Twenty-Eleven Resolutions.

I have been completely absent from the blog for a little while now, well not COMPLETELY, but it has certainly felt like it!
  As I mentioned in my last post, I have been trying to get over being sick and every time I thought I was getting better it would reappear with a vengeance in a day or so...bleh.  I think now though I am finally over whatever it was! Whew!

On to more pleasant things, I hope everyone had a great beginning to the new year, can you believe it is 2011!  Really were did the last year go?  AND three months of the blog has come and gone!  I am so thankful for all the encouragement and kind thoughts from so many of you out there!  I can't say THANK YOU enough!  I've had a blast sharing all my lasted projects with you, and can't wait to show you what I have up my sleeve for the coming year!
  I really do need to start a projects list, instead of trying to keep it all together in my head! I am forever making lists, then loosing the list.......  THIS leads me to the one BIG (and for me it is a whopper, no I really mean this is HUGE for me) new years resolution I am going to make. 

 Here it is......

My twenty eleven resolution, is to become more organized, to clean out what is not used or needed, to not buy things I really don't need (especially clothes!), and to maintain a more orderly home.....well actually, a more orderly apartment.
 You see Josh and I live in only 600 sq feet, honestly it is a bit smaller than that, I believe our apartment only rings in at 589 sq feet!  Squeezing two people into our tiny little place is not easy, but it's home.  We have some great extra's though, like a fully equipped  gym, indoor pool and sauna, and my personal favorite a little outdoor patio, which I fill with fresh veggies, herbs and flowers in the spring!

So I'm hoping to make our little space for efficient by adding some storage solutions....not sure what that is going to be yet, but something; downsize from our hand me down,  greatly oversized  living room furniture will be a huge help and really is the first place I need to start.  It is much to big for the space, so no new storage can be added until be get something smaller!  A new sofa is at the very top of the list.  This will help tremendously in creating a cleaner more streamlined look for our living area!  I see a trip to Ikea in our future perhaps.
I'm thinking the Kivik Sofa in white may be just what I'm looking for.

I would LOVE to make it a sectional, but unfortunately we just do not have the space.  A trip to Homegoods may just be in order to find a lovely little side chair.

Anyway, I have gotten a little off topic.  But I feel changing out some of our oversized furniture for items that fit our space better will really help in creating a less cluttered feeling space.  We will also be able to fit a few more book cases or floating shelves into the space to help with storage.   

That reminds me I never did update you  guys on the results of The Great Clean-out, which was inspired by Young House Love and their desire to get rid of 100 items before they moved.  Well if you remember I wanted to also get rid of 100 items before the year ended.  Alas, I took no photos and so have none to share with you, but we came in well over 100 items!  

This is what we donated to Goodwill

3 Over flowing trash bags full of clothes and several pairs of shoes. ( some of them still had the tags on them, hence the resolution to only buy things I need or know I will use)

40+ books that had been over flowing our bookshelves 

1 old Tv

Several pots and pans that we just didn't use

2 old mis-matched but working lamps that we had no home for

30+ cds or vhs tapes that were again over flowing the bookcases

We also condensed all of our DVD collection into books, so we tossed 150+ cases, which allowed us to empty an entire bookcase;  which now holds neat little boxes of fabrics and art supplies.   So that was a good start to help me out with my New Years resolution, but it was only a start!  Still so much more to do!  What about you, what would you like to accomplish this year?