Looking at the filth and clutter in the Apartment of Horror's inspired me to declutter and redecorate.
So far I have cleaned out my bedroom and repainted the walls and ceiling. I bought new curtains to match my bedding, and we got the dog a new dog bed for the room as well. It matches our bedding. Too bad he doesn't use it and still sleeps with us. It looks good though. I just need to go through my closet and purge. That is waiting until spring though because the closet is huge and I need to take everything out, wipe it down and repaint in there as well.
Last week I repainted my ancient kitchen. We have a horrible, old kitchen and it won't be gutted until we can pay cash for a reno. I stripped wallpaper, painted walls, sucked up cobwebs, went through every cupboard and did a massive purge. Today I have to touch up paint on the dinged up old cupboards and then I'm done! Oh, and I also bought fresh new towels and cloths, and a cute new rug. Hubby also put in a new to us double sink.
After the touch ups are done on the cupboards, I'm moving onto the dining room and will be stripping paper, painting walls and trim, and hanging fresh new curtains.
Emily also inspired me to break out the cookbooks and try some new recipes as well.
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Yes, I wash the sheets way more often than I used to. A lot of these so called homemakers think they get lots of hits and whatnot because of their great ideas. No. It does motivate people to NOT be like them, ya know?
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely ditto the sentiment of being inspired to clean my own home. Also, somewhat ashamed to admit, she helped me be more thankful for the bounty I do have in terms of husband's income and my own ability to not clutter things just to say I 'have' them. Truly. The past several months reading her have helped in an adverse way. Rather than do things her way, I give thanks for having other options!
ReplyDeleteI have also been inspired to de-clutter. That's been my main mission over the last couple of weeks - and a lot of it has been inspired by Emily. I did not want to turn into her. There's a lot more to be done, but I feel a huge weight off my shoulders.
ReplyDeleteI really like the snark, but I love the positive idea of today's post!
I figured if Emily could blog, so could I. I've started three blogs in the past 60 days.
ReplyDeleteI use one of them to work thru my mental illness towards more normality in my life.
I too took a clue from Emily to make sure I am keeping up with the housekeeping, cooking nutricous meals, and washing bedding regularly.
Yes, Emily has changed my life for the better.
Susan
http://susan-grandmaskitchen.blogspot.com/
Honestly, she did inspire me to do more scratch cooking. I took some of her basic ideas and found recipes that tasted better and ran with those. I have been baking bread like a fool, just not with Cassie.
ReplyDeleteI always walked away from her blog, the same after I did after watching Hoarders-- Feeling a little dirty, and glad I didn't have attachments to random crap.
ReplyDeleteShe's inspired me to branch out and try new recipes so we have more variety in our diet.
ReplyDeleteShe inspired me to de-clutter and pare down our things - including books.
I've been acutely aware of just how blessed our family is because we don't have to hand wash our clothing or feed my children tube meat.
She's reminded me to limit my computer use to times when the children are napping or their daddy is home to play with them.
I've received lots of inspiration and motivation, but yes, most of it has been to ensure that our family looks nothing like hers.
She inspired me to clean my room. Mine would never look like hers but it gave me the heebie jeebies!!
ReplyDeleteI have been spending time lately with my 4 month old and wondering what kind of attention her kids got. I do a spring clean anyway, but this year was defintely inspired by her!
ReplyDeleteI've made myself a promise to start blogging more, very soon, esp. about things that I do that support our very frugal lifestyle, and that are SANE.
ReplyDeleteI also went out and dropped a wad of cash on new beds. We needed new ones, but it could have waited - and I could have gone with a cheap "whatever" set for our son (my other child lives with her father's family, and prefers to sleep with me rather than by herself when she's here - which works out well with our small apartment - or I would have bought her a new set as well). After seeing the horror of what her poor babies are sleeping in, my very frugal self had NO qualms about taking advantage of a sudden cash windfall, and plunking down over $500.00 on a super cushy set for DS last week. It arrived this morning, and I am going to sleep SO much better tonight - I've been cringing every time that I've put him to bed in his usable (extravagant, by EK's standards) but not-so-great bed, and thinking of those poor boys every time.
