I recently declared “I want to do a photo tour of my apartment, once I clean it and purge everything I haven’t used in the last six months.”
Guess what?
Yep. Cleaning marathon.
I spent about eight hours cleaning my apartment, assembling all my to-purge items in a big “organized” pile, rearranging my living room, cutting a LOT of clutter stress, and making everything pretty enough to show the world on my blog.
Here is is!
First, some minor background information: My apartment has two doors – one into the living room, and one into the kitchen. The kitchen door is there so that when people got food deliveries back in the 1920s when the building was first used, the deliveryman could come right into the kitchen and not through the whole house. I call the living room door the “front door” and the kitchen door the “back door.”
When you walk in the front door, you see this:
The couch is a Salvation Army store find, covered in a white blanket because I didn’t like the floral print it had. The rug is three kitchen rugs that I stitched together with embroidery thread. The coffee table is a footlocker/trunk that I spray-painted white. My desk area is comprised of an end table that my mom and I painted white this summer, and a storage ottoman I am using as a stool until I procure a desk chair I like. And there are a couple of my record paintings on the wall and a print of Van Gogh’s Starry Night, my favorite painting. It used to be hanging in the center of the front wall, but I can’t put nails in the wall so it was up with 3M velcro strips and it proved too heavy. Sad day. I’ll paint something for the wall eventually.
This is the corner by my door, featuring a bookshelf – those are all the books I own, a far cry from my initial library — and easel. The pretty box on the floor holds some records for painting projects. The wall has various photos and another record painting.
I left out the closet. It’s not that exciting. Mostly storage, and my fancy purple pea coat. To the left of the door is my hallway, and our next stop is:
My bedroom, which is finally clean. I have two end tables (you can sort of see one in the background) which are finally clear of ALL CLUTTER. My end table only has a book and my phone charger on it.
One way I save space in my bedroom is with my lovely accessory storage system:
Hats, necklaces, and earrings are displayed on the wall. I haven’t worn a lot of the jewelry lately, so some of it will likely end up in The Great Purge of 2013.
Next up is the kitchen!
Stove – clean. Sink – clean. Counters – clean. Satellite bowl full of oranges – awesome. Breakfast nook – lovely, and clean! Sign stating, “It’s official – I’ve become my mother” – hilarious, and true.
Some space saving tips for the kitchen:
Magnetic knife rack under the cabinet.
Wall-mounted hooks (love those 3M strips) for cutting board and colander.
Shoe organizer on the fridge to hold utensils. One day soon I will get rid of those awful plastic utensils. Also, that’s Zoe!
Lastly, the bathroom:
All sparkling clean! And ZERO clutter, since everything fits in the vanity or medicine cabinet. Very soon that soap will be all used up and replaced with a natural alternative! Also, note my cat’s fancy top-entry litter box, full of eco-friendly and cat-friendly paper litter.
I hope you’ve enjoyed my tour!
Born Again Minimalist 
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