Sharon (scraphappy), I can relate to keeping things out of habit. I have collections that were fun to ''collect'' but don't really feed my soul in any way. Like you, I've downsized many and given the favorites a little space around the edges so I could appreciate them. I am fond of my copper though!

Jaybird, glad you're posting, packrat !

Talley Sue, No Wonder you're such a fountain of good information...you know what they say about people from Iowa being the nicest of all. Whether it's nice, helpful or ''buttinskiest'', everyone is glad you're here! It's also good to hear you have your hot spots, because truth be known, we all have them...Good luck on selling your place.

Vegangirl, with a daylily nursery and such a huge garden, I know you're busy! I'm too much of a plant collector myself; so much so that many of the tropicals get dragged to the basement for the winter months, to stretch out under lights. I have plants I brought with me 13 years ago from California that I just can't seem to part with. Aren't you glad your mom is decluttering now and with a vengance? Bless her for saving you from having to deal with it later.

Chris (Shades of Idaho), your description of taking three years peeling back layer by layer is so appropriate! Organizing is such a process, isn't it? And it's so true that sometimes things get much worse before they get better. I think you must be fairly organized anyway if you have ''storage studio''. Where do you work on your projects? (Good luck with your three-room-makeover.)

Iasheff, another Iowan! I've spent some time up in that corner of the states, and remember one particular Halloween day/night we visited the little town of Walnut. I've been thinking about going back up there lately, where the image of little kids trick or treating is burned into my memory. No, you're not far at all...it feels like we could all jump in the car and meet! My office is usually a hot spot too, although I'm getting a handle on it. A year ago I wouldn't have known where to begin, but now if pressed, I could manage a 15 minute cleanup. That's a reasonable goal for anyone I think, although I had to completely rework my filing system.

Barbara (Bspofford), the art of homemaking is a good thing to aspire to. Your box count (and year tally) is quite similar to what I've been going through. I commend you for getting the count to a manageable 9! Also, I loved what you said about giving yourself permission to pass on usable items without agonizing over the amount of money spent. Sometimes that is a major roadblock we just have to jump over. I've had that conversation with myself many times going through my Sale items and just had to let it go. Thanks for sharing yourself!

Celticmoon, I love your description of ''pretired''! I think everyone's most happy you're working part-time, since we get the benefit of your presence here. So true that it's one box, one bag at a time!

Susan (alisande), I remember some of your posts from before and am grateful to hear you're on the other side of loss and remodeling, which are both so stressful. I've lived in several old homes which like yours, had a major lack of closet space. A few years ago I found an antique revolving clothes rack that added the equivalent of two of our small closets to a corner of the bedroom and I felt like I had really scored. As long as ''progress'' is your operative word, I have no doubt you're managing quite well!

I'll be back!

the fewer things I attempt, the more I actually complete

I am with you on this one, pinktoes! I used to have all sorts of projects half in process. They overwhelmed and distracted me. Now I have a notebook and folder where I write down these brainstorms and project ideas and keep pictures or drawings that explain the concept. I feel reassured that if I'm at a loss for a project, I know I can look in my book and remember all the ideas I've had. But I don't let myself start a new project until I've finished the one I'm working on. That includes no collecting of materials and supplies either, as I can just as easily get caught up in the preparation phase. I've found I'm more likely to finish the current project if i don't invest any energy in another project at the same time. I've never been a big fan of reading more than one book at a time, and I'm not a good multi-tasker either. I don't know why I had let myself get all caught up in the accumulation of projects. Most likely the thrift shop and flea marketing habit brings that out because you see so many neat things that just need a little work.

Claire de luna, thanks for doing this. I'm really enjoying meeting everyone. Hello, fellow Pennsylvanians!

Tina

Tina
Chester county is a beautiful area. Our garden club has made many bus trips to your area to see gardens and old houses.
Nice to meet you. Im in the poconos.

Claire---I spent 18 years in Phoenix, Arizona and just moved back to my hometown of Leavenworth, Kansas two years ago. Az is what inspired me to create this screenname.

About the Nu-Way----We just love that little diner and the sandwiches are good too! I make them myself as well using Lipton Onion Soup Mix..lol. I've known the owner since the 70's and was surprised when moving back home that he was still running the restaurant! Have actually run into many of my old friends and acquaintances here in the midwest, which makes it nice.

