"It's sorta like the more I stare at it, the more it seems to multiply before my eyes, lol."

I'd stop staring at it before it multiplies you right out of your home!!LOL

Seriously, I know how overwhelming it can be to try and look at the big picture and see everything you need/want to do. For me, it is easier to simply take one small area at a time. By breaking up the whole task into small bitesized pieces, I can get my head around it. Pick just one small area, like two feet to the left of the kitchen sink, and tell yourself that that is the task for the day. Tomorrow you'll do the next two feet, and so on.

You may find some helpful advice on the Flylady website. Googling it will find it for you, I don't have it on hand. She talks about baby steps, you can do anything for 15 minutes, etc.

If you need help getting rid of 'stuff', how about a good friend or a relative? Call your church, your doctor's office, social services, etc. for a possible referral.

Stick with this, you can do it, or at least find some help. And I do wish you good luck.

Barbara

So, how's it going?
What have you tossed today?

You cannot eat a Big Mac hamburger in one bite, and you cannot conquer your "things" in one big bite either. You need to tackle one box, one pile, one room at a time. Set tiny goals for yourself.

If you have things to donate, many organizations pick up so you would not have to hassle boxes, bags of stuff.

Do you think you would be able to use a high school girl to help you? If so, call your local high school to see if they have a youth employment program and can send you someone.

I encourage you to get started. You will be a happier person.

Best wishes.

Well I did manage to do one thing. I got the name of two sisters whose job is to help de-clutter and/or clean your house. One of them will be coming by next week to see just what I have to do. She says she has seen it all. They declutter, re-arrange closets, etc, and clean ifyou need cleaning. I told her I think I could keep it up if I could just get rid of all this junk I was not able to do much at all today because I was really in a lot of pain. They charge $35 an hour, but if they work the entire hour and not piddle around, and if things get done, I don't consider that too bad of a price. I am going to get some references and then see what happens from here on. Pk

I don't know where your located but that price doesn't seem too bad. Frankly they will come in and you'll be amazed at what can happen in one hour. I bet once everything is under control you'll mentally feel better cuz it won't all be staring at you therefore physically it won't seem so overwhelming because you can't sort it yourself. Can't wait till she comes to help you.

In the meantime, see if you can toss ten things today. Just 10!

I won't presume to know what you are dealing with physically, but my own experience may help you. When I started on this journey 3 years ago, I told myself that I didn't have the energy, I didn't have the time, yada, yada, yada. When I took my first baby step and cleared my first flat surface of its junk, I felt like I could literally pick up the house and move it to the next block!!! I was amazed how much that one small accomplishment energized me and motivated me. It isn't perfect, but now anyone can stop by unannounced and I don't panic.

You may find if you can deal with your discomfort for 15 minutes and tackle one small task, you kind of forget about the physical discomfort because of the good emotions you will experience. And, your 'helpers' may get more done than you expected.

How about giving it a try?!

Barbara

Be prepared to pitch a lot of stuff because those ladies may come in full steam ahead and you don't want to be paying them $35 while you're deciding what needs to go and what needs to stay.

Good luck, and it sounds like you are on the right track. You will feel so much better once the stuff is cleaned out.

I had a friend who hired a lady to clean and would get annoyed because the lady kept trying to organize her. LOL My friend was very unorganized so I know the lady was going crazy trying to straighten my friends clutter as she cleaned. The woman was an organizer by trade and only cleaned as a side line and her first love kept getting in the way of her cleaning. I thought that was so funny.

Use your mind, your imagination, your spirit. you are phydically tired, yes, but your brain and spirit are strong. Imagine a task you want to do, imagine yourself doing it, then imagone it done and how good it looks and how light and free you feel with the task done. Then do it!

Have you tossed ANYTHING yet?

You CAN do it!

Sounds like you are on the right track--you've identified a way to "jump start" the process--lots of different ways for different folks and this one looks like it may work for you. Feeling junked up IS depressing and probably makes your illness worse and you are seeing youself in a vicious cycle. A combination of doing small bits and pieces yourself plus hiring someone for specific tasks may be a good approach for you. Then jannie's imagine idea can work for you because once you feel you don't have to do everything yourself, you become more able to identify other tasks that you need done if can afford to hire help for some of them. It's the looking at the un-done stuff that is such a downer! Way to go!

Well, how did this week's meeting with the sisters go?
Did you hire one of them?

