Eric and I have informally agreed to make one home decor/improvement purchase a month in an effort to create an apartment that looks like adults live here and not like an undergrad flop house. So far the system has been working pretty well though we have some major areas to work on. The second bedroom/office is in dire need of organization and the kitchen could use some streamlining. Eventually (or soon I hope) I plan to go through and get rid of everything that's in bad shape or that we really don't use. My utensil crock is stuffed full but I know for a fact some of wooden spoons have out lived their usefulness.
Our most recent splurge was for the kitchen. Since I cook more often than not I have a rotating stock of potatoes, onions, and garlic. In our last apartment we had a little more cabinet space and less appliances so these items just sort of ran free or got lost in the back of a cabinet. While we have a huge counter in the new apartment I just wasn't happy with leaving them on the counter and putting them in the cabinet usually ended with my bakeware getting covered in onion skin. The solution? Dedicated canisters! Browsing around the internet yielded this adorable labeled set from Williams-Sonoma.
They weren't the cheapest but I love they way they look on my counter and it keeps everything neatly corralled and easy to find. The next kitchen organizer on the list is a spice rack. I have lots of spices but right now they just sit out on the counter and it's hard to find what I'm looking for.
Our other large purchase from the month before was a rug for the living room. Getting a rug did double my vacuuming work since the dogs seem hell-bent on covering it if fur but it really livens up the room.
We even managed to find pillows that matched it almost exactly for the couch on clearance at Bed Bath and Beyond. My only complaint with that set up is that our slipcover doesn't fit the couch like it should, I didn't realize the couch had a t-cushion. Another month perhaps, a new slipcover isn't in the budget right now since the one we have works.
We're still trying to decide what April's addition will be. It's looking like a new vacuum since ours keeps shutting off after a few minutes. Oh well, at least that's useful.
