January Sanctuary - Day Ten

Quick recap for today:
1. My canisters arrived so I transferred my flour, sugar, brown sugar, and flaxseed to airtight containers.
2. Cleared one more kitchen drawer.
3. Cleaned up my old spice jars so I can reuse them for next year's holiday gifts.

Sleep. Need sleep.

January Sanctuary - Day Nine

Tonight was a shopping night (fun!)

The quotes for the re-upholstery came in higher than what I originally paid for my sofas, so I switched gears to buy new. I researched for a few days then ended up at Macy's - lucky for me it was their semi-annual furniture sale so I bought a full size sofa and a love seat in vintage gray. I'm thrilled! Even better, the delivery date is January 25, so my January Sanctuary will end with a major improvement!

I stopped at Marshalls and found some great ocean/beach themed accessories.

Generally, I feel like I'm making steady progress, but there is still so much more to do by month-end. I'm glad I'm completing more than one project a day...

And, now on to adding blue paint to my birdhouse. Then sleep.

Goodnight!

January Santuary - Day Eight

Kitchen shelf above the stove before (unfinished wood):

View 2 of Kitchen shelf above the stove before (unfinished wood):

After first coat of paint:

This is a sentimental birdhouse that belonged to a dear friend of mine. I'm giving it a second life with sanding and a new coat of paint. Here is the before picture:

 

Here is after the first coat. I'll add blue tomorrow (or tonight if the paint dries quickly):

I also purchased glue and white spray paint to update and fix my lamps this week.

“Everyone wants to understand painting. Why is there no attempt to understand the song of the birds?”

        - Pablo Picasso 

January Sanctuary - Day Seven

Why are closets so impossible? Why is it hard to part with clothes and shoes? Some that still have the original tags on but I tell myself I might wear them someday. Others that are tied to memories, experiences, moments that I want to hold on to.

Definitely a first world problem *hangs her head in shame*. There are more important things to think about than my closet, so I'm happy to get this done and move forward. 

simplify. ruthlessly edit. keep only your favorites.

Managed to set aside 14 pairs of shoes to donate and one full bag of clothes (and this is only from one side of one of my closets). I need to read the mnmlst blog again (see link on right) and go through a second time tomorrow morning, bright and early.

"Knowledge of the world is only to be acquired in the world, and not in a closet"
- Lord Chesterfield

January Sanctuary - Day Six

My spice rack is done and I love it! Not only did I regain a kitchen cabinet by moving the spices, but I love how I can see all the beautiful colors of the spices. It makes me want to cook something good!

Spices finished! Off to clean another drawer.

"Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after another."
                                                                                                - Walter Elliott

January Sanctuary - Day Five

I'm looking forward to the weekend for my bigger projects. But in the meantime, here is today's recap:

1. Ordered a white nightstand to replace the end table I've been using (which was never intended to be a permanent placement)



2. My new tins arrived for my spice rack! Applied all the magnets. Created the labels, but I think I need to switch from white labels to clear - should have thought of that beforehand. Waiting 24 hours for magnets to stick before placing on fridge. Hope it's cute!

That's it folks... more projects to come!

January Sanctuary - Day Four

Projects were light today since I didn't get home until after 9:30pm. But, progress nonetheless:


1. Cleaned out two more kitchen drawers (utensils and a random miscellaneous drawer)

2. Earlier today, contacted two upholstery shops. I think the prices came in too high... it might be best to just retire my old couches and shop new. I'd rather reupholster (the greener choice), but the couches are 10 years old and the price is just too high. Still considering my options...

3. Replaced the rug in my kitchen

4. Ordered canisters for flour and sugar


On a roll and looking forward to what my home will look like at month end (even if it is a mess today!)

"Don't wait until everything is just right. It will never be perfect. There will always be challenges, obstacles and less than perfect conditions. So what. Get started now. With each step you take, you will grow stronger and stronger, more and more skilled, more and more self-confident and more and more successful."
      - Mark Victor Hansen