I am from Kansas/MO really. I moved to Alaska from Topeka. My dad is buried in Leavenworth. I was born in Independence and went to elementary school in Blue Springs.

Is Nuway the place with the ground beef sandwiches, all loose on a bun? Kind of like sloppy joes without the tomato sauce? Is there another one on the MO side?

Gloria

I am late to the party but wanted to say hello. I am a SAHM with a 4 y/o boy and 1 y/o twin girls. The addition of the twins has really thrown me for a loop, and I find myself struggling to stay on top of everything I want to do -- I am currently sitting at a desk with literally hundreds of pieces of paper around me and no real system for going through them except that when one of the kids throws them all on the floor, I pick them up and occasionally find something important that needs action, so I pick up the phone to make the call and realize that the dinner is burning and then...well, I'm sure you've all been here.

metromom--well, I haven't quite been there. I've been there w/ the "no system for going through the papers."

But not w/ twin infants! Wowee! (I think we can excuse you for being late to the party, LOL, though in truth this is an "open house," and there's no such thing as "late.")

That first year must have bene really hard (though I'm hoping your 3-y-o was as easy on you as mine was when her baby brother arrived--she wasn't much actual help, but she was easy to have around).

I'm sure things will get a bit easier as they get older, but I bet you're always going to have it busy.

I'm glad you're with us!

Hi everyone! Gloria, it's a small world from Alaska back to Kansas City! Yes, the Nuway is exactly that. There used to be one on the MO side in Kansas City, but it isn't there any longer. I finally figured out the recipe and posted it at Recipezaar, so I wouldn't forget it. It seems like there's always some kind of funky ''Nuway'' recipe in the local paper that isn't it, so I'm happy to provide a recipe that's the Real Deal.

Rhonda, the Nuway were I grew up is historical as well, which is why I feel right at home there. You have to love a place that's been around as long as that one has!

I wanted to address everyone who posted to this thread, just for myself so I could learn about you all. I know it's not necessary but it's helping! Forgive my idiosyncrasies please. I really like this particular forum and it's great to see so many come out of hiding and posting here. Tomorrow...

I agree,this is fun!

Metromom, breathe deep and don't sweat the small stuff. I didn't have twins (yikes!), but I have a small gang (six kids) and eventually, they all grow up. I promise. For a long time, all I could accomplish was keeping the bills paid, meals prepared, the dishes washed for the next round.

Read stories to your kids, play with them, enjoy them; they are your priority. They are very young now, but it will get easier for you. Keep the bills paid and try to live as best you can with the rest of the chaos. I'm glad you are a SAHM. And don't let anyone make you wonder what you did with your time during the day - YOU ARE WORKING HARD.

Meanwhile, the people on this forum will help rescue you. It's kind of like they wave a magic wand of support here and you don't feel like you're the only one who needs help. This is a great place to visit!

Sherry

I'm Ann from Arizona. I homeschool, so I have junk everywhere! We've finally hit the stage where we're past the toddler/pre-k stage with all the manipulatives and such. I've lightened my load considerably! Also, after 4 years of living in this house, we have finally got someone to show up and build me shelving in my closets! 4 years of no-shows and "we don't come out that far". Yay! I've also gotten a clue about double duty furniture and building closets as opposed to buying more junk to hold the junk! I've been coming here since 2000? I recognize Talley Sue, but I don't always post much!
Ann

Interesting. I am, as my nom-de-screen indicates, named Steve. I live in the Twin Cities now, but I lived in New York until I went to college, attended Kansas State University, was graduated from Iowa State University, and still have relatives in the northeast Kansas/KCMO area. I think that about covers it geographically. :-)

I live by myself now and have learned (the hard way) that I have difficulty with clutter and disorganization. Strangely, I have greater difficulty when I see this in others than when I see it in myself :-o, and that is a bit of a struggle for me. I mostly lurk here until issues about electronics surface (I'm an electronics geek). It's a pretty friendly place; I just don't think there are many topics to which I can add much of value.

It's nice to meet all of you. It's especially nice that I don't have to remember names and faces, because that usually takes a couple of times to get right. :-)

This has been so much fun! I have enjoyed reading about everyone! There is NO way I would post a picture of one of our closets... LOL Our house is well over 100 years old and huge but built before closets were important so the closets we have are 'filled'. The rest of my house, except my office, is spotless and organized. Does that count???

