January Sanctuary - Day Thirteen

The magic of super glue! Fixed two lamps tonight that were wobbly in several places.

 Lamp base - I'll be spray painting it white this weekend.

I love these new single use super glue applications.

Also, organized one more kitchen cabinet. I have a tiny kitchen, yet I keep finding more cabinets to clean....

January Sanctuary - Day Twelve

Fitting in a home improvement project every day during a busy work week is challenging, but rewarding. I'm already approaching the half-way point for this month and I am loving the progress. The pace is a bit relentless, but the payoff is immediate. Little by little, tiny segments of my home are transforming.

Tonight, all these parts....

Turned into this... 

Not only did I finally get a nightstand (to replace the end table that I had been using in the meantime), but I also switched all my electrical to the other side of the bedroom, closer to the door. At about 15 steps, I think I might save myself 5,040 steps a month. I love efficiency.

"The best way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time" --- although as a vegetarian, I'm not sure I really like that example. 

January Sanctuary - Day Eleven

Finished painting birdhouse tonight. Pictures to come soon.

Busy week. Fulfilling. Colorful. Eventful. Sleep beckons...

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!