Serial Decluttering

Magazines are cheap, published monthly and designed for limited use, so why do I and many others hang on to so many?

In the age of blogs and online decorating sites, does anyone even need  to keep magazines anyway? Yet, there is something I enjoy about a shiny new decor mag.

I've decluttered my magazine collection many times, maybe more than any other item, yet I still count 48 magazines in my current collection. I've culled my magazine subscriptions down to zero, then added a subscription or two that I missed back in. I've tried getting my magazine fix at the library only, which I found to be more trouble than it's worth.

First, the non-negotiables. I have 27 issues of the discontinued Domino (25) and Cottage Living (2) magazines that I'm still not able to part with. At one point those Dominos were almost worth their cover price on ebay, although prices seem to have peaked and dropped like a rock since then.

endtable magazine storage

I find the "William Morris criteria" (That is, Morris' famous quote to "Have nothing in you home that you do not that find to be useful or know to be beautiful"), to be helpful for deciding what to cull or keep. Accordingly, I should probably declutter them all, as I don't really look at the magazines often or consider them particularly useful. But, I'm not willing to do so. I don't need the space they take up and I like having them, for whatever reason. Maybe outing myself on the blog will change this as it has before, but for now, they stay.

That still leaves 21 magazines up for grabs. After one last flip through 3/4 of them I let 12 go, which is enough to eliminate one stack under the coffee table. A 25% reduction isn't too bad, I guess.

Do you find it hard to let go of magazines or have another decluttering weakspot?

Update: The World's Longest Kitchen Reno

Well, I did manage to finish painting the kitchen cabinets (cabinets only, not the doors) during my week off. If you missed my earlier whining, it was six fun-filled days of sanding, scrubbing, scraping and, oh yeah, a little painting. And afterwards I didn't touch a paint brush or piece of sandpaper for nearly three weeks.

I guess I was suffering from DIY overload. Still am really.

I love seeing the bright white cabinets, however. So much better than that hideous midnight blue.

the before

But there's still the issue of all those drawers and doors. Living without them has just proved that I really couldn't live with all open shelving. Seeing all that stuff all the time drives me NUTS.

But apparently not nuts enough to rush the door paint job.

I finally got back on the horse this past weekend and we tackled the trim issue. When I say we, I mean the boyfriend. After a post-work sanding session last night, the doors are almost ready for paint. Just in time for a cold snap. Did I mention the unheated garage is our makeshift paint studio? Maybe I shouldn't have procrastinated quite this long. Sigh.

Getting Real About DIY: Painting the Kitchen Part I

The before: the navy blue light-sucking interiors must go.
Zoom in if you love chips and peeling paint!

Today is my last day of a week of vacation, but it felt more like time served for bad behavior. My crime? I decided to repaint my kitchen cabinets, a critically-needed step in the world’s longest kitchen reno.

This wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment decision. I’ve hated the navy blue insides of these cabinets since I first saw them when touring the house. They just suck all the light out of the room and are hideous. But worse than that, is that the white paint covering the outside of the cabinets was chipping and wearing off -- not a good look.

So the big paint job started on Monday. In retrospect, I should have started earlier and done more over the weekend. I did some packing and removed some of the shelf liners, but there was much, much more prep to be done.

Here’s the thing about DIY. Most TV shows and blogs gloss over the gory details. I mean sure, we all know projects take longer than the 30-60 minute show, and way longer than you plan for them to take, but who talks about just how horrid they can be at times? For the amount of work involved, I think there is far too little whining going on. Cause kids, this stuff can really suck. Taking painting kitchen cabinets for instance. I’ve been working on my kitchen about as much as I do at my regular job each day, only the kitchen work is much more physically demanding. It’s also messy, disruptive and causes you to need to bend in weird ways for long periods of time, which for me equals a lot of soreness. Which calls for a lot of booze, purely for medicinal purposes of course.

Here’s the breakdown of the work so far:

What chu doin to my kitchen, Willis?

