So…last week I gave you five easy-peasy organizational projects to get you back on that new year’s resolution wagon. If you skipped that post, go back and dip your toes in with it. Now that February is fast approaching, let’s get something a little bit more substantial done. I’ll be adding projects each week to keep you on the organizational track.

image via L.A. Closet Design

Today’s project is not about color-coding or getting perfectly organized, it’s about cleanliness. Hopefully by now you’ve tackled each little drawer or box one at a time. If not, tackle that. You can do them at a rate of one a day as your project time, then wait for the weekend to tackle the closet cleaning.

You Will Need: Stepladder, featherduster, wipes or cleaning solution and a cloth, the vacuum with attachments. If your closet is carpeted, baking soda, if not, some sort of mop or swiffer getup, wastebasket, shopping bag, notebook, pen.

DwellStudio Baby Storage Bin, $50-100

• Take every last thing out of your closet and put it in another room. Ignore it all for now; make sure you’ve left yourself a place to sleep tonight in case you run out of steam.
• Grab a feather duster and a stepladder, and to to town, from where the walls hit the ceiling to the light fixture. Work your way from the top to the bottom.
• Grab your cleaning agent of choice, be it vinegar, bleachy wipes or soap and water, and wipe down all your shelves.
• Pick up any detritus like dry cleaning and price tags, cedar balls that have lost their scent, renegade mis-matched socks, etc. and toss it in the wastebasket you’ve brought into the closet.
• If your vacuum is carpeted, sprinkle it with baking soda; leave for 1/2 hour.
• Regardless of whether or not your closet is carpeted, turn on that vacuum and go to town.
• If the closet is mop-able, you know what to do.
• Grab any extra hangers and/or plastic dry cleaning bags and put them in the shopping bag to recycle next time you go to the dry cleaner’s.
• If the mood strikes you, pull out your giveaway container and sort through your clothing – do that whole KEEP/TOSS/GIVEAWAY/REPAIR sorting thing. If you’re exhausted from all of that cleaning, forget it, you can sort another day –put everything back in and call it a day!

DESU DESIGN Symbol Coat Rack, $435

Speaking of that sorting day, keep your notebook open with your pen out so that you can sketch out ideas for how to improve your freshly cleaned closet and keep a running list of things you may need to make it happen (new hooks, shoe racks, baskets, scented drawer liners, new lighting, etc.) While you’re out shopping for that stuff, pick up some cedar blocks to keep things fresh.

Lights Up! Flush Mount Lamp, starting at $148

1. New Rue! I especially loved the great photographs of the minis, which made me miss my dollhouse terribly. Fabulous spaces and photography are waiting for you in the January/February Rue.

image by  John Stoffer via Rue

2. Blu Dot picked not once, but twice in The Thursday NYTimes “Shopping With” section. Author Arthur Phillips rounded up writing desks for them this weekend and picked out The Cant Desk:

and The Stash Desk:

I was also strangely fascinated by the house tours of the former homes of Mexican drug dealers who had been caught. The last image of a drug dealer house south of the border I had in my head was the incredible spread from Romancing the Stone.

3. Loving Style List’s Home Improvement Projects That Cost Under $10. Yeah, we already knew all of these, but it’s really nice to have 14 of them gathered in one well-written place.

4. Finally, I love seeing the way celebs live. Since Cribs never seems to be on anymore, I’m extra thankful to Casa Sugar for keeping track of movie star moving (why do they move like every year? I never really realized that until Larry David mocked the phenomenon by moving every year on Curb Your Enthusiasm). Here’s Rose McGowan’s new pad in Hollywood:

(SIDE NOTE: I could swear this house was on that Bravo show with those annoying guys who sell million dollar real estate. Some total tool with a Lambo or a Ferrari or Doc’s DeLorean or something was thinking about buying the house and then bottomed out on this driveway which killed the deal, no? Maybe not.)

5. Also in celeb real estate news, you can check out Steven Tyler’s new digs over at WSJ.com. I am biting my tongue and not working in some lame line that incorporates Aerosmith lyrics. Steven is still tied with Lil’ Jon as my most striking celebrity sighting ever.

Have you ever found yourself on a plane with absolutely nothing amusing to watch, play or read? While other people sit there with their Kindles, their laptops, their iPads, their novels and their DVD players (parents who let their kids listen to Chipmunks movies without headphones deserve their own special place in the back row next to the bathroom), sometimes I find myself with nothing to read but a dogeared copy of SkyMall. You know what? that’s fine by me.

