DIY

I wrote before that I've been reading way to much Apartment Therapy for my own good. I have it in my head that I can completely transform everything in my apartment into showcase-worthy perfection. On Friday I spent the whole day at the office (my classes for that day and next Tuesday got canceled), and I did nothing but read Apartment Therapy, Google "DIY desk" and "Spray paint furniture," and list everything that I could change in my apartment. The list was long, but thanks to iWork Numbers checklists I could do nothing pertaining to work while looking super busy.

Since the tiles walls in my kitchen, toilet and sink areas are an unchangeable 1950's robin's egg blue, I figured I'd go with that throughout the apartment to help everything flow. My curtains, none of which I purchased myself, are either blue or have blue accents. I like blue. I can go with 1950's kitchen. I decided to use white (never been a fan of cream or beige) and chocolate brown as my other main colors for the new palette.

The kitchen. The 1950s. This apartment has been renovated within the last seven years, by the way.

Thanks to some unexpected expenses I've been running on a tight budget. I wanted to get started as soon as possible, but I could only allow myself to spend 700 yen (about $7) per day on my renovation. And food. It's actually been inspiring. I've been trying to figure out how to create a desk out of a bookcase and metal shelving, and discovered that dirt, a cardboard box and a plastic sack makes a great out-of-the-cage litter box (gotta do something with all that compost). We'll see where this no-money home redesign goes, at least until Tuesday, when I get paid again.

My first tasks are as follows:

Kitchen:

• Turn upper kitchen cabinets into seasonal/tool/rarely-used-item storage
• Clean out fridge

Genkan (entryway)

• Better shoe storage for genkan (entryway)
• Find alternative to coat tree (no room) and coat hooks (concrete walls)

Bedroom

• Find a litter box solution that I like (poor Kuma, all these transitions)
• Fold my stupid clothes.
• Vacuum, because Kuma is effectively destroying that old phone book into tiny bits.

Living Room/GeneralPaint kotatsu top and chairs (sanded and primed on Thursday)

• Plant basil cutting. Those roots are ridiculong
• Put most of that little junk in those cute containers I bought in March for that purpose
• Recycle plastic bottles I've had since coming here. I will be eco-friendly!
• Find more concrete blocks for stairs to the back porch. A two-foot drop is just too much.

Long-term projects include replacing the giant TV I never use with something small and unobtrusive, creating an eating/serving/ironing space for the kitchen, and completely reorganizing my closet.

I had sandpaper, plastic primer and white spray paint from the golden pre-budget days, so I was able to get to work quickly.

And so it begins.