HGP Week Seven - Guest Room

I have been having a time with this room (Been working on this room for weeks).

 

I am telling you the truth when I say it is a complete disaster. When I first moved into my apartment (10 yrs ago) I only had 2 nephews (ages 7 & 8) and 1 niece (age 11) with 2nd niece on the way (There's a total of 6 now). I had the room done so nicely for them. They had bunk beds (twin with full on bottom) with matching bedding, and everything a child could have in there. I had even stenciled a nice border around the room. That's how much time they spent with me (every weekend and vacation).

 

Then I got rid of the bunkbeds when they became teens and just had a full size bed in there. They weren't visiting as much (You know how teens get LOL) and the room was still pretty nice. Then I sold the bed last year and that's when my problem began.

(Mind you this closet only house my summer attire.

My winter closets look way better)

 

I have managed to get some cleaning done so the room does look a little better. (Will post pics when room is completely finished)

• Cleaned windows
• Replaced summer curtains with winter curtains
• Hung fall wreaths in windows with electric candles
• Organized closet (went through summer wardrobe and shoes)
• Donated old printer and barely used scanner to Salvation Army
• Started washing large bags of laundry
• Sorted through and shredded paper piles

 Still to do:

 

Finish laundry
Finish laundry
Finish laundry

 

I have way too many pieces of clothing. Then there's bedding, bath and kitchen linens...

 

After the holidays I want to get rid of the mismatch furniture and make the room into a kind of lounge/guest room.

 

Seasonal Cleaning

At Organized Home, CEO discusses ways in which to get your home ready for Fall and the upcoming holidays.

Okay, Who's Ready for Fall?

I am sooo ready for Fall.  The weather here has been extremely hot the last couple of weeks.  Temps have just begun going down this week (Thanks Hurricane Bill).

I have been cleaning my apartment like there's no tomorrow.  Now I am ready to pull out the fall totes and decorate.  My friends are gearing up for the HHP and HGP countdowns, which starts this weekend.  I started a couple of weeks early.  I just couldn't wait. (Heeheehee)

So far I've gone through my coat closet, threw out old coats and got together others that need to go to the cleaners.  I went through my summer closet (in the guest bedroom) and threw out tons of summer shoes. In the bathroom I removed the summer shower curtain and rugs, washed and put them away.  All that's in there is a clear shower liner.  I even went through my many handbags and threw out what I no longer wanted. One Sunday I spent several hours shredding a shopping bag full of papers. I could not believe I was still holding on to paystubs and bank statements from 1994 to 2008.  I filled two kitchen size trash bags.  The worst part is I still have another shopping bag to shred. 

I spent a little time cleaning off my balcony too. There's trees directly behind my building and the dirt, pollen and leaves were just everywhere.  It's going to need one more good cleaning before I put my fall decor out there.  My coworker has a brother in the moving and hauling business. I have some furniture in the guest bedroom that I plan to get rid of. 

Although there's still a bit more to do, I feel that I've accomplished quite a lot so far.  Will check in again soon.

Update on Fall Prep

I'm still cleaning for the Holiday Grand Plan. This week is the bathroom. My bathroom is small but boy was it a chore. It really looks good now. Last week was the master bedroom. I only managed to finish 3/4th of things on my list for this area but it looks pretty neat. I'll go back to this room during one of my free weeks. Right now I'm more concerned about getting the main areas finished.

My potted mums - well one in particular - doesn't seem to be doing so well. I have two of them on my balcony. The yellow one is blooming beautifully while the orange/red one looks as if it's drying up. I was wondering if it was due to the weather. It's nice and warm during the day but it gets really chilly at night. They are outdoor plants so they should be used to the change in temperatures, right!? I hope it gets better.

Moving on, my apartment is nearly overflowing with fall decor. Later this month MHH members will participate in a Fall tour of homes. The date is set for October 16th. I still have to do the guest room, dining room, and kitchen but I'll be ready. I have my curtains hung in the living room and they look great. They really add color and warmth to the room. I'll post pictures here on the 15th.

This weekend I'm going to my best friend's house as she and her husband will start putting up their Halloween decorations outside. I'm just as excited as they are. I can't wait to see what all they have. This is also the second week of the Halloween Countdown. I need to check with her to see what progress she's made. Plus I need to get ready for my Harvest Breakfast. So much to do.

HGP - Week Four

This week the HGP focuses on the master bedroom. I have half of the cleaning part done.

HGP Week Three

We're near the end of week three of the HGP countdown. This week focuses on the foyer (or whatever area you choose). My foyer is small so I was able to finish most of it in a day. The only part that still needs doing is the coat closet.

I've got a lot on my plate this weekend... hope that I can get most of it done. Besides the coat closet and moving furniture, I want to start decorating all finished areas: balcony, livingroom, foyer, front door. Actually the balcony has had fall decor since the week it was cleaned. I just need to add the garland/lights to the railings and hang the candle chandaliers. The mums I bought a few weeks ago are starting to bloom. The yellow ones seem to be blooming faster that the red ones, though. Can't figure that out.

Not As Planned

Still haven't finished the livingroom... And I didn't get around to the Halloween invitations. I'll make an attempt on the cards at the end of September. Ike did not bring the rain as the weatherman predicted. Instead we got a bunch of heat the entire weekend. It was so hot that I wasn't in the mood for tackling that livingroom. I really need to finish it though. Now that it's feeling like fall, I'm anxious to hang up my curtains. Can't wait to see them hanging up at the patio doors.

