The Purge Part 6: FINISHED!

Catch up:

The Purge Project: An Introduction

The Purge Project Part 1: The Tiny Closet

The Purge Project Part 2: The Hot Mess Express

The Purge Project Part 3: De-cluttering and Organizing 

The Purge Project Part 4: Office Makeover Plans

The Purge Part 5: Gettin' Rid of the Green Weekend

Three months later and my office is finally finished. 

The last step was making pillow cases to cover all of these pillows from the thrift store:

Okay, I get that some of you are probably like, "Ew, thrift store pillows." Well get over yourselves. I sprayed them with Lysol and kept them in garbage bags for three weeks, mkay? I've been trying to do this room makeover as cheaply as possible and that bed full of pillows only cost forty bucks. Did you know new throw pillows can cost almost twenty bucks each? 

The daybed I was trying to cover with pillows is the IKEA Hemnes daybed. It pulls out into a king size bed, so now my office can also serve as a guest bedroom. I got it on Craigslist for a hundred bucks and it's not broken or anything. The nice couple selling it just needed to make room in their house because they recently had another kid. SCORE!

Earlier this month, I ventured to IKEA to get a new desk, chair, shelf, and a few other ditties. Unlike the first time I went to IKEA, where I spent almost four hours wandering around and bought a cart full of fun organizational odds and ends that I just HAD to have but ended up selling in a garage sale, this trip was planned out and organized. I had a list. I was in and out in an hour and half-- I had to stop and look at the gallery, because IKEA.

I left with only one cart and spent under $200. DOUBLE SCORE.

Back to the last step-- the pillowcases. 

I don't know how to use a sewing machine, so one of my favorite ladies of all time put aside a few hours on Sunday to work with me. We finished all of the pillowcases and now I can use a sewing machine-- for straight lines, at least. The pattern for the pillowcases is from A Curiously Chic Life and it was SO easy. I am not very good at measuring fabric, but I think I was just getting tired after the eighth slipcover. It has nothing to do with me telling myself for my whole life that I can't do math. Special thanks to my BFF A.J. for being a great (and patient) teacher! 

The Reveal
The room is very small, so I couldn't photograph the it as a whole. 

The collages below are the best I can do. 

Now, can I get a drumroll please? 

I can hardly believe I have kept this space so clean for three months. 

Presenting each wall of my office: Before, during, and after. 

I am in love with the look of the daybed and the huge storage drawers underneath. When I was little I always wanted a reading nook and now I have created it!  The gray is calming and putting lamps in the room has made the lighting less harsh. The pictures hanging above the daybed look crooked in this picture, but I just turned around to look at them and they're not, I swear. I'd still like a gallery wall above the daybed someday. I was just driving myself crazy with how to do it, so three aquatic-themed pictures in a row it is.

 The desk, the chair, the white, the string of pictures, the magnetic board! I love it all!

 The closet is finished and the Hubs found a way to make even more space for storage and books on top. It's so nice to have a curtain (thanks Nikki!) covering the clothes, although I will say that the clothes inside of the closet are nicely organized thanks to Aldi's $5.99 deal of the week:

Continuing on...

When I first started planning this makeover, I wanted a work space, a closet, a place for all of the books, and a space for reading. Figuring out how to put everything in this room the way I wanted was like Tetris. I got rid of as many books as I could, but hey-- I'm a former English teacher and wannabe academic. I'm always going to have a lot of books. I love the look of the Radiohead posters with the purple and the shelf looks nice against that wall too. 

 This shadowbox (sitting on top of the bookshelf) is one of my new favorite things:

If I pick it up and shake it around I get a whole new view of ticket stubs. Nice.

It feels SO good to have another room in the house. It had been a junk room the whole six years we've lived here... until now! It's my Jen Den. Nope, that isn't a good name for it. I'll get back to you guys on that.

It's my office and I love it. I can even sit on the floor with the dogs and stretch my legs out without hitting any junk. 

I will probably have to work on recovering from my life as a clothing and junk hoarder for a little while, but I think I'll survive. Now, not to get all motivational on you or anything, but what's that thing you've been wanting to do/clean/finish that you haven't? Go do it! I'll be your biggest fan. 

The Purge Project Part 5: Gettin' Rid of the Green Weekend

Catch up before you read today's post... you know, if you feel like it:

The Purge Project: An Introduction

The Purge Project Part 1: The Tiny Closet

The Purge Project Part 2: The Hot Mess Express

The Purge Project Part 3: De-cluttering and Organizing 

The Purge Project Part 4: Office Makeover Plans

Cleaning and purging my office led me to decide that I HATED the minty green color on the walls.

When we bought the house, we painted the house. At the end of day three of painting, the room was still its original navy blue and we'd already painted the kitchen, living room, hallways, guest room, and bathroom. We were tired. We were also broke. Painting a whole house is expensive!