Hey, metromom, I want to give you a bit of advice that my nana gave me years ago... you aren't a SAHM, you are a WAHM-- you are a WORK at home mom!! Just because you are staying at home, that doesn't mean you aren't working-- and you have the most important job in the world!!

This has been an interesting read. Apparently most people have a midwestern connection. I was born in Iowa, but moved away when I was two. I currently live in Oklahoma.

I check in at the organizing forum because I got tired of looking at the mess. DH and I were both decended from packrats. I don't want to pass that trait on to my kids. I also want my kids to be able to have friends show up at the door without being embarrassed by the condition of the house. My ultimate goal is to have a house that cleans itself.

I am in Florida where I have lived most of my life. DH and I dated in HS then both went off to college only to meet several years later. We have one DD, two DGC, and two furbabies. After many years of traveling for a major financial institution, I am now working from home. I had to be super organized to be a road warrior 3 weeks a month.

I have been posting occasionally and reading daily this forum for a number of years along with the Home Decorating and Cooking forum. I organize get-togthers for the Cooking forum (ex: canning camp, bread camp, and an upcoming PJ Party in TN) and have been been to several get togethers for the Home Decorating forum. I have made some lasting friends on these forums.

I'm anal at times and can't seem to get into daily routine of work less my house is in order. I love organized, organization tools, methodologies, and being organized. For some reason, reaching and staying in a state of organization is more challenging since I started working from home.

My DH is messy, disorganized, and has little interest in domestic issues...as I have mentioned several times. I truly fear when he retires.

While we have 2-3 swaps a year on the Cooking Forum, my first swap was here. Perhaps some of you remember it. We were assigned swap partners, we sent each other stuff that was too nice to trash but we needed to let go of it. I thought it was a lot of fun.

I get a lot of ideas from the informed and motived posters here and should be more supportive in return. I think it's because I'm not confident in my skills although my friends say I'm obsessive about organizing and should do it for a living.

Thanks for sharing your issues and solutions.

What fun to get acquainted with everyone:-)

Ann, we home-schooled our three children all the way thru high school. I miss it but we are all still learners and share what we learn with each other so the fun continues:-)

I'm Dot, from NJ,living in a nice suburb with just DH, in the same house we've lived in for fifty years. Our kids are in their 50's, but thank goodness no one has come home to live! I'm really amazed that so many of you are from the mid-west. I'm also realizing that most of you are a lot younger than I am. Pinktoes, your comment about "the shortening of the road ahead" is about where we are now. Which is why I have to get organized enough to get decluttered and get this house in good repair for selling in about 10 years. Or less. I'm at the same place many of your parents are, and I truly appreciate all your ideas and suggestions.
When I work around the house, or especially if I have to go shopping (which I hate), I'm good for about 2 hours, and then have to plan something like paper work, to get a rest. DH can't help much at all, at this point. And frankly, this decluttering is going VERY slowly.

So please keep up the good suggestions - I need them!

Hi everyone. I'm (yet another) Susan. I grew up in Dayton OH, lived in Boulder CO for 16 years, and am now in Austin TX. I have an 18yo DS who just went off to college this year, a 13yo DD, 3 cats, and a DH.

I was a SAHM/uber-volunteer until a year ago. My DH has an all consuming hobby, and with my son leaving for college and my daughter blooming into a confident, independent young woman, I am feeling like my life is at a huge turning point of me-ness. I am currently studying for a certification that will open up a new career path for me.

I find that I'm asking myself, "What do I want my new life to look like?" I know I really want a clean, orderly, visually appealing home. But since I went back to work, it has gone frighteningly downhill. I've applied a little bit of Flylady, but her whole system is way too bloated and overwhelming for me. I must need more baby steps than most people.

I originally found GardenWeb through the laundry forum when I bought a new washer in 2003. But this is the forum I need most right now.

Hi, my name is Heather and I have been an avid lurker for 3 years. I never post, but I guess that will now change. I live in Brooklyn NY in a very old 3 room apartment with my DH and two cats. I sometimes wonder if Tally Sue is sitting next to me as I ride the subway. LOL. We also have a very old, small house in Southern Lancaster County Pa. I grew up in both Brooklyn and Queens (Approaching 50 in less than year, how did that happen?) and except for a very short time (4 Years) in my childhood have always lived in tiny NYC apartments. I love neat, and organized spaces, my DH feels like the world is ending if everything is neat and uncluttered, he keeps everything and claims he feels calmer if there are piles near him. I am a staff developer for the NYC school system which entailed not having a desk, office, or even a place to put my coat for the last three years. I just got my own tiny cubby, no drawers, but a desk top and chair. This means my desk area at home is in serious need of a huge purge, systems and new infrastructure. It is great to meet everyone. Thanks for all your help and future help.
Heather

Hi, I'm Katie and I'm an artist in Marietta, Ga. (My twin brother lives in St Paul, Steve O!) And my sister and parents are in Virginia where I grew up, and we also lived in Louisville KY for years before we moved here for my now-ex-husband's new job.