I'm So Happy

Yes, I'm giddy. I found some curtains last night for my livingroom! My bestfriend and I met after work and went to the Walmart near her house. They're not the faux silk ones (which is what I really wanted), but the next best thing - Taffeta. I found some faux silk panels but in every fall color but cranberry/burgundy. No bother, the taffeta panels are nice too and look so rich. Plus they were only $10.88 per panel (the silk ones were a bit more). I can't wait to hang them up. We're supposed to get a lot of rain starting Friday and Saturday is expected to be washed out as well. So I'll take this as an opportunity to finish my livingroom. The only things left to do are vacuum/shampoo the sofa/chairs and carpet and rearrange the furniture. I'm really rearranging my furniture to make room for my Christmas tree.(LOL) Anyway I'm very excited. Once the furniture and carpet dries I think I will start putting up a few fall decorations in that room. I especially am looking forward to displaying my "Harvest" sign. I plan to dress it up a little with little pumpkins, silk leaves and miniature scarecrow.

HGP - Week Two

Over at MHH we're into the second week of the Holiday Grand Plan countdown. This week focuses on the livingroom and answering questions about traditions and the way we celebrate Christmas. So when I got up this morning I went and sat out on the balcony to look over my list of 'to dos'. I love my balcony, especially now that it's clean. Those flower pots are still sitting on my balcony waiting to be taken to the dumpster. I even put out a few fall decorations.

Back to the livingroom. So far I've polished all of the furniture, cleaned the inside of the patio doors/windows (they were dirtier on the inside than on the outside - go figure), took down summer decorations(didn't have a lot really) and made space for my fall stuff to go up by clearing of shelves and tables. I've decided to change my livingroom around but didn't feel like doing it Sunday and I won't be able to get to it until the upcoming weekend. Plus I still need to clean the sofa and chairs. They are white and I have to clean them at least twice a year. Hopefully around the first of the new year I can get a new set.

What a Workout!

Sunday started the HGP over at OC and MHH and let me tell you I put in some work. This week we were to get our porches in order. I live in an apartment so my balcony was my porch.

• I swept all the leaves and dust off the outdoor carpet as well as knocked down all the spider webs
• Wiped down the railing and dividing wall which seperates my balcony from my neighbor's. We just got them over the last two years and they are great. They're made of that hard resin like you see in people's yards as fences. Very easy to clean.
• Then I wiped down the patio table and chairs. Boy were they dirty. I have trees right outside my balcony... you can almost touch the branches. So everything- pollen, dirt, leaves, pineneedles fall on my balcony.
• Next I cleaned the patio doors/windows. Surprisingly they weren't that dirty. I also wiped the screen. Now that was filthy. I couldn't believe how much dirt came out of that screen. Now I can see through it. (LOL)

The only thing I didn't do was throw out those flower pots. By the time I finished cleaning, I was too tired to tackle them. I have two and they are filled with old potting soil. They are extremely heavy and I was not in the mood for taking them down three flights of steps. I think I will get my boyfriend to take those out for me this week.

After I was done I just sat out there and enjoyed my new, cleaned balcony until the sun started going down (or rather until the bugs ran me back inside). While out on the balcony, I decided to work on a few fall crafts. I made this acrylic post-it holder which will go on my office desk once I decorate it a little for the season. Isn't it cute. I found the paper and the ribbon at the dollar store (my favorite place).

This arrangement I saw in Michael's and decided to copy it. So I went to the dollar store and bought the grass, twigs, brown ribbon and a tall glass cylinder candle holder. My plan was to hot glue the branches around the glass, fill the glass with some stones, add the grass then tie the branches with decorative ribbon. Well the next day I was in Walmart and they had the base part already made up. Plus it was much nicer than mines would have been as it also had eucolyptus stems mixed in too. So I bought it and added the grass to the center of that and finished it with brown ribbon. I think it will sit next to the tv armoire in the livingroom. Now what to do with the branches I bought at the dollar store? I have a burgundy tall metal vase that I can place the branches in. That will likely go in my bedroom or maybe in the bathroom.

I'm back to work today and I've bought in my supplies to work on the broom swag for my front door. I've been thinking about my door and I want to cover it with moss green (or some type of green-fall related) paper. The door is an ugly color. I hate it. During my lunch break I will go into a empty room and work on it. If I finish it today I'll come back and post a picture. I've decided to keep my digital camera with me at all times so that I won't miss important photo ops.

HGP Countdown

Over at Organized Christmas, the Holiday Grand Plan will start in a few weeks (August 31st) and I really need to give my apartment a thorough cleaning. The summer months have keep me outdoors thus leaving my poor apartment neglected.

Here's my plans for the countdown:

Week of August 31st - Front Porch Week (I live in an apartment so I will work on the balcony this week)

Week of Sept 7th - Living Room Week

Week of Sept 14th - Entry/Foyer Week (Fall Decorations start going up)

Week of Sept 21st - Master Bedroom Week

Week of Sept 28th - Master Bathroom Week (One and only bathroom)

Week of Oct 5th - Kids Room Week (No kids - Will use this week to shampoo carpets)

Week of Oct 12th - Spare Room Week

Week of Oct 19th - Kitchen Week

Week of Oct 26th - Kitchen/Pantry Week (This is a free week for me. Not sure what to do.)

Week of Nov 2nd - Family Room Week (Another free week. Will put up Thanksgiving decorations)

Week of Nov 9th - Garage/Storage Week (Free Week)

Week of Nov 16th - Attic Week (Free week.)

Week of Nov 23rd - Dining Room Week (I start putting up my Christmas decorations Friday after Turkey Day and throughout the weekend.)

Week of Nov 30th - Holiday Decor Week (Decorations will be done. Just need to set all the lights on timers.)

Week of Dec 7th - Finish Up Week (Will put up decorations in the office.)

Week of Dec 14th - Maintenance Week (Free week)