Yeah, it's not full of junk, but it wasn't my style. 

We took the green from the living room, which I love, and added a bunch of white to it. Then we slapped the paint on the walls to cover the horribly dark navy blue. It was the tired and broke way to put a fresh coat of paint on the walls.

When I finally had a blank canvas, I would walk into the room and think, "Ugh. Mint." 

Last weekend I got rid of the green. I wanted a clean gray with a dark purple accent wall. 

The Hubs and I took a break from home improvement on Saturday for a delicious and beautiful adventure to Fennville. We headed over to Salt of the Earth for woodfired pizza and a woodfire toasted s'more (with homemade marshmallow, nom, nom, nom). If you are in West Michigan and haven't yet dined at Salt of the Earth, it is highly recommended. Yes, it is a little pricey, but main ingredients come from a fifty-mile radius. And the meats. Oh, the meats. It's worth it once or twice a year.

Okay, I'm done with my food talk.

We found a little beach called Pier Cove and made it just in time for the sunset. I love Michigan and being close to Lake Michigan. We've discussed what it would take to move away from the mitten. I think I would always come back because nature. Saturday night was one of those extremely satisfying evenings that makes you smile when you think about it for the next few days.

Sunday was the day everything had to be done because people were coming to the house for dinner. I scheduled it that way to ensure that I didn't get lazy and leave the project unfinished-- I've been known to do that. I put a THIRD coat of paint on the purple wall (ugh) and finished the gray. The Hubs and I moved the overstuffed bookshelf, finished the closet (he had the brilliant idea to put books across the top to relieve the overstuffed bookshelf), and hung pictures.

This room isn't finished, but it's getting there. I keep peeking my head in to appreciate the colors. In my "research" on painting rooms via Pinterest and Google, I read that cool colors in an office are calming and help you feel less stressed. I don't know if the calm is coming from the order of the room or the colors. I think both. 

 Coming soon when I finally have money to get everything else that I want to get, which means November: 

Side by side pictures of the room at the beginning, middle, and end. Finally. 

Will I be able to keep it together until November when you see the final reveal? 

I hope so. I would be very disappointed in myself if I went back to my hoarding ways. 

Other posts in this series:

The Purge Project: An Introduction

The Purge Project Part 1: The Tiny Closet

The Purge Project Part 2: The Hot Mess Express

The Purge Project Part 3: De-cluttering and Organizing 

The Purge Project Part 4: Office Makeover Plans

Painting Weekend Selfies

I spent all weekend painting and I am so happy with the results! Here are a few selfies from the weekend:

I frosted a window in the room. The Valspar frosting spray paint in white worked like a charm. Plus, I got to wear a respirator, which is always good for selfies. 

This was day three of painting the accent wall an eggplant purple. The Olympic Icon was the cheapest primer+paint and at this point I was feeling very sorry that I didn't throw in five to ten more dollars for a paint with better coverage. Should have gone with Valspar. This was taken right before the third coat. Plus, I ran out and there are still a few thin spots. Lesson learned. 

Pictures of the actual room are coming later this week. 

The Purge Project: The Long Term Wardrobe

My first huge clothing purges are over. The next purge will come six months to a year from now when I see what I've actually worn through every season. After that, I'm hoping that I will never have to do such a crazy clothing purge again!

As of today, I've got twelve hangers flipped #FTW.

Since I flipped the hangers, I've removed a few pieces from the wardrobe because they don't feel like me anymore. Being in a different career than teaching has meant that my style has had to adjust a little.

On the super plus side, getting dressed in the morning takes a lot less time now that I don't have to dig through so many clothes. Plus, they all seem new to me.

I'm working on defining my style. I even took a few style quizzes to see what they said:

This is the one I agreed with, although I don't agree with the "You are what you wear!" statement. The other quiz I took said to wear big silky wide leg pants and flowing tops with lace and embroidery. Maybe when I was spinning in circles at moe shows at the age of nineteen, but not now. 

Having money while I reshape my wardrobe would be amazing, however, no will fund my Pretty Woman shopping spree:

Why you gotta be so rude? Don't you know I need clothes too? 

On that note, I had a fateful moment in the car with All Things Considered on NPR yesterday. I heard a piece about online personal stylists and checked out the site that was being discussed. That's how I found myself taking some time to read the FAQs on Stitch Fix and signing up for a bi-monthly Fix.

This could be good because...
1. I won't be tempted to go shopping and spend way more than I have because I will only have five items to deliberate over instead of a whole department store.
2. I filled out a style profile and connected the stylist to my clothing board on Pinterest. I tried to be as detailed as possible. Will this "stylist" really look it over?
3. It's $20 per fix and the money goes towards any pieces that you purchase. Score.
4. I was complaining about probably never being able to afford a personal stylist and now, maybe I can?