DH is forbidden from EVER bringing tube meat into the house (he bought it a few times for when I made chili or pasta sauce).
I've been inspired to rethink the ways that I've been using the small space we have in our apartment; when I've fully recovered from recent surgery, I plan to purge a LOT of stuff, get more organized, and decorate on a more simplified level.
I've realized that what people have been telling me for years, is actually true: I AM a good mother, and my kids are very happy and well-cared for, and not lacking for anything!
As an experiment for a single person or a couple, her lifestyle is just fine. Those poor, helpless babies, however, deserve so much better. I want to bring them home, feed them good food, give them vitamins, play with them - using our frugal but safe and fun toys - and then tuck them into warm, soft beds. After a good, fun bubble bath.
Loving this post - good in with the bad, so to speak.
ReplyDeleteI've completely changed the way I look at my apartment. She takes no pride in her surroundings and I was feeling that way about my own place going to the wayside as I work/study A LOT and have minimal time for upkeep, but I had two free days this week and my flat is immaculate now. I decluttered, washed everything and anything, and donated quite a bit to the salvation army.
It made me go through my kids' bedroom and look everywhere for hazards that could harm my kids. I bolted down a bookshelf that was completely safe before, just to be more safe. I put safety locks on the doors and decluttered my kitchen.
ReplyDeleteNothing about Emily inspires me; however, reading about her self-imposed, marginal lifestyle has certainly made me appreciate my life even more that I did.
ReplyDeleteBeing stuck in a tiny dirty apartment, eating sub-standard food, with 3 little children, no money, a husband with virtually no prospects to make more money--sounds like life in hell to me.
I know that Emily "says" she has all kinds of money from blogging but she's saving it so her family can live in a shipping container.
She made me declutter my house, clean the house on a regular bases, brought the dogs new beds, take down all my drapes and have them cleaned. Also take the dogs for long walks, when it is not raining, twice a day. Yes, her blog has motivated me to make my house less cluttered and cleaner. My hubby thinks that is funny. By the way our house never looked like "Apartment of Horror".
ReplyDeleteI completely cleaned out, uncluttered and reorganized my kitchen. I also uncluttered a few other areas in our house that are pile magnets. I have a few bags of things to drop off at Goodwill. It felt SO good and was definitely inspired by the photos of Emily's apartment! Julia
ReplyDeleteYes, she did inspire me but not in a "good way" My husband and I were foster parents for a while. We burned out and decided to take a break. However, seeing her blog reminded me of how much good foter parents are (and sadly, will always be) needed.
ReplyDeleteAnon @ 12:38, does that mean you are going to be fostering again? If so, I think that's a good thing that came out of the Emily squalor/neglect situtation.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely cleaning. I'm a single mom in the Army, and right now my job sucks up about 65-70 hours a week of my life. Reading her blog on Friday night was a good way to trigger a cleaning rampage early Saturday morning.
ReplyDeleteI agree that cleaning became much more important to me. I've been working 55-60 hours a week and putting in another 30 hours working on my friend's play. So my house was basically a pile of discarded clothes and empty Diet Coke cans. I still don't have a totally free weekend off until the 20th, but I have already made my list of what I want to accomplish that weekend.
ReplyDeleteAnd I echo what another someone else said about appreciating my life more. I realize how good I really have it and have been really happy living my silly little life.
i have definitely been inspired to make better use of my smallish home. unique and cute storage, less clutter, etc.
ReplyDeleteheck, i've even decided that tumbleweed homes are kinda cute.
but my kids will always sleep on normal sized mattresses. always. oh and with sheets/blankets!
I was just thinking about this the other day, before her blog went down. She did a post way back in the beginning about being among the wealthiest 15% of people in the world. She had the link to the calculator on her blog. Because of that I learned my family is in the richest 3%.
