Sounds like you have a plan and are far ahead of the game by having the clutter in boxes ready to look through. I find that writing a To Do list of things to be done in the house helps me. But I only think that's because I like the feeling of crossing each item off the list.

Please keep posting for two reasons. One, to keep yourself accountable and two to give the rest of us a shove to get going.

Congrats! and keep us posted.

I'll try to do some of that sort of stuff this week (though most of it will be sort of focused: "the shoe cabinet" one day; "the boy's fall clothes" the next)

And one note from your story, for all of us to learn from:

I found my diamond and gold bracelet in a drawer,it had broken and I quickly put it there to prevent it from getting "lost" in the general clutter of my life and home. I forgot all about it and found it a just a few weeks ago. Took it to the jeweler and got it fixed, it's now safely in my jewelry box

I would like to encourage us all to NOT allow ourselves to "quickly put it there"--remember Jannie's bracelet when you're tempted, and instead put it back IN the jewelry box right away, even if it's broken, missing its mate, etc. I've been working on just this thing, and am getting better at it.

I put things, even if they're broken, away. I call it the 'no summer homes' philosophy. Only 'primary residences.'

My big challenge is going to be getting to the Container Store of BB&B to get a wire shelf to go inside the shoe cabinet, so we can double-deck the shoes.

Good for you, jannie!!! Keep posting.

When I was still doing stash and dashes, I would use laundry baskets. They gave me a visual signal that it was only a temporary residence for the stuff and I needed to come back and finish.

I have also given myself legitimate piling places. I have plate on the microwave for those little things. Right now I have a broken watch, two pair of earrings, three screws for a light fixture, two rolls of film to be developed, an emery board, two buttons, a necklace, my dd's ring which needs repair and my wedding rings. It's contained and I know where to look. Now, that I've looked I should deal with those items.

I have a small area right next to my control journal for papers. While it's best not to handle the papers much, sometimes we do need to set them aside until another time. If I can't find something, I only have to look in this pile and I do go through it weekly. My other spot is an area in my sewing room. It's for "stuff" like items I need to return to a store, stuff which just doesn't fit elsewhere. It usually ends up being pitched or given away but for some reason I need a holding spot, so I give myself one. It's a small spot, though!

We'll watch for tomorrow's installment.

Gloria

Garden Web and Kitchen Forum people are the greatest! Thanks for reading and commenting on my post.

Monday went well. I maintained my clean kitchen and went thru one box downstairs. All it had was old magazines,which I recycle by bringing to either a local coffee house or laundromat. Out went two big bags of garbage. And the organizing bug has bit. My daughter has completely leaned her room, and she gave me a big bag of clothes I can donate. She also brought a big box of stuff to her boyfriend's house. I don't care what's in it. Her room looks nice. We can see the carpeting again! She was one of the "messiest daughters in the universe."

I need a holding spot, so I give myself one.

excellent point!

Thanks to Gloria for mentioning flylady. I am up to the shiny sink stage and organizing and cleaning as you go. The prince suddenly mentioned at 6PM we were having a friend of his as an overnite guest in the apt we are living in whilst the castle moat is being fixed. The beds were made, the kitchen was immaculate; no dish drain on the sink, did it all before work. coming home felt like the servants had been busy while I was gone.

It's Wednesday, maintained the kitchen, then I'm off on errands. Doctor appointment, then Motor Vehicles, that should shoot most of the daylight hours. Tonight I'll try to get to another box. I like seeing my kitchen all neat and clean. All it takes is the morning is to unload the diswasher, check the countertops and table, swiffer mop the floor, then tke out the garbage.

Jannie- you can post "Tahdas" on Squalor Survivors if you like. Just from checking out the site- there is a real diverse group of people on that forum. Lots are just there for tips and support.

Dastowers,thanks for the response,but I can't post at all on Squalor Survivors or 43 things listings. Just not a super competent computer-savvy person, me.

Ok, if you decide you would like to join, email me and I will send you the link. It is a forum just like this one- actually almost the same software.

jannie, keep going but remember to take time to enjoy yourself. Slow and steady wins the race. You have a better chance of not burning out of the decluttering process if you don't try and do it all at once.