This could be bad because...

1. I'm curvy. It's not a bad thing for me, but it might be bad for my self-esteem if everything that is sent to me doesn't fit. 

My first Fix is coming on October 11th... is this what I've been waiting for? Was my moment with NPR not a sign that I should try Stitch Fix? We shall see.
Click here to check out Stitch Fix, but maybe don't sign up until you see if I've wasted $20. I will post about my first Fix as soon as I get it.

Inspiration for rebuilding and replacing pieces of my wardrobe:

On building a grown up wardrobe: aj wears clothes

On the idea of a French wardrobe: The Urban List

Inspiration for being picky and further paring down the wardrobe:

On contentment and a happy closet: Pink Ronnie

On cheap fashion: Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion by Elizabeth Cline

This is one of my last posts in this series until I start painting and getting packages. :)
Other posts in this series:

The Purge Project: An Introduction

The Purge Project Part 1: The Tiny Closet

The Purge Project Part 2: The Hot Mess Express

The Purge Project Part 3: De-cluttering and Organizing 

The Purge Project Part 4: Office Makeover Plans

The Purge Project: Office Makeover Plans

My office is a blank canvas now and I'm looking forward to turning this space into one that I actually want to hang out in.

I'm looking to do five things to this space to make it my new hang out spot:

1. Find a spot for my owl collection. I've been collecting owls for years-- I think it started with the weird macramé owl that hung in my brother's room when we were growing up. Many of them are vintage, were gifts from family, or came from all over the world:

2. Hang some pictures on the walls, in particular...

The green and black Radiohead print pictured above from their 2012 tour.

This Death Cab for Cutie print from their tour with the Magic Magic Orchestra in 2013:

This Radiohead print from their 2008 tour:

My favorite concert poster...this Modest Mouse print from their 2006 stop in Kalamazoo:

This placemat from Cafe des Deux Moulins in Paris:

 In 2010 we stopped there after the research project in Dakar. I made my colleagues go to every location that could be found from the movie Amelie in and around Montmartre, ending with crème brûlée at Cafe des Deux Moulins. I don't know if they loved it, but I loved it!

4. Get a daybed with more storage for the room that can be used as a bench and will double as a guest bed.

Inspiration:

IKEA Brimnes
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IKEA Hemnes
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5. Paint, possibly this weekend!

I found this amazing website with loads of beautiful color schemes-- Design Seeds. 

These are the options right now:

 Inspiration:

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Accent wall color... definitely don't have a fireplace!
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Slowly, but surely, I'll get this room together! Paint is definitely the most affordable change right now. The frames for posters, materials for another bookshelf, and the daybed will come. 

I'm excited... 

Other posts in this series:

The Purge Project: An Introduction

The Purge Project Part 1: The Tiny Closet

The Purge Project Part 2: The Hot Mess Express

The Purge Project Part 3: De-cluttering and Organizing 

The Purge Project Part 3: De-cluttering and Organizing

This has been so much work. 

Besides the other victories expressed in earlier purge posts, in the course of the three weeks I spent purging:
1. I filled the large rolling garbage and recycling bins twice.

2. I only spent $25 on a few small organizers because I had so many empty boxes and containers from the purge.

3. I got rid of every piece of paperwork I didn't need using this advice:

I am left with a huge bag of paperwork that needs to be shredded burned in a campfire. S'mores anyone? 

4. I had no social life. My background noise was provided by the last few seasons of How I Met Your Mother (before the terrible ending) and the Parenthood. Friends reading this, now you know why we couldn't hang out.

5. I found $75 in random gift cards. Score!

and finally...

6. I tackled the bookshelves:

Bookshelf One Before

Bookshelves Two and Three Before

During.

After.

I'm down from three bookshelves to just one. The tall one is now holding records in the basement. The short one is going into the guest room and will replace a cheap particle board cabinet.

I will keep the square bookshelf forever. The Hubs made it for me one Christmas and it is one of my favorite gifts of all time. The shelf is too full, but I'm a reader and--like keeping my Converse and T-shirts--I'm not going to compromise my love of books. So many people have said, "Just get an eReader!" Come on people. I have a Nook, but I still like the smell of books. I also can't read to learn without writing in my books-- I don't care if there is a way to take notes in eBooks.

I went through all of my books at least three times, but it was tougher to purge the books than the clothes because I have memories attached to so many of them. That said, I did purge a giant IKEA bag full of books. This bag of donations went to a teacher friend and then the Three Rivers Free Store. 

Now. The REVEAL

Next up... the plan for this room and my wardrobe.

Other posts in this series:

The Purge Project: An Introduction

The Purge Project Part 1: The Tiny Closet

The Purge Project Part 2: The Hot Mess Express

The Purge Project Part 2: The Hot Mess Express

 I've always loved clothes. For as long as I can remember, I've been into dressing up, fashion trends, and experimenting with fashion. As a kid, I got yelled at for using all of the tape and newspapers in the house to make paper dresses. 