Monday - Finished packing and emptied pantry. Have various kitchen crap stashed throughout house. Removed all hardware (by hand cause I can't find the darn drill!), doors, latches, drawers, and shelf liners (the adhesive kinds of shelf liners are the devil!). Used half a bottle of Goo Gone trying to remove the adhesive from those devilish shelf liners. Can we all just agree to never use those again? Finally, hung plastic and started sanding in the afternoon. After work the boyfriend removed some molding, filled holes and gaps and made a couple trips to the home improvement store while I continued sanding.

Tuesday - Spent five more hours sanding and scraping cabinets! That’s a helluva lotta sanding people - I ended up looking rather smurf like and was covered in blue dust. This included an inordinate amount of time spent trying to sand off remaining adhesive from those blasted shelf liners. Stop the insanity with the shelf liners! Started cleaning around four in the afternoon and finished wiping every cabinet, surface, appliance and mopping floor around 7:30 p.m. before hobbling to the shower.

Wednesday - Scrubbed cabinets with TSP for FIVE HOURS. Spent a ton MORE time scrubbing off remaining #%$(^U*(!!! adhesive. Dreamed of ways to kill whomever put down the damn shelf liner in the first place. Used de-glosser liquid to de-gloss a few more spots that I couldn’t reach with sander. Finally started painting around 4:30. Boyfriend came home and helped me paint for a few hours, and thanks to that we got a primer coat on everything but two cabinets. The carpal tunnel is really kicking in tonight, hoo boy.

This is also when the cats really started to rebel at being trapped in the basement. I don't understand it, there is an entire other living room down there, it's hardly Alcatraz, but they scream bloody murder half the day. At one point I thought someone had broken in and was dismantling the basement, but no it's just a pissed-off cat apparently attempting to shake the door of its hinges. Door wins, for now.

We's exhausted!

Thursday - Took the morning to recoop, but still managed to get a second coat of primer on all the cabinet boxes. Was starting to feel better about things, but then I remembered I haven't even touched the 14 doors and 4 drawers that need to be painted before kitchen is really back to normal. Beg boyfriend to go get more booze so I have beer to cry into.

Friday - Sanded and scraped a few drips from priming (oops). Time for the real paint which is exciting, but my motivation is at an all time low. Tried out a new roller cover and the results almost made me cry they were so horrid. The thought of two more days of painting is almost more than I can take. Finish getting coat of paint on cabinets thanks to help from boyfriend but am dismayed that vacation is officially over and I have at least another solid day of painting left. Dear god let it end soon.

----to be continued....if I make it.....

Pantry Sneak Peek II

Wow, it's been awhile since I reported on the pantry progress. We're coming towards the finish line now, but I'm going to catch the blog up. When we last left the pantry, it's bare bones were up.

Next the boyfriend made doors that are a pretty exact match to the rest of the 1950s kitchen cabinets.

It's already looking so good, but we have many more plans to come!

Pantry Sneak Peek

It's obviously not done yet, but didn't the boy do a lovely job on the pantry? Still to come are pullout drawers for the bottom half and doors. This weekend I start painting!

Until then, I can't stop daydreaming about organizing this puppy. That's a whole lot of new storage space! It's going to make a big difference in this little kitchen.

Oh, and yes, that is a cat on the counter. No, he's not supposed to be up there, but he pays absolutely no attention to the rules anymore. It's like once he turned, oh I dunno 13 (he's 15 now), he became one of those old men who, fed up of a lifetime of following the rules, finally do whatever the heck they feel like it, whenever they feel like it. Now we're just happy whenever he's not howling with displeasure at something.

D. I......Z?

we're bushed!

I knew renovations were exhausting, but this is ridiculous.

Here's where we are on operation pantry. Yesterday, the Boy borrowed a friend's truck, purchased and transported wood, and got started on the project, building a base and cutting one of the sides for the pantry. He made, all told, three trips to home improvement and hardware stores.

This morning, after sufficient leisure time surfing and goofing off, we set off to pick up a new blade for a freshly-borrowed table saw (thanks friendly neighbor!) and other supplies that were new additions to the list. Hours upon hours later, after two trips to Menard's (regional home improvement store many of you may not have heard of), two trips to Home Depot (for paint samples and a saw blade), a late lunch, lots of accidental touring of some of Columbus' ghetto neighborhoods (scar-y!), and a stop at Target (for kitty litter and milk) we finally arrived home.