There are lots of other boards which focus on organization, buy like everything else, we get too scattered if we try and use very many different ones.

Check on you tomorrow.

Gloria

I fiogured how how to post on 43 thiungs, so that's where I put my weekend activities. I'm trying to maintain momentum. It feels good!

hey, don't leave us out--

are you finding it easier to maintain, now that you've gotten so far?

Yes, the maintenance is easy. It's easier to keep clean than to do the heavy work. I'm still organizing,my family barely notices it, and they're either oblivious to the subtle changes or complaining about something I threw out. Hey, I threw out that half-box of lasagna noodles yesterday. We only make lasagna about once every six years. I'm not saving pasta for six tears. It'll get stale and draw bugs. Buy more when you need it.

Just keep in mind that you are really doing this for yourself. It would be nice if the family would make positive comments, but the first time you have a party and don't have to kill yourself getting ready, you will have more reinforcement than you need.

Sandra Felton says this: "Your house is your larger self." "The house is not just bricks and mortar, furniture
and personal items. Your psyche, as a woman,is intrinsically connected to the condition of the house. The problem is that a messy house does not properly reflect our better qualities. Instead it reflects our fears, bad habits, and misplaced ideas."

Gloria

Jannie,

Good job!

True confession: It took me a whole winter after I joined Flylady to get through many years worth of stash & dash bags & boxes. LOL I swear I was the Queen of Stash & Dash.

Julie

OH UGH I know the stash and dash problems well. We had our house on the market to sell for almost a year FSBO so I ran almost 24/7 open house. LOL Even after two moves since then I am still finding things that got stashed when I had to dash to the front door. I am trying so hard to not do this anymore. I found this is how things seem to get lost forever in my case.

Having a place to put the things like a basket is a good idea for when I do not have time to put them directly away.At least I know this is the first place to look. I am trying so hard to just put the things away.

I feel I have done a good job organizing our house ,now, but I still feel like it needs more work in some areas. I have not had time to follow Flylady until now and will make a real effort to do that.

Jannie thanks for this thread it brought a smile to my face remembering some of the places I found stashed things.

Maggie

I thought I was well past the clean out from the stash and dashes. I've been taking a box of photos and going through them while I sit at a friends business shop. It makes me get done in a hour and not spread out all over.

My box yesterday contained appraisals for some misc. gems. Not even our stones, but a client's stuff from an estate the DH had to do several years ago. We got new appraisals, because these were too old anyway, but how in the heck did things like that get mixed up with tons of photographs. There was also a magazine which had an idea for a patio. I'm flipping through it going, "Oh, yes, that's why I kept this. Stupid of me to shove it in here." If I had torn out those two pages and put them in a file, I might have used the idea last year. Too late now.

I'm sure I have put things in more boxes during the last few days of our move. I have four more big boxes of photos to power sort and I hope that's the last of my suprises.

Gloria

I used to have all of my pictures in the albums with the clear page and sort of sticky backing to hold the picture. The kind that is a few years the pictures start falling out of. The last time we moved I took all of the pictures out of each album and put them in zip loc bags in the order they were in the album and put them all in a nice old flat suitcase. The old vintage ones. I can feel those of you that are scrappers etc cringing but I have no one that will be interested in my pictures when I am gone so no reason to save them beyond me. I eliminated 12 albums down to one nice small and someday I will make it cute old suitcase. I find I even look at the pictures more often when I do not have to worry about pictures falling out if it. It had gotten so I hated to even touch an album for the mess I would create.

I think if a person wanted to save their pictures for ever you can get archival boxes and store them differently than baggies and an acid suitcase. LOL

Sometimes I wonder when I will get to the bottom of stash and dash. The last parts of moves are always messes where things go anywhere they will fit. Going on two and a half years here now.

The biggest part for me is to try NOT to keep stashing and dashing. :^(((

Maggie

Sounds a good plan to me. That gold bracelet looks very precious.

Here is a link that might be useful: gold