Halfway through the 2021 Cure!
Well hello there!
I’ve been updated my progress on Apartment Therapy’s January Cure 2021 on my Facebook page, but I figured it’s time for an actual post update!
This is my January Cure Project this year. This corner needs some help!
So far, I’ve scrubbed, cleaned, purged and thought my way through this month. I think this is my fourth year doing this January Cure, and I’m noticing a lot more things on this go around. Though an all access tour of my house may show otherwise, I’ve carried a lot of these tasks into my normal routine.
First, a lot of these chores have become habits. Squeezing in cleaning the linen closet while my kids take a bath, organizing a junk drawer while they eat dinner and purging old and broken toys while they watch TV are all things I’ve been doing for months.
Big differences can come from small acts!
Second, being home doesn’t mean there’s more time to clean and organize. I learned early on that it means more opportunities to create messes. I breezed my way through last weekend’s task of cleaning the floors because Goldfish are always being smashed into the rug and toys are forever rolling under the sofa. Since it only takes a few more moments, while I’m retrieving a lost ball, I grab a microfiber cloth and dust under the sofa.
Next, I’ve embraced the concept of listing out which projects need to be done around our house. From the minor chores of washing the baseboards, to replacing the front porch I know what needs to be done, and try to plan out when they could get done. It’s really helpful not only to acknowledge what needs to be done, but start to mentally prepare for the project.
Last, I’ve come to enjoy the routine and progress that I’ve gained from doing this year after year. When I take down all the Christmas decorations right before this Cure begins, I take extra care to assess what I’m putting back out and where. It is what prompted me to realize that this Cure’s project would be the place where our wood burning stove once sat.
We took this photo on our last walkthrough before placing a bid on what became our little farmhouse :) Just look at that little face!
Yes, we removed it last spring, hopefully to return one day. We realized that we only used it a handful of times a year because when it was on, it was on! The living room would get unbearably hot. And it took up so much space that would be better used for extra seating when our families come for a visit. (Ugh, remember having people over?! I miss that so much!)
So combine all that with a toddler and the advisement from our pediatrician that it not be used until the girls were older and it was a no-brainer. One day, it will be back. Or maybe a gas fireplace will be in it’s place. Time will tell.