First we have the Face Trainer, which Jane Krakowski’s character invented on Ally McBeal in the late 1990s and called The Face Bra:

One time the stranger wedged in next to me and I got in hysterics over every other item in the catalog, flipping through our copies at the same time and saying “no, wait, wait, look at this one!” to each other. The one that gave us the biggest bout of giggles was the Pet Loo. The thought of what one does after a dog actually uses it (if they ever do) made our complimentary soft drinks coming out of our nostrils:

But on this last trip, I had not bonded with my seatmate and just wound up laughing like a crazy person all by myself when I saw this one. I hadn’t laughed that hard on a plane since the time I rented I Love You Man and the “Tom Sawyer” montage part came on. Anyway, I think the SkyMall people may have stolen this idea from one of those horrible Fockers movies:

Also, what’s wrong with calling this the Litter Quitter? Why do you have to go all Kardashian on us with the “Kwitter?”  Am I supposed to share the toilet seat with four paws now?

Do you ever take a SkyMall out of the seat and peruse it? Have you ever bought anything from there? What’s the most hilarious thing you’ve ever seen in SkyMall?

Tufted furniture is having a moment right now. While this design trend is typically a traditional design element, some mid-century modern designers embraced tufting, giving it a more streamlined and modern look (think the Eames Lounge Chair or Edward Wormley for Dunbar). Others would reduce the number of buttons; some sofas had just one button centered on each back cushion.

Much in the same way, today’s designers are taking the trend and embracing it in contemporary ways. Here’s a look at how some of our designers are playing with tufted furniture in 2012.

TrueModern has several fresh takes on tufting. The Luna Sofa has just one simple row of buttons that create a subtle tufting across the back cushions. These buttons also emphasize a horizontal line:

On all versions of TrueModern’s Dane Sofa, the back pillows just a hint at tufting. It hints at a less-rounded grid pattern and there are no upholstery buttons required.

The One-Night Stand Sleeper Sofa from Blu Dot only has four buttons but they all stand out and are a wonderful graphic touch:

Blu Dot also applied some tufting fun to an armchair. The Animal Lounge Chair has four simple dots on the seat that play off its blocky shape.

The OFFI Perch Lounge Leather Chair pays homage to Mies van de Rohe’s Barcelona chair, complete with sleek tufted leather (and a handy shelf on the bottom):

Fatboy’s Avenue First Blocks have a grid like pattern of stitching that’s a modern take on tufting.
Wondering exactly what these pieces are? They come in different shapes and colors and can be used singly as ottomans or seats, or put together into all sorts of  configurations, from a big square to the letter “f”. Here it’s kind of like a snake:

Has tufted furniture caught your eye or do you like your upholstery strictly streamlined? Please weigh in in the comments section!

Harummph. Have you lost steam after the initial resolution excitement and are at the point of giving up? Don’t do it! Do a small project that will give you a sense of satisfaction and give you your confidence back! Here are some ideas:

ONE: Instead of saying “I’m going to completely reorganize the 10,000 pictures I have in iPhoto into properly titled albums and make books and cards and upload half of them to Flickr and – and – and –,” grab one box of old-school actual photos and fill one old-fashioned album.

Don’t these beautiful cloth-colored KOLO photo albums make you miss photo albums?

TWO: Instead of tackling that entire closet, tackle one measly drawer, or one simple task like your jewelry. For inspiration, check out Closet Designer to the Stars Lisa Adams’ guest posts. She’s incredible!

This offer is also good for simply sorting out your notecards and other types of cards. I love this cabinet that Lockette has organized in her studio:

photo by Lockette

THREE: Get that Dopp kit or cosmetic bag ready for your next trip. Seriously, is there anything worse than trying to throw that stuff together at the last minute? I always forget my face stuff or my contact case or something else very important. Also, one of the only pleasurable things about a trip to CVS is perusing the travel-size aisle. While you’re at it, clean our your bag and toss all of those ancient hotel conditioners that have 1/2″ left in the bottom, the unraveled Q-Tips and the Advil that escaped the bottle and has stained the inside brown. Better yet, toss the whole thing and get a new bag.

photo: Flowie

photo: Blu Dot

FOUR: As for the office, so maybe you didn’t revamp that filing system and sort every single file, putting every piece of paper in alphabetical then chronological order. Take on a drawer and make sure you have a handy spot for your stapler, your writing utensils, your scissors and your post-its, either in said drawer or in an office organizer.

photo: Vitra

FIVE: Tackle the fridge. I know it isn’t fun or sexy, but it is hygenic, healthy and extremely satisfying when you are done. Wait for the day before you hit the grocery store, so that it will be as empty as possible. Besides, this is a much easier task than tackling the pantry!

photo from bigchill.com

If you’re not psyched to do this, watch an episode of Hoarders. If that doesn’t motivate you, take all the pictures and magnets off your fridge and reorganize those!

Also, I’ve recommended both of these books before, but they really do get your ready to get cracking on projects, I promise:

Unclutter Your Life in One Week! by Erin Doland

The Happy Home Project by Jean Nayar

Let us know if you accomplish any of these, and what other projects you are tackling. I’ll be back next week with five more easy-peasy instant gratification projects!