ReplyDeleteAnd we are not rich. We are on WIC and unemployment. Puts things in perspective, big time. My entire attitude about life and possessions and wealth changed when I learned that. So I understand her desire to live simply and not use more than you need. That, in itself, is a very noble, very UN-AMERICAN way to think.
Unfortunatly, she takes it to dangerous and unnecessary extremes. Perhaps with time and experience she will understand the importance of dental care, warm beds, and accepting help (and constructive critisism)
SO although I am not an Emily fan, it is because of her that I have a new appreciation for my life and what I have. So thank you, Emily, if you are reading this. I didn't listen to anybody when I was 24 either. I hope you take a few years "off" from blogging, then come back and update us. I bet we are pleseantly suprised
(if you allow yourself to grow and change without shining a spotlight on yourself, cause it hasn't been working for you so far)
That was ramble-y, hope it made sense... :P
Emily inspired me to take random pieces of material and hang them on my walls to store things also to throw them over things. Sell my Wolf oven and replaced it with a crockpot. Threw out all my grass feed beef and replace it with tube meat. Quit going to Farmers Market to purchase veggies, instead I took some tin cans and started an indoor garden. Sold my washer and dryer and starting using a rubbermaid tube in the shower to wash my clothing then hang them in my house. I was going to start making floor cheese but I used up all my material for storage. Have to wait on that one until my hubby's underwear starts to wear out. She is my hero, NOT.
ReplyDeleteI actually have become inspired to find a way to live more frugally (we have more than we need) but with an eye for beauty and giving my kids a rich life, not just a cheap one.
ReplyDeleteAnon 1:47 - anything that makes sense is usually NOT part of the PLAN. And you now join the ignorant and stupid groups. Welcome!
ReplyDeleteI've been inspired too.
ReplyDeleteI moved everything out of the living room and dining room and completely cleaned the rooms from top to bottom. I steam cleaned the carpets, washed down the walls, re-painted the ceilings, scrubbed down and repainted the trim. Then I put about half of the stuff back in.
I cleaned out the kitchen cabinets, donated mismatched and random stuff we don't need.
I cleared out the pantry and washed down the shelves. I donated food I didn't think we'd eat and I threw away the stuff that had passed its date.
My next project is our bedroom.
Thanks for being a dirty pig, Emily...you have inspired me to be neater.
What downsizing and Hoarders started, Miss Emily finished. A few years ago I downsized my home and started the great purge of my life. I no longer had room for HUNDREDS of books and CDs. I had to get choosy, I couldn't keep sentimental ephemera in tons of boxes that never got unpacked.
ReplyDeleteMy homes have always been clean and orderly, but hiding too much STUFF. I've always had compliments like, "this place could be in a magazine!" and I've helped a LOT of people redecorate and organise (hell, people have paid me for my bewitching ways) but always hiding my secret of too much STUFF. It was always stashed so no one could see. I was using every available square inch of space to store stuff I didn't really need. Between downsizing and feeling the stress of caring for so much STUFF, I got rid of so much stuff. Books, clothes, tchotchkes, craft supplies I'd never use, stuff from my childhood I didn't need - gone. I lost track of how many bags went to the Goodwill, how many things I sold on Craigslist, the volume of stuff that was unloaded at yard sales, the stuff I passed on to family members and friends. Once I started to get rid of stuff, I felt lighter. It was like losing weight. I found a new sense of calm because I didn't have to wrangle with so much stuff that wasn't helping me live a good life on a daily basis. I went from feeling the comfort of clutter to feeling the joy of release from the tyranny of useless possessions. For once in my life my home was in a beautiful, minimalist-ish state that was much easier to clean and maintain.
Then A&E busted out Hoarders and whoa, I was again fueled up to purge. Oodles of garbage bags to the Goodwill, Craigslist sales...I went though the purging process for the second time. I had weeks and weeks worth of clothing sitting in my closet. I reckon I cleared a good 6 garbage bags of stuff out that I sent to the Goodwill when Hoarders had just been on the air for a few weeks. It took that show to open my eyes to the excess bulge I hadn't quite rid myself of.
