clutter pains, the glimmer of hope that is DIY and my savior, Peter Walsh

The days are slow at work and I've been turning my creative wheels by crusin' the www in search of anything and everything to make my new apartment feel like an uncramped savvy home. After 6 years of living in various places that were at least double the size of my current space, I've found I have a lot of stuff that I've been storing away and not dealing with. I won't stop my search until I've found DIY ideas and advice on how to organize, snaze and declutter my new apartment space. With a limited budget and space plus a mountain of possible supplies already residing in-home, I'm gathering every resource possible to ease my anxiety and make my living a little more DIY my style.

My coach and spiritual supporter:Peter Walsh
Walsh encourages me to purge purge purge! Don't keep those 10 balls of yarn that have been sitting in my storage bin for the past 3 years that "someday" I will knit something out of. How many boring photos of your family vacation from when you were 5 do you really need?



I've been wanting to live a simpler and less full of stuff life. Walsh has really been an encouraging voice in this process. He makes sense. I want to know why I'm attached to my stuff and what I should get rid of. Walsh has the answers.

My do-anything-with-everything creative inspirer:Ready Made magazine
As if scrambling to keep the stuff, Peter tells me I should be purging, I'm scouring the pages of Ready Made to find creative ways to make those old photos into useful decor. Maybe I can make a much needed plant hanger quickly out of that yarn?



The reason I love this magazine is because it has clever ideas on how to make the coolest things out of stuff you would never think of. My one gripe is that often instead of telling you to salvage or going out to your local reusable home building materials company, they encourage you to go out and buy new wood and supplies at your local hardware store. Ready Made is inspiring. They always have at least one project that I would definitely make (using flat tennis balls for a herb potter) and tons of really great home tips (ie: using crushed aspirin to get out under arm sweat stains).

Being so inspired, I've already used old books, magazines and record covers to make decoupaged bird silhouettes (photos coming soon) to hang above my bed.



Tonight I'm going salvaging for old drawers to make really snazzy bookshelves.



Then instead of wearing that flair of band buttons to clutter up my hoodie, I'm going to use them to make a much needed place to hang my necklaces while decoring up the bathroom.

Inspired by the Salvage Sisters, I'm now on a mission to make my bleak room fixture into something cute and colorful. Plus I want to find a full length mirror which I can decoupage the frame and hook over the back of my door. Figure out how to make my own night light or make a cheap one more my style. Meanwhile, not purchasing more clutter that will sit for years in space that doesn't exist and organize the existing stuff to be functional or stored cleverly.

I'm on DIY overload and the creative juices are flowing. I hope to inspire you to declutter and create your own clever home decor.

Other note worthy www's to cruise:
Apartment Therapy
Instructables
DIY Network