The plan was for me to assist the Boy in cutting the large unweildy sheets of wood, but we were both too exhausted to safely be around power tools. I don't think I've shopped that much in a long time! And even the Boy admitted that doing that much shopping with the weekend crowds was "mentally draining." So we laid down for a brief one hour nap, and woke up some two plus hours later somewhat refreshed, yet unable to stop yawning. Now it's after 8pm and I haven't even finished the laundry! Zoinks!

So in terms of the kitchen reno, this is already a seven-tripper (the vaulted measurement of either the complexity of the project, or the lack of list-making skills of the DIYers) just for the pantry.

Oh and in case anybody still cares, this is also why the normal YMOYL post will be delayed until tomorrow.

Sweet dreams!

Smells Like Renovation

As I walked into the back door this evening I was greeted by the smell of burnt Pergo flooring, which can only mean one thing. The great kitchen reno has begun!

Why would a kitchen renovation begin with burnt Pergo? Why not?! But seriously, the Boy had to remove a chunk of the hideous Pergo floor so that he can build a very-coveted pantry cabinet (oh boy, oh boy, oh boy!) and apparently there was an issue with a dull blade. Don't worry, no actual flames occurred. 

I completed my own small reno preparation as well. As part of the renovation we will be removing an added on portion of lower cabinets and countertop. It wasn't original to the kitchen and takes up precious dining space, so out it goes. This change means losing some storage space, most of which will be regained in other areas, but we are losing three drawers. And kitchen drawers are rather handy. So in an effort to prepare for a major drawer-downsizing, I combined this:

with this:

and got this:

So that's one down, and a million steps to go.

Vintage Kitchen Love

Lately my head has been full of kitchen renovation dreams as I think that maybe, possibly, this could be the year of my much fantasized about kitchen reno! Fingers crossed.

I know the popular thing in kitchen renovating is to tear out old cabinets and install something new, but I have a special fondness for my 1940s original cabinets. I think more people should give them a chance. Given the right touches, I think they can look downright stunning. Like in the little gem above from Better Homes & Gardens, for instance.

So in an effort to bring vintage kitchen cabinets back I present the first of a new weekly feature, the vintage kitchen.

p.s. For those of you wondering what the heck happened to the Your Money or Your Life Book Club last week, I apologize for taking an unannounced week off. We'll be back on schedule with a new post this weekend.

Reno Dreams: Cheap-N-Good Kitchen Redo

Dreaming about renovating my kitchen is tons of fun; actually embarking on that renovation, not so much. Nothing indulges my kitchen reno fantasies like inspiring DIY renovations that don't break the bank.

This Old House featured a DIY reno (found via Apartment Therapy) where a couple transformed this nightmare:

Into a magazine-ready kitchen for just $1,500! Very impressive.

I love, love, love this little organization station. I'd love to fit something like this in my kitchen, but the only possible space is going to be used for a much-needed pantry. Well, it would be if I ever decide to go from kitchen reno dreaming to kitchen reno doing. *shudder* I hate thinking about all that dust, and work, and arguments!

But if I had a lovely spot like this to eat dinner in, and even have another couple over, well it might just be worth it.

Fabulous, fabulous kitchen!

More Kitchen Inspiration

We've been looking at countertop samples and talking about kitchen reno again. So I'm once again becoming obsessed with pictures of pretty. vintage-y kitchens. Two things that always get me: subway tile backsplash? Check. White cabinets? Check.

Who's Afraid of the Big, Bad Door? A Scary DIY Tale

Grab a pillow, boys and girls, and make yourself comfortable, today I'm going to tell you a scary story about a boy, a girl and a DIY project.*

It all started, as most scary stories do, with a simple, but flawed plan. The boy and the girl planned to go shopping and buy supplies, strip and paint their front door, and clean and paint their shutters. All in ONE day. They foolishly forgot the DIY golden rule: all projects will take four times as long and cost three times as much as planned.

"We'll easily be able to finish this in one day," the silly boy exclaimed.

