. Hamilton Beach blender 12 speed
7. 2 – metal mesh hand colanders
8. metal freezer thermometer
9. metal refrigerator thermometer
10. non-stick bundt pan (new)
11. non-stick angel food cake springform pan 9 x 3 in.
12. non-stick springform cheese cake pan 10 x 4 in.
13. 2 baby angel food cake pans
14. 1 plastic bottle funnel
15. 9.5 in Pyrex pie pan blue
16. 2 10 in. square wire cooling racks
17. 12in. metal frying splatter shield
18. 2 New 8×10 flexible chopping mats
19. Glass cutting board 12 x 14
20. Plastic cutting board 14 x 16
21. Mexican ceramic serving bowl
22. 2 boiler pans
23. 4 small nonstick metal bread pans
24. 4 medium nonstick metal bread pans
25. 4 large nonstick metal bread pans
26. 3 – 6 cup muffin pans 2 nonstick metal, 1 silicone (New)
27. George Foreman Grill drip pan
28. melon baller
29. 4 metal grill skewer
30. 2 green cloth napkins
31. 2 red cloth napkins
32. 2 nonstick cookie pans 10 x 14
33. Rainforest Cafe specialty glass
34. 2 plastic cat food bowls
35. 2 ceramic cat food bowls
36. 1 Pfaltzgraf Kitty Food bowl
37. Corning (Pyrex type) 9 x 11 casserolle dish
38. 3 tea light holders
39. 3 Coffee/Tea mugs
40. Large Christmas themed serving platter
41. 4 small Christmas themed serving plates
42. star shaped candy bowl
43. 4 crystal champagne glasses
44. 8 glass punch bowl glasses
45. 24 plastic paper plate holders
46. glass butter server
47. 3 cat food can tupperware covers
48. 2 large tupperware beverage pichers
49. 1 nonstick wok
50. Giant wok with vegetable steamer and double boiler
51. Chocolate fountain
52. large electric powered griddle/grill with cleaning scraper (new)
53. 4 Marquis Waterford champagne glasses, 1 wine
54. 6 handmade pottery bowls
55. 1 hand mixer
56. 1 spaetzle maker
57. 4 misc. tupperware lids
58. 1 pizza pan
59. 2 crystal tall candle holder
60. 2 crystal bud vases

*I know that it seems kind of incompatable to be purging as if I was moving overseas at the same time as I am pulling a room together (ala Spring Cure). So let’s state a few assumptions.

I am assuming that this “theoretical move” is being paid for by a potential employer, but that I am given a moving allowance so I can bring whatever I truly love with me, but if I bring only the things I love and absolutely no clutter I can keep the difference in moving costs as cash.

If I were paying for a move myself the cost to move some items by weight is more than their replacement cost, for instance a $10 item could cost $12 to move so it would be cheaper to just discard it and rebuy it after moving. That’s not what I’m trying to accomplish right now, but it would be during a real move.

A super cute breakfast shot which has me jealous of others photography skills.

Via: Pia Jane  Bijerk a wonderful photographer, blogger and author of Paris: Made by Hand.

Apartment Therapy apparently had the same idea of Spring = Home Improvement at the same time as I did. They are starting their Spring Cure this week. Last time I tried “curing” I tried to do the whole house and finished nothing so this time I’m going for the One Room Remedy so that I still have time for my Overachievers Spring Cleaning and Moving Overseas purging.

The 1st assignment is Creating Your Vision: Show & Tell. This post is my response with the rest of my Kitchen inspiration photos attached. Also, GASP, a BEFORE photo revealing my current kitchen. Scroll to the end for the before in all its horrible glory (not).

1st photo, not happening in current house due to budget and construction constraints. But if we were building a kitchen from scratch in a new house it would look an awful lot like this.

Here’s another one featuring a beautiful  Staub La Theiere Round Teapot.

But here is the actual inspiration photo for our current kitchen. The cabinets are a similar shade and it has stainless steel appliances. It could probably be more minimalists by taking away some of the photo staging, but gives an idea where we’re headed.

And now for the before…

Note the ugly faux brick, wonderful vinyl flooring and white, beige and black appliances.

One-Room Remedy Week 1
- Choose one room. (Kitchen)
- Gather pictures of rooms you love. (See above)
- Start a style tray. (See my Polyvore Kitchen Style Tray)
- Visit your favorite home store. (Lowes online, because its still no-spending month and I can’t tempt myself in person.)
- Set your budget.

I’d never heard of the carry-on should = 10% of your body weight rule before. That would be tough to do. Especially now that I’ve lost 4 lbs worth of luggage allowance from my high point.

You do know that one of the easiest routes to back injury is placing bags into overhead luggage bins when you fly,” said Doktor George. “You should really make sure you take care as it’s so easy to throw your back out.” “What are you suggesting, then?” I asked. “It might be time to rethink your luggage,” he said.

via: 1bag1world