Then came Emily and I was reminded again of how exhausting hoarding can be and how squalor is something I never want to experience. I don't want to be slovenly just cause I'm short on space. I don't want to be a tenant who can't get necessary repair work done. So I purged some more cause I understand just because you CAN shove more stuff in, doesn't mean you SHOULD. It's an example of false economy at times.
And I got to my spring cleaning early because the FILTH that radiates off her photos scared me to death...was there nastiness in my home I was blind to, as Emily was?
Also, big props to Emily for this one - she made me so glad that I am single and without children. I could have done as Emily did...I could have married at a young age and popped out a hammock full of babies...but I didn't, and thank the holy beans for that. I am not glorifying a life of poverty and that feels good. It feels good to know I didn't birth children I couldn't be bothered to provide the best for. I'm not talking about toys that beep boop from batteries or expensive gaming systems - I'm talking about providing clean sheets, serving fresh fruit and vegetables, providing a safe home etc. If I had children in the situation Emily and Dan are in, I wouldn't be able to sleep at night. Truly. I would stop boinking for fear of making more little critters to care for, cause I wasn't caring for the ones I had. I love that I can choose to sit on the internet all bloody day, for hours and hours on end if I so choose because I am NOT mother to three children. When I'm online, no one suffers save for my cat. The same can not be said of Emily.
Emily has made me celebrate my freedom, pushed me to purge more of my possessions and to clean my house so I'm sure people aren't cringing over the state of my home.
Thanks, Emily! I'm quite unlike you and that feels so good!
I'm not sure if this counts as "inspiration," but I've been really encouraged by all this chaos to realize how normal I am.
ReplyDeleteI've always been afraid of being viewed as wackadoodle like Emily (over-the-top, weird, disconnected). I like following my own path in life. I like pursuing things like: making yoghurt, raising chickens in the suburbs, shopping at thrift stores, cooking creatively, etc. Sometimes these ideas don't jive with my family and friends and I'm worry about what they think.
When I read Emily's blog, I instantly felt better about the path I'm living. Safety considerations, hygiene, and common sense are severely lacking in Emily. These are parameters I strive to live within while pursuing my earthy crunchy life. Seeing some of her thoughts tempers my ideas and makes my ideas seem less extreme.
I've also been encouraged by comments here and FJ that my concerns for her children are valid and are shared by many other people. It makes me glad that other people are outraged by the same things I'm angered by.
I don't know what this all means for the future of InsanEmily's family, but I hope this bizarre implosion will spur the family to seek government support so they can actually eat vegetables, consider birth control until Dan's career path is a little clearer and more secure, and reach out to friends and family for support (relational, spiritual, and emotional- not necessarily financial) in real life, not just on the internet.
And on that note, Emily's also made me really glad I have real-life friends, and not just cyber-friends.
-Cassie
I got rid of a lot of the kids clothes that I had in rubbermaid containers in an under stairs closet. Some had been grown out of by my youngest without ever being worn. We just had too many clothes.
ReplyDeleteI've decluttered my bedroom and the kids' playroom too. Their playroom is almost 400sq ft., so almost as big as their whole apartment.
I have learnt to be extremely thankful to God for whatever he has given me.I have gone in each room of my house and said a prayer of thanks!
ReplyDeleteRobin, I think I've subconsciously done the same thing.
ReplyDeleteI have had a problem with a really clean house. I never achieved it. I am partially disabled so it's hard to do. But I have taken 15 minutes every day and worked on a corner. It works and I've gotten something accomplished.
ReplyDeleteNow if the DH and DD would scour then kitchen, I'd start all over. It's hard. And my kids are grown.
But as bad as it ever got, it never looked like Emily and Dan's. I hope she can declutter and learn to spend time with her children.
