Spring Transformations

What do you get when you have several weekends in a row of being away from home, two people who allow clutter to happen fairly easily, and an apartment that's too small to fit all your combined stuff/wedding gifts/things that people randomly give you? A very, very messy place to live. 

Now anyone who has ever lived with me (sorry college roommates) knows that I'm not exactly the most organized or most clean person. I like to describe my messy style as "clutter-messy, not gross-messy". For instance, I think piles of old food is absolutely disgusting. I might not always clean my dishes right away, but you can bet your bottom dollar that I'll at least rinse the plate off before stacking it in the sink. 

But on the other hand, I see no problem with having piles of clothes take over my room. Or leaving a stack of magazines and mail on the table. Ian and I are both kind of like this by nature, so we knew that when we moved in together it would take some extra effort to make our home not look like our respective college residences. 

So this past Saturday, with absolutely nothing on the schedule, it was time to clean. REALLY clean. What started out as some innocent dusting and putting away clothes turned into a full day of full-blown, cleaning out the cabinets, taking things to Goodwill, SPRING CLEANING. To the tunes of Grooveshark blasting 80s and 90s hits.

There were two major areas that I wanted to revamp, and this seemed like the perfect time to do it. The first was an awkward section of hallway that has the door leading up to Georgia's side of the house. This door is pretty much always locked from both sides, but the end of the hall had turned into a place to throw things that we didn't know what else to do with. When we decided that was unsightly, we threw all the junk into Ian's office and were left with a hallway that just awkwardly ends.

Recipe for success? A microwave stand that was crowding up the kitchen + leftover jars and glasses from wedding decor. Sprinkle in some twinkly lights, a vintage Beatles poster, and suddenly the end of the hall looks kind of nice. Kind of makes me want to buy a chair and sit there with a book!

The second area that had been bugging me lately was a semi-failed DIY project from when we first moved in. I had had this bulletin board since elementary school, and I thought I would use extra tea towels to cover it up and match the kitchen. It looked kind of nice at first, but after several months of wear and tear, it was just starting to look like something a little kid made.

Now, with lots more craft supplies at my disposal, I was able to cover it with pretty fabric and arrange some cards, photos, and signs from our wedding to make it look a little more pulled together. I figured it was time to retire the empty frame look that I got from Cosmo freshman year and proceeded to use in every dorm and apartment throughout my college existence. (However, they did make an appearance at Sunday's party!) Because nothing screams 'more grown up' like wedding pictures, right?

At the end of the day, we were left with a clean and beautiful apartment that suddenly felt brand new again. Don't you love that feeling? We rewarded ourselves by going out and buying a cartful of beer for our party and some all-American cuisine at Old Country Buffet.