What do a black skirt, a flower patch and a Scandinavian print have in common?

If you know Apartment Therapy, chances are, you're familiar with what they call the 8-Step-Home. If not - go read the book. It's about truly making your house a home, and not just organizing for the sake of cute containers or cleaning for the sake of visiting in-laws... Last year I did this for the first time, not quite managing all assignments. So I'm trying again this year.

And the first week went fairly well, which was mostly by chance, so I know it'll get harder. Plus, two things make it a little tricky for me. You see, on days that I work I have my ten-hour workday plus a one-hour commute each way plus the weekly grocery run, whipping up something for dinner, getting the kids to bed and collapsing on the couch. So no cure on those days, mostly. Also: time-zones. By the time Maxwell posts the current video, my day is at least half over. So I sometimes end up doing Monday's assignment on Tuesday and so forth. Oh well.

Anyhow, this is how my first week of the cure went. Monday's assignment was to floor and surface clean one room. Well, Monday is a workday for me, but I usually clean the upstairs rooms on Sunday, plus I did my living and dining room (which is more or less one room anyway) on Tuesday morning. So I think I got that covered.

Day 2 was about buying flowers as a gift to your home. Saw that too late so I ended up doing that Wednesday. I don't usually buy cut flowers. For one, they're not always the best for the planet or the people, at least when they're not grown locally. Also, I have three cats. And they think that they're the world's poorest kittens, never getting proper drinking water. Or maybe vases are just more fun to drink out of. Whatever the reason, the usually throw over every single water filled container that's left unattended for too long. So if you hear a "clonk" in the middle of the night, it's usually a cat throwing the vase off the table, licking the water off the floor and playing with the flowers. Sigh.

But I needed to get another pumpkin and it just so happens that the farm we buy them at also has a field where you can pick your own flowers. Not much left here at the end of October, but big brother helped me find some last, white blooms. I love them.

Plus, my mother-in-law went to Ikea on Thursday, and was so nice to get me some miniature potted "Christmas" trees. I saw those on my last trip and did not get them, regretting that later. I think they're going to look lovely on my kitchen window sill. I'm thinking about using chalkboard pots for them. Not that I've made those yet.

The next day was about finding inspirational photos. When we build the house, I started going through my huge magazine pile (mostly German magazine Living at Home), ripping everything out that I liked and collecting it in a binder. But that was before I discovered blogland and so many more ideas. And I think I need to redo my home office a bit. Nothing major, just some reorganization and redecorating. Something more Scandinavian Modern I think. I did a quick Pinterest search and while I didn't find too many home office relating things before I almost fell asleep on my laptop, I really liked a few images. Like this card. And ok, not home office related, but don't you love this pottery?

And this print would be perfect since it has green in it. And I have a green wall in my office. Oh, I love it. I think I need to add this to my Christmas wish list.

What a nice reminder to go get some tea while working at the computer.

My home is never going to be so clutter free, white and organized, but I do like this house tour featured on Design Sponge. I still don't know why (the cabinets? Sink? View? Orange tree?), but I fell in love with this image. Who wouldn't want a laundry room like that?

And I could go on. Inspiration is easy to find, but I do need to work on making some of this happen. Find things that work for my office and do them. Get a print from Santa. Find a DIY I can do. Search for some vintage Scandinavian stuff on ebay or fleamarkets...

But let's keep going here. Day 4 I read while stuck in traffic on my way home from work: Let go one thing in your home you no longer need. I was just starting to think about it when it hit me: I just did that! That very morning I gave a black velvet skirt to one of my coworkers. You see, it was so small that she held it up, looked at me and went: "YOU fit into this once?!". Yeah, well, I did. Briefly. Long, long time ago. But it was such a nice skirt I kept holding on to it. But during my recent closet clean-up I decided it needed to find a new home. And not only does she usually say what's on her mind, she's also probably the best-dressed person I know. I mean, she really has style. Every time I think I managed to pull together an outfit that looks nice, she comes into the office and I realize that I have quite a bit to learn. Dressing simply but never boring and always with great style is so hard. Apparently only for me, though... Oh, and did I mention she's really nice? And I'm not just saying that because I know she's going to read it. So I hope the skirt found a new home. It would be a good one.Check for Day 4.



Finally, assigmnent for Day 5: Buy or replenish one eco cleaner. I've gotten so much better about this since the last cure. The only area I'm still struggling with is laundry detergent. Stupid I know. The clothes we wear on our skin should be at the top of the list to avoid potentially harmful chemicals. This is on my list for the drugstore now and I will try out one brand. So far I have always preferred something I could rely on getting clothes (especially kid clothes!) clean on low temperatures. I'll keep you posted.

And that was it for the week! Phew. We'll see how next week goes. And yes, I realize I could look at what's scheduled and yes, I have seen the videos last year so there should be no surprises. But where's the fun in that?

How about you, does anyone do the Fall Cure this year? I'll try to check back in next week to track my progress.

Happy cleaning. Or flower picking. Or giving things away...
Swenja