Vinyl

As I was cutting vinyl titles to go on the steel board today... I found a solution to sort of deal with my frustration about not having things put back in the right place. I'm gonna "tag" my kitchen cabinets and fridge. I used a graffiti font and made name tags that I'm gonna adhere to the edge of shelves, inside drawers and in the fridge... I hope that my roommates find it humorous too. I know their styles and they won't mind the "graffiti". The smaller font (0.5") is for the cabinets and the larger (0.75") is for the fridge and misc.

Update: 10/25/09

The hardest part about this assignment is the fact that I am not just attempting to transform my personal space, but rather a shared space. As much as I am driving this project, it is not about me. I want to instill some sort of sense of organization, placement and cleanliness within my roommates. After being in Washington all weekend, I came home this afternoon to a mess. Food and beer cans all over the counters, dishes in the sink, flies circling...? This project has become, in my mind, somewhat bigger than just reconstructing personal space. I think I may need to encompass some behavior issue solutions to these boys. The connection between the smell and uncleanliness doesn't register with them. I don't necessary believe that went I move out in December that everything I attempt to reorganize or employ will be upheld unless I do a better job than I am doing at explaining the reasoning behind why I feel it would be beneficial for them to buy into a system of organization and cleaning.

So far some things I want to accomplish this week:

- Cutting the vinyl to make those stickers for the steel board.

- Sitting down with my roommates to talk to them about what they want to see work better and if any sort of system should be designed to assign chores/roles (it is a little childish, but it could make a difference by delegating responsibility among us)

- Putting together all the photos and documentation in an easy to read and understand form... yet to be determined. I was think either a pamphlet or making it fun and look like a comic strip.

Update: 10/22/09 Progress

What I accomplished this afternoon:

After a trip to Home Depot, I came back with .5" magnetic tape, a thin steel board and magnets. It was awesome, everything I needed I was in one aisle.

My first hurdle was cleaning out the funk in the fridge before anything else.

Success!

Next, I worked on creating the knife wall. The magnetic strip wasn't the strongest. So I devised a way to accommodate all knife's height. I like the way that the lines created a mug-shot type line-up.

Lastly, I laid out the steel board and got an idea to design some fun organizational vinyl stickers for it... rather than the normal straight text.

I want to cut these out in vinyl next week to mount on the steel board to create three section where notes can be attached with magnets...

Reconstructing Personal Space: Update

Here are some of things I am setting out to accomplish tomorrow:

1. Starting with reorganizing items within the kitchen... the dirty work

- Condensing larger, clunkier items to use less space. More commonly used items in the front, less in the back.

- Consolidating common items... plates, bowls, glasses... to be stacked into the depths of the cabinets.

o Glassware should be by the sink

o Dinnerware should be put in a similar position so dishes can be put away easily

o Pots/pans and spices should be close to the stove/oven

o Food should be fit into the remaining spot and be convenient

2. Go to Home Depot

- Get self-adhesive magnetic strip (2) to attach knifes to east wall or above the stove

- The guys definitely like the idea of having their best knifes on display and easy to access

- Use the second strip to create a place to put up memos/keys/photos

3. Go to craft store

- Look for a canister to decore to hold all of the common kitchen utensils

- Get a metal sheet to tack to the south wall for magnetics and memos

Additional things to accomplish:

- Design something to cut in vinyl to adhere to the metal sheet and canister to make it unique and personalized

- Divise a storage system for the hall closet... materials, cost and what to do with a vaccum that has no where else to go

Design Proposals

Below are three of my design proposals for tackling organizing a crazy, messy kitchen. These are just some solution to the problem, and I plan on probably encompassing most of my ideas into the reorganizational process - but mainly focusing on one.

Solution#1

Solution#2

Solution#3

Cold Remedy...?

Results: This morning I woke up actually feeling a little less stuffy. It'd be cool if it was slight result of the garlic tea, in addition to healthy sleep. Only time will tell...

DIY Assignment

After trying to get over a cold for almost a week, I decided to search at-home cold remedies to see if they would give me the extra kick to finally ditch the sniffle and cough. I immediately skipped right over all the ones that required cayenne pepper (if you've ever had cayenne pepper in food, you know it's strong... but in a drink, way too strong). I finally found this simple "Garlic Tea" recipe to boost your immune system and decided to try it out.

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• Step 1: Peel 3-4 cloves of garlic, and chop/crush
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• Step 2: Crush the garlic into glass, and simmer in 2 cups of water for about 10 minutes
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• Step 3: Strain the water, and discard the excess garlic

• Step 4: Add a teaspoon of honey and fresh lemon juice

Step 5: Enjoy

The reality: It tastes exactly what you think garlic, lemon and honey would taste like - disgusting! I had to bribe my sick roommate Cameron to spilt the drink with me by getting him a grape soda chaser to follow after each sip. I'm not too sure the benefits (of hopefully waking up tomorrow sans cold) will outweigh the cons (a gross after-taste that will not go away). To be determined...

Really?

Is this for real? The British are breeding $1,100, litter box trained miniature pigs. Anything is possible.

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Mind Map

Here's my personal mind map exploring my lifestyle, topics, randomness and touching on my groups theme of "restructuring personal space".

Colourrr. The series of 6 panels is titled "Roy G. Biv". The sculpture below... complete chaos. These really have nothing to do reconstructing personal space... they are just fun... I want. +++ www.ryanmcginness.com.