OT The comments on her blog are so sickly sweet. Blagh
can anyone tell me where to find dna's twitter?
ReplyDeleteOn another note, I have been inspired by Emily to be a better mother. I call the doctor's about anything I find strange instead of wondering; i'd rather be safe than have my son in a comma.
did she ever say if she dropped that free insurance from the state that she felt was not necessary because they aren't ever sick? And did she ever say if she ate the placenta from the last one like she wanted(or if she found a recipe for the crockpot for it? ::vomit::
I donated a ton of crap to Goodwill. I think I literally had 10 huge bags full of clothes, boxes of toys ect. It felt so good to get that stuff out of my house!
ReplyDeleteI've cuddled DD more in fuzzy blankets fresh from the dryer, and she gets some extra treats here and there! I've also savored the taste of my cooking. MMMmmmmm nothing like good, fresh food!
ReplyDeleteEmily inspired me to troll my own blog.
ReplyDeleteYeah, she dEfInAtly iNsPiReD me to be cleaner. I mean jeez, I already keep a pretty clean house, no clutter, no unnecessary junk and can pretty much find large garbage bag loads of stuff to throw away each month when I do a major cleaning but now I'm going to go through all my shelves and look at all the stuff stacked on there and see what I can get rid of. SOoOoO did not read her blog and think, "wow, I'm really inspired by how she lives". I just thought, "Good Lord! I am so grateful for a husband who works hard to take care of our family the right way"...While she's living under $1000/month, we've been able to save over $1000 a month. Homegirl needs some major help...
ReplyDeleteEmily inspired this Nest poster's husband to only take #2s at work and she blogs about it!
ReplyDeletehttp://thepittsburghpair.blogspot.com/
Emily piqued my interest in (sensible) frugal blogs and inspired my to check a copy of The Frugal Gazette out of the library. Now I'm in the process of curtailing some of my spendthrift ways. Oh, and I checked that book on small space gardening she reviewed out of the library as well (I have a small balcony container garden). It's not bad. There's a few good ideas in there. Thanks Em!
ReplyDeleteLike watching episodes of 'Hoarders,' following Emily's blog has spurred me to do another big purge. I've got bags of books and clothes, housewares, etc., ready to donate later this week. I have a new load of junk ready to go to the dump. And I know that getting rid of all that stuff is going to feel really good.
ReplyDeleteI also pulled down the yucky old curtains in the kitchen and dining room--the ones that were here when I moved in, five years ago--and tonight I'm going to finish sewing new ones. I found pretty fabric on sale for $2/yd ages ago, and when they're done they will have cost so little, but make the room look brighter and cleaner.
This weekend, I will also finish painting a bookcase that, like Emily's crib, has been left half-painted for almost a year now. Looking at that sad crib made me see just how ugly the bookcase is; I can't ignore it or procrastinate any more.
Also, this weekend, I'm taking all the pet beds, comforters, throw rugs, and anything too big for my home washer to a laundromat so I can wash them properly. That's already something I do regularly because nobody deserves to sleep in a dirty, smelly, or pee-stained bed--not even an animal. This task can be a real pain in the rear, but after reading Emily's blog I feel inspired to do it. At the same time, I also feel sad, because I put more effort into making sure my pets have clean, healthy places to sleep than Em does her boys.
Emily has inspired me to do our spring cleaning early. I'm also vacuuming more, and scrubbing the floors more. I have been very good about changing the sheets and washing them lately.
ReplyDeleteAs for food and budget, I tried a few new recipes that DH just loved. None of them were frugal, and none were exactly cheap. All were delicious, filled with plenty of nutrition. One had sausage, wild rice, water chestnuts, onions and peppers. The whole onion and the whole pepper. Another was for baklava.
Our frugal side has DH looking for ways to reduce our phone bills. I have a commute to work of about 25 miles, and I try to pick up extra hours on the same day to save gas $$.
