Design Challenge: January Cure 2020 | Week One Recap

I have a real love/ hate relationship with January. Can anyone else relate? On the one hand, it's like a big shiny reset button. The beginning of a new year comes with the promise of a fresh start and the glossy veneer of the best of intentions. We resolve to eat well, exercise, and finally get our lives into order. On the other hand, the warm glow of the holidays is fading away, and we're left with the sometimes daunting task of cleaning up after the party. Which is where Apartment Therapy's January Cure comes in for me. I've done it every year for the last several, and it's just the right balance of motivation and rewards for me without becoming too overwhelming. You embrace one small challenge every day, which may not seem like much, but the cumulative effect is impressive, and it's an excellent way to build some momentum. Here's how week one went for me…

Day One

Clean out a drawer. I don't know why this seems so daunting to me, but it always does, so I procrastinated by arranging my kid's books by color. It was extremely satisfying. Finally, at the end of the day after much hemming and hawing over whether the shelf should count as a drawer, I cleaned out my nightstand before slipping into bed for the night. It took all of 10 minutes, looks 100% better, and bonus: I found my long lost chapstick (all three of them).

Day Two

Make a room by room to-do list. They suggested carving out an hour, but here's the thing: with two kids three and under, I don't have an hour of quiet time I can carve out of my day unless I want to get up really early or stay up really late. Which I don't. So I broke up the task into chunks and worked where I happened to be at the moment on the notes app on my phone. I wrote up my nursery to-do's while trapped under a napping baby, worked on the kitchen while feeding him lunch, et al. Our house is what we like to refer to as a "project house" aka a livable fixer. Hence, the list is a long one, encompassing everything from ordering custom window treatments and replacing 30-year-old washer and dryer to hanging art, painting the bathroom, and installing all-new flooring.

Day three

Set up an Outbox and put something in it. Done and done. I've been piling items on the attic stairs to get stored away since we took down the Christmas tree, so this was an easy one. Now sorting through the piles of outgrown baby toys and clothes, accumulated vases and other random odds and ends that are taking over the attic is going to be another undertaking all it's own.

Day four

Clean out the panty. This one got pushed to the weekend because the baby took a tumble that earned us an urgent doctor's appointment that day (he's fine, if only they had a frequent flier program for overactive toddlers). Once again, I p-r-o-c-r-a-s-t-i-n-a-t-e-d. It felt like such an overwhelming task when, in reality, it wasn't. The Mr chipped in for this one which made a huge difference and acted as chief stale-cracker-taster, and between the two of us, we got through it in no time. One big takeaway from the task was seeing what we consumed regularly and what languished on the shelves. Useful data to have both for how the cupboards are organized and to minimize food waste by only stocking up on the things my family will actually eat instead of what I wish we would eat.

Day Five

Clean the floors and buy flowers. My floors aren't all that dirty. I mean, I vacuum them pretty regularly. Alright, fine. I'll do it. I'm still working my way through this one room by room because it's a job just moving things around so I can reach every nook and cranny. Again, my biggest takeaway from this task was a somewhat unexpected one: how much better the place looks when things are pared back. While I can't 100% control the fact that there are toys all over the place, nor do I want to because my kids do live here too, It was refreshing to see how much more open things look with even a little less out. I think I'm going to focus a bit more on smart storage to get the streamlined look I'm after and hopefully create a bit more floor space for them to actually play. That's it for this week, I'm off to buy those flowers, and I'll be back soon with my week two update.