Phase 1 of my home improvement targeted my kitchen and bathroom but ended up affecting my bedroom and office as well.
I had wanted a shelf above my toilet since the day I moved in but never got around to installing one. I went to Ikea last Thursday and bought a shelf and brackets for under $20 total. Armed with a borrowed drill and mounting set, it took me less than half an hour to drill holes, insert rubber anchors, and drill the shelf with brackets into my plaster walls. The only annoying part of the process was marking the holes for where the screws would mount the brackets into the wall. It's surprisingly tough to hold a shelf up and mark the wall while keeping the bubble in the middle of the level.
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| Before |
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| After |
I was pretty pleased with the outcome and now I have the barrier I always wanted between my toiletries and the toilet as well as room to spread those toiletries out. Next, I tackled a clutter problem in my kitchen.
My medium-sized kitchen flows into a breakfast nook but I'd converted the nook into a storage space for my cooking equipment when I moved in. While all of my hardware had a home, my dry food storage was non-existent. I somehow refused to acknowledge that I needed a more permanent system and kept paper bags full of dried foods and spices on the floor. I also have a mobile cart that I used as storage but it just became a dumping ground.
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| Before |
The solution to this storage problem ended up influencing rooms outside of the kitchen. My apartment has two closets, one in the bedroom and a larger one at the entryway. Since my previous job required me to wear business casual clothes, I originally thought it would be convenient to keep my work clothes in my smaller bedroom closet for easy-access and the rest of my clothes in the other closet. Separating my wardrobe was a bad idea. I like having all my clothes in one place and should have been realistic about that preference. My next job doesn't have a dress code (joy!) so I took this opportunity to consolidate my wardrobe into the larger closet at the front of my apartment and free up my bedroom closet (which is very close to the kitchen) for dry food and linen storage. I bought an elfa standing drawer system from the Container Store and used it to solve my paper bag problem. I also purchased a hanging shelving system so that I could move my linens from the larger closet to the smaller one; creating more space for my clothes. Shifting all my belongings resulted in a clearer kitchen.
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| After |
In Phase 2 I hope to put a small seating area in place of the mobile cart and move the cart to the living room to use as a bar. Here's where the contents of the paper bags ended up.
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| This unit only requires a mallet to assemble! |
The other side of the bedroom closet has my linens.
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| This hanging unit is cloth with bamboo shelves. |
When I first moved into my apartment, I was obsessed with the idea of living a minimal lifestyle and thought that needing to organize meant that I had too many things. I'm realizing now that that has a limit. Investing in a little bit of organization doesn't mean I'm on my way to becoming a hoarder -- a real fear of mine.
The small changes I made for my office included buying a small filing cabinet. You can see it on my bookshelf. I went with a new one from the container store since vintage ones are muy expensive and I need that extra cash for that seating area for my kitchen.
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| It's the oxford blue Bisley. |
You can also see two green file holders that I bought for $3 from Ikea. I use them to store old food magazines and sheet music. This shelf used to be a mess but now it's pretty clean. Not pictured but also included in Phase 1 is a lamp for my nightstand and an additional spice rack that helped get dry food off the floor.
I spent a total of $347 on Phase 1 between Ikea and the Container Store and am very satisfied with the quality-of-life returns. My apartment has opened up to new possibilities and I can't wait to get moving on Phase 2, which involves rearranging the furniture in my office and making my living room more homey. I'm not taking a big trip during this sabbatical, so I set a budget of $1,000 to be used for home improvements. Hopefully I'll get a little more wiggle room if I sell these items. Check them out:
Clarisonic Pro
Coffee table
Asian cabinet or bar
Are you working on any home improvement projects?
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