That's about it :-) Oh yeah, and I'm dusting more. Anyone ever watch the TV show hoarders? That'll make you clean every closet in your house in a heartbeat.
My son has a brand new bed, something that was kind of needed but not really.. our small apartment has gone from vaguely cluttered to WOW we have tons of room! Thanks, Em. I sincerely wish you and the boys the best.
ReplyDeleteOh yes - I also feel that much better for spending a bit extra on the "supreme" health insurance package that is offered from DH's work. Yes, we pay a bit more than we'd like. But I'll never have to put a child, or ourselves, through the misery of waiting for much-needed health care (or complete lack of health care), just because I was too nervous to spring for the more expensive package. You can't put a price on health. Hell, I'm inspired to start my OWN blog post on the inspiration that Emily has given me!
ReplyDeleteI'm largely in the same camp as the others - cleaning, reorganizing, and purging. I have a slight anal-retentive streak over what goes where, but get frequently frustrated by my hub's tendency to leave things in "approximately" the right place and in the past, it's led me to stop making the effort. Now, I'm not so keen to let things slide. Our kitchen cabinets aren't the greatest, and if things aren't put back in juuuust the right spots, they reach disaster level in the blink of an eye. I've taken to doing a reassessment of them at least once a week to make sure everything is where it should be and reapportion space in the pantry cupboard as needed.
ReplyDeleteOur hall closet was never properly set up when we moved in over a year ago, and it's been a bit of a catch-all for anything that didn't fit anywhere else. I spent the better part of yesterday emptying it out and getting it in order. I purged about two boxes worth of STUFF and am actually able to fit more (usable) things in there than before, since the space is so much more efficiently used. Later this week, I'm going to do the same with the guest room closet. It's not as bad, but we have a few boxes of random things in there that we haven't really done anything with since we moved from another state over two years ago. While there are some things in them I know we'll keep, I see the bulk of it getting donated to the nearest thrift store.
The most major thing, I think, is that it's made me more determined to get my mother some help with her own hoarding. She has a six bedroom house all to herself, but she can barely walk in most of the rooms. She's aware something needs to be done, but she's so overwhelmed that she never quite manages to make a real dent. I'm unemployed atm, so I told her last week that if she buys me a plane ticket, I'll come out for a week and begin the process of purging and sorting so she can keep the things that matter and donate to charity anything she can't sell at a yard sale. A friend back home has offered to help, and I'll probably know by the end of the week whether or not we can make this happen. I really, really hope we can.
Em also inspired me to look at our finances a bit more closely. I went into a panic when I lost my job almost two months ago, and it got worse when I realized unemployment would be little more than half my previous take-home. By cutting back in really simple ways and being more diligent with our shopping (it was once a habit, but we fell out of practice), we've still been very comfortable. Even on a reduced budget, I've been able to pay all of the household bills and buy groceries (dh covers the rent and vehicle expenses) with a fair amount left at the end of each week.
There are ways in which I know some would say we're a bit too Em-like. We gave up probably half of our books when we moved to this state, but still have quite a few. We have lots of movies, but I refuse to remove them from their cases because I a) hate disc binders (a pain to reorganize if you get something new) and b) wouldn't want to get rid of a lot of the packaging (sometimes there are nifty supplemental materials inside). I'm also something of a magazine junkie, and rarely throw them away. All of them, however, are neatly contained in a set of six matching bookcases that occupy a negligible amount of floor space. I do a magazine purge roughly once a year as it stands, but I may bump that up a bit.
One thing I will firmly defend her on, however, is the lemon as deodorant. I tried it on a lark, and it's crazy effective. I am fat, live in the desert, and do most of my errands on foot. Even clinical strength deos tend to fail within ten hours on me, but I'll be damned if a slice of lemon doesn't keep me daisy fresh for 48 hours or so. O_o
I miss the crazy of Dna and Emily.
ReplyDeleteoncise and written well, thanks for the post
ReplyDeleteThought I would comment and say cool theme, did you create it for yourself? It looks awesome!
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