lizsh's Profile

It's a little much for the whole room, but would look great on one wall!

The problem isn't that there is a TV there, it's that there is too much there. The fabric looks just as busy as the TV. If you have to hide the TV, do one big piece of fabric that also hides the door and take down the mirror (and possibly the poster and hanger). There is way too much going on behind the TV.

That said, I don't know why you need to hide the TV. People have TVs and they watch them. It's too big for the space, but adding the same sized piece of fabric doesn't help that. The space needs to be simplified.

Emilyb - I got one in high school. I don't remember where I got it, it was actually prescribed by a doctor for SAD (Seasonal despression). But I'm sure you could find it online too.

Maybe one solution is to reorganize your routine too. I got in the habit of picking my outfit out the night before and putting in on the chair at my desk. That cut done on the last minute disaster. It let me make sure everything was clean and ironed.

As far as the closet, if you can, organize by type - all work clothes together, weekend clothes, etc. That way you can open the "work" side of the closet and see what you have available. I'm with you - I need to visualize things together before it occurs to me to wear them.

As the roomie that would have been more likely to be the slob, here's my advice:

1. How messy is messy for you? I had a roommate that would flip out if I draped a coat over a chair when I got home. It wouldn't be there for more than the 10 minutes it took me to make a snack before going upstairs to my room. Recognize that people have different standards, and there may be somewhere you can compromise, or just live with it. (My messiness tended to be mostly clutter, I never let anything rot and cleaned up anything stinky).

2. If it's not something you can live with, ask yourself, do you want to remain friends with your roommates when you move out? Because nagging, demanding house meetings, creating charts, etc. will not win you any friends. If your roommates don't want to clean, no amount of meetings will make them. Even if they do, they'll hate you for it if you either tell them what to do, or get really passive-agressive.

3. If you do want to stay friends, talk to them about it, one on one. Tell them how it makes you feel, and see if you can figure out why they are messy. For me, it's that clutter just doesn't bother me. It never has. As a result, I don't notice it. Once the second roommate (the one I didn't hate) explained how much it bothered her, I really tried to make an effort to straighten up. And she was nice about it, not totally passive agressive. And although we decided not to keep living together, we're still good friends.

My husband and I have a "splurge" savings account just for things like this. Every month we put a part of what's left after bills, rent, etc. into this account. We'll only splurge if (1) we have enough in the account to pay cash, and (2) we've thought about the purchase for at least a week (sometimes longer if it's a more substantial purchase).

So if your friend can pay cash without foregoing other things she needs more, then by all means, go for it.

One thing to be careful about though, is to make sure you love something, and not just the idea of something. There are pieces I just had to have because they looked so good in the showroom or were on sale, but when I got them home they just didn't really fit.

I put an old jar or can outside, if I don't, I'll find butts all over my porch. I can't imagine someone lighting up inside.

One thing that people forget is the phone. I wipe down my phone at work and and home at least once a day. Clorox wipes are a godsend. I also wipe down my keyboard at work. Does anyone know anything that is safe to disinfect a laptop keyboard? I'm afraid to use wipes because I don't want the moisture to get into the computer.

Thorndale - I totally understand the purell by the door, a good friend of mine had cancer about a year ago, and she did the same thing. One thing that she did that was nice was to have a bottle of lotion by the purell. It dries your hands out so much, especially during the winter, and if people aren't prepared to use it, it may make their hands uncomfortable until they can get home. Not necessary, but a nice gesture if you can.

The only thing I *need* on that list is my cell phone (no landline, so it's the only phone I have) and my car (if we didn't have it, we would have to move to a more walkable neighborhood).

The microwave, home computer, washer and dryer, dishwasher, and internet aren't necessary, but sure make life easier.

The rest of it is fun, but I could part with if I had to.

I had this problem. I got a large evergreen wreath and placed some ornaments in that. I've also seen people who place a large piece of lace hanging off the mantle and putting ornaments there (not an option if your cats are as mischevious as mine though...).