Matching visor, shorts, and socks? Pink My Little Pony purse? Plaid skirt with bows?

Pulling. It. Off.

In high school, I tore through the Salvation Army and thrift stores searching for one-of-a-kind pieces. I even looked into the Savannah College of Art and Design for fashion design, but it was too expensive. I don't love all of my past fashion choices, but I've loved trying it all!

Let's just NOT talk about vests. 

When I was a teacher, my favorite compliments about my clothes were, "Oh, Ms. H! My daughter stops by your room every day just to see what you're wearing. She loves your style!"

and

"Ms. H, I act better in your class 'cuz you dress like you care."

and even

"Ms H. you look like a JCPenny catalog lady today." (I responded with, "Thanks?" The kid said it was a compliment. I'll take it.)

My love of fashion was instilled in me at a young age by my beautiful mother, who has always looked flawless. I would spend hours trying on her dresses, shoes, and jewelry. Good thing I got to play with her clothes when I was young, because I quickly trumped her tiny Filipina size by the end of fifth grade.

Wilma makes late 80s fashion look damn good. I don't know if I ever have or will look that good.

I just wanted to give excuses a little background about how I got to be a clothes hoarder. It's my mom's fault! 

No it's not. It's mine. 

Now. The second clothing purge:

The Hubs was out of town for this explosion of stuff that spread throughout the house. He would NOT have been a happy camper if he'd stayed around that weekend. 

After the first purge, I took every piece of clothing and pair of shoes that was left and put it in a pile:

I'm about a third of the way through the pile in this picture. Hannah is helping. 

Then I tried on every piece of clothing that I didn't 100% love. 

The piles of clothes in these pictures are the rejects.

I gained some new insight into myself as I spent 3+ hours trying on every piece of clothing I owned:

1. My body has changed since became more athletic.

Swimming has made the shape of my shoulders thicker 

Biking has made the shape of my legs different. 

None of the clothes that I was holding onto for when I finally "got to my goal weight" would even fit me if I ever reached said goal weight. I mean, I looked like the Hulk in some of my old shirts. 

Plus, if we ever have kids my body will probably change again and I will really never, ever fit into those goal weight clothes. 

They had to go. 

2. Blazers just don't look very good on me. It's time to invest in a really, really nice suit or let go of blazers all together. 

The pile of ill-fitting and cheap blazers from my first days of teaching had to go. 

3. I'm tall-- DUH. How about I stop buying pants that aren't made for tall people? 

The pants that I had to pull down every time I stood up had to go.

4. When you have big boobs, you just can't get shirts with high collars that cover your collar bone. It's not a good look. I can't explain it and I don't want to post a picture because I'm already doing enough revealing of my insecurities by posting the before pictures of my junk room. Let's just say the result of a high collared shirt on a busty gal is a mix of frumpy and saggy. 

Those shirts had to go. 

5. On the big boobs thing... button down shirts don't work and I don't know if they ever will. I need to let go of the idea that button down shirts=professionalism unless I want to invest in a more expensive button down shirt made just for busty gals. 

If I had to safety pin the big boob gap it had to go. 

[via]

6. I used to be so proud of saying, "This shirt was only $5!" or "This is designer and it was only $25!" Then I realized that I still had some of those $5 shirts with tags still on them buried in a pile of other $5 and $25 pieces of clothes that were quickly coming apart and/or didn't look good on me. Just because it's cheap or on clearance doesn't mean I have to buy it. Lesson learned, especially when I had the evidence in a hot mess of piles all around me. 

The cheap clothes that didn't look very good on me had to go.

The biggest lesson learned after trying on all of those clothes:

Buy clothes I love that look really, really good on me-- even if they cost a little more, even if they're not on the clearance rack, even if I could get ten $5 shirts for the cost of one good quality shirt that looks good on me and will last for longer than two washes.

Here is the end result of the second purge:

Just like after the first purge, I say seventy pieces of clothing when that was just what was coming off of hangers. It was probably closer to another hundred pieces of clothing and pairs of shoes (plus other random books and trinkets), which brings the grand total of clothing and shoes from my closet purge to something like...

TWO HUNDRED PIECES 

Part of this load went to Goodwill because it was Sunday and nothing else was open. The rest went to my sisters, mom, 360 Degrees, and the Free Store in Three Rivers. 

I've read about the regret people feel after purging so much of what they own. 

I have yet to feel that regret. 

I feel free.

I'll be gone for vacation and a business trip over the next week and half, but when I get back, I'll write about organizing what I had left, which was still a lot, but felt manageable. 

Other posts in this series:

The Purge Project: An Introduction

The Purge Project Part 2: The Tiny Closet