The girl was not convinced, so they did some preliminary window-shopping the night before. All was well until suddenly the girl sprouted a second head! And not just any head mind you, but a grouchy, snarling, hungry witch's head! The witch put a spell over the girl, so that to anyone else it looked like she was still her usual self, but she wasn't. Suddenly the girl started snarling and snapping at the boy when he didn't find the paint stripper fast enough. The boy snapped back about her painting choices and a fight ensued. Finally, the girl was able to overpower the witch and cut off her head. The boy and the girl managed to make up and go to sleep dreaming happy dreams of a successful project. (the fools!)

The next morning the girl got up, made coffee, and tried not to dread the work ahead. Later, the boy and girl went to a discount home improvement store. They found door hardware at half the price of what was at the nasty box store. This made them happy, but they still had to go to the big, nasty box store. The paint section proved tricky again, as the girl had a minor panic attack over picking a paint sheen and annoyed the paint guy. But eventually the couple got their purchases and headed home.

This, boys and girls, is where the real trouble began. First, they discovered that someone evil had painted over the same hinges and screws they needed to remove to begin their project. Eventually, they unhinged the door and removed the old hardware. Then, they soon realized that if they installed the new hardware where the old mortise lock had been, they'd be left with a huge, gaping hole in the door. This worried the girl terribly. She started stripping the paint off the door and it wasn't going well. Morning had faded into afternoon.

Suddenly the evil witch gathered all her magical powers and regrew a head on the girl's body, and all hell broke loose. The girl began hyperventilating as she realized they'd never finish the door that day, let alone the shutters. She also panicked about the right way to fix the hardware problem quickly. The boy wanted to ride off into the sunset to slay the evil lock problem, but the girl knew she'd never finish the door alone. She began yelling and pacing and came quite close to crying. The boy thought she was having a nervous breakdown. They fought and swore they'd never do DIY together again. It began to look like the evil door and witch had won.

Eventually, the girl slayed the evil witch and the boy and the girl calmed down. The girl apologized, and the boy made her repeat it several more times as they spent the next SIX HOURS scraping that stupid door and removing all the old paint. Both of them feared they had fallen into a time warp, because how could it possibly take SIX FRIGGIN' HOURS to strip a door? But by that time, it was dark, and they were dirty, hungry, sore and tired. So the boy and the girl went into their cottage and slept. Without a front door. Oh don't worry boys and girls, they had a great security system in place of the door consisting of a locked storm door, a $1 alarm that would sound at the first sign of trouble, a bunch of newspapers (to block evil, prying eyes) and a vacuum (to booby trap any wannabe criminals).

As for the evil door? And the shutters? Stay tuned kids, stay tuned.

* I'm sure it goes without saying, but this tale is purely fictional. It has nothing to do with reality. Any similarities to real people, real huses and real DIY projects are purely coincidental. And anyone who says otherwise is LYING.

I Found My (Realistic) Dream Kitchen

I've mentioned before that my kitchen needs some renovation love, but I don't want to totally lose my kitchen's 1940s vibe. I'm also leaning towards keeping my cabinets, which aren't anything fancy, but are original and in good shape. If I bought cabinets, I'd buy ones that looked old anyway, so why spend the money? I was having a hard finding inspiration of the look I want (and I'm very visual, I need visual inspiration) until I visited Casapinka's blog last week and spotted these two shots.

While I don't want a tile countertop, I love the subway tile backsplash and the cabinets. In fact I'd kill for those pantry cabinets. But it's so great to see a kitchen that kept its classic roots and still looks contemporary.

But then, while visiting Apartment Therapy today, I hit the motherlode. The inspiration of all inspiration.

This kitchen, which was featured on the 2007 Architectural Heritage Center's 11th Annual Kitchen Revival Tour (in Portland), is not only gorgeous, it also features a pretty darn close layout to my kitchen. I love everything about it, the cabinets, the subway tile, and the countertop. In fact when I showed the boyfriend, he thougt I'd photoshopped a picture of my kitchen with the changes I want (I only wish my Photoshop skills were on that level). If only I could find pictures of the rest of this kitchen. If anyone has pics of it, or knows where I can find them, please, please let me know.

Just imagine these bottom cabinets and the countertop above them gone, and you can see how close the layout of my kitchen is to the picture above. I want to remove this section of cabinets and countertop anyway, so I can have a proper dining area.

I'm so excited about finding the inspiration above that I'm almost ready to start demo now.