Well I have NOT thrown out anything because last Sat nite, the 8th, I fell and broke my right arm AGAIN, I had just broken it on May 2nd. and now this, I was doing a whole lot of planning and stuff and then this happened. So here I am not being able to use my right arm AGAIN> Yes I talked to the sisters, they charge 35.00 an hour and my hubby said" :"are you nuts?". I also had a girl come to me and said she could give me 6 hours for 125.00 and would start in my closet. but that was before I broke the arm, now I am gonna have to re-think this whole ordeal. maybe wait until I can actually do some things before I have someone come in, it never stops does it???? piggy

Sorry to hear about your arm, but please try not to let the accident make decisions for you. If you want to get the mess under control, that is what you should work on. Since you aren't physically capable of carrying out your plans yourself, it is an even better time to let someone else help you.

As for your hubby, if he can get a much happier wife for the bargain prices you are talking about, he should consider himself lucky.

Also, getting things cleaned up may really help with your fibromyalgia. Besides for the psychological benefits, clutter breeds all sorts of things that can irritate your condition - dust, mold, mildew etc. You don't notice it because it builds up over time, but once it is gone, you may be breathing a sigh of relief.

"Sorry to hear about your arm, but please try not to let the accident make decisions for you."

I agree 100%!
No better time to have someone there to do the work for you.

Life will ALWAYS get in the way... you have to CHOOSE to overcome obstacles.

Aw, darn! I was expecting to read an update about your organizing project. I am so sorry to hear about your setback!

I agree with Luann. Don't give up entirely on your project. There will never be a "perfect" time to start your project, so begin as soon as is reasonable. Even more than before, you'll need help from others to accomplish your goal.

Here's an idea I just had: If $35/hour for professionals seems too steep, perhaps you could hire a few diligent young people to be your arms and legs. You could pay them the going babysitter rate in your area. Of course, they won't be able to give you the advice of the professionals, but they could certainly lift and carry anything you can't. You might decide to do that in addition to at least one visit from the professional cleaning sisters. Would you have the sisters come in first, and finish up with the kids' help? Or would you have the kids attack the easy stuff first, then have the sisters come apply the finishing touches?

If you are able to organize despite your broken arm, just think how pleased you will be with the final result.

Wishing you a speedy recovery, a smooth de-cluttering process, and the peace that comes from a clean home.

Time out - if hubby doesn't want to pay for it, why isn't he DOING it?

I don't think either is really ready to make changes....

...I can keep a reasonably clean house, but not the way it is now.

I learned about my comfortable capabilities through my Clutterer Anonymous program. I found I could not keep a mantle dusted when it had 20 things on it, but was able to keep it dusted when it only had 3 things on it. I tell others, there is nothing wrong with not liking to dust - but there is something wrong with not liking to dust and having too many things to dust.

From Walden:

"I had three pieces of limestone on my desk, but I was terrified to find
that they required to be dusted daily, when the furniture of my mind
was all undusted still, and I threw them out the window in disgust.
How then could I have a furnished house? I would rather sit in the
open air, for no dust gathers on the grass, unless where man has
broken ground."

Maybe you just need to hire a sensible and responsible teenager to be the extra set of hands (arms) for you?

You pick 1 room, and that person does the physical stuff while you do the cerebral.

(or, what maryliz said)

I find that simply having someone physically there, with *their* time marked out for this task, makes me stay on the task. Partly bcs I feel that I'm wasting their time if I don't, and partly bcs it means I have company.

Even if you just ask a friend to give you a couple of hours to tackle two surfaces, or one closet, or one category (like, "all the paper" or "all the china/decorative objects that I know need to go out" or "all the stuff that's actually broken")

And, I play a game where every day, I 'Toss Ten."

I have to throw out (or donate) ten things. Sometimes it's big stuff (that lamp in the basement), or categories (all the rubber bands in the junk drawer); sometimes it's little stuff (each pencil on the desk counts as 1). That way, I always have progress, even if it's a day when I'm feeling stymied.

Another thing you and your DH can do NOW is to set up a "train" or "system" for getting donateable items out of your house. I think one of the roadblocks is when you have something you're ready to give up, but you aren't ready to toss, bcs it does still work. That can derail and entire session.

So mark off a place to put stuff that's being "tossed to another home" (instead of "tossed out completely"), and a routine that will move it out of there and over to the GoodWill.

well I did manage to get two huge garbage bags filled with clothes, pulled into them with my left hand,lol, but I have nt made up my mind about hiring someone, but I am working on that.

"well I did manage to get two huge garbage bags filled with clothes"

Yay... good for you!

Now, did those bags leave the house?