I have four wonderful, wonderful children, ages 4-10, and have been lurking around here for years-- some of you feel like old friends to me even if you ight not think of me the same way. I have sole custody of the children and they visit their father every other weekend and one afternoon each (two at a time) during the week. It was a progressively more abusive marriage as time went on, and the children and I are finally rebuilding a sense of normalcy.

I am trying hard to get organized. I had to go back to work full-time and now teach pre-kindergarten every day from 6-2:15. Yes, I have all our kids out the door with me and we get there at 6. I am in the process of making a little apartment in the daylight basement and will hope to find a nice person to live there in exchange for some childcare help-- maybe a college student or a more mature woman.

I am trying to get the clothes switched out for the season-- ugh! We moved in such a hurry (he got the house in the divorce) and wow, i sure wish I had help for one day!!!! One ox at a time, as they say.

Hi all,

I'm Holly about to turn 59 and an almost lifelong resident of BC -- I lived in Montreal and Edmonton for a year each as a youngin'. I have largely lurked on this (and most) forums other than the Spanish/Med thread for 3 or so years now. Really enjoy the communities and the info. Moved from 55 years living in Vancouver to Vancouver Island a couple of years ago so lots of reno's/updating going on and thus organizing. I am by nature pretty much an organized person but this last move had me doubting that statement for quite some time. :-)) Don't post much unless I feel I'm adding value as opposed to repeating what's already been said.

BIG THANKS TO CLAIR DE LUNA!!! I checked out your Nuway recipe and in the course of that and further *research* came across your dog deodarant. Serendipity for sure as our Golden Retriever came home from the beach today covered in -- WARNING - VERY GROSS --

dead seal blood. You think skunk is bad? You ain't smelled nuttin' until you get a whiff of THAT. I was gagging bigtime and I don't have a weak stomach. Your 'recipe' stuck in my mind so I ran to the computer and - praise the lord - I had the peroxide on hand. Thank you so much for posting the concoction as it really did work wonders. I'd add to your reviews there but I'm not a Recipezaar member so don't know how. ?? One thot I had is that you might want to caution folks - if their DP has any cuts or abrasions - HP could be a little stingy. Yah? Lucky for me I didn't have that problemo. Thanks so much for posting the recipe. Complete diversion from the purpose of the thread but didn't know how else to say TY. :-))

BTW - Noticed in your pics you also have a Golden. :-)) Wonderful Pups except when they roll in dead stuff. LOL!!

Hi All, There are some great little bits of wisdom in these posts! I have been coming to this board for years, trying to get the mess under control here. I have 2 dds who will be off to college in a few years and a dh and multiple businesses that we run out of our house. We live in northern Vermont in an old (also 1850) farmhouse. We have a total of 3 closets in this house - one in a bedroom, another in the office and a third under the stairs. Really helpful! But we also have a large, unfinished, unheated room to store stuff in. And store we do. I have gone through most of it, but not all at once.

We are starting to plan the house we will be building in a couple years (been thinking about it for many more). Since we rent this place, I have not wanted to do much work to it, and now that we will be moving (after 12 years here) I have trouble wanting to do anything at all to it. So now I am looking here not just for how to organize now, but how to build a home that will work for us. DH is like pinktoes with the ideas. I am more of a planner (or worrier as he calls me). So maybe that's how a thinker gets things done - give them to a doer.

Nice to "meet" you all :)

Hi, I am Karen.
I live in Michigan, just about the center of the state, we have always lived here. never had a desire to go elsewhere.
I work outside the home full time and so does my husband. Ilike to cook and have a wonderful kitchen that is pretty organized...thats cause it was new 4 yrs ago and I have tried hard to keep it that way!
We have 2 sons, a 25 yr old and a 22 yr old in college.
We also have 2 dogs in the house, a lab and a beagle. We live in Mivhigan and have all our lives.
I am trying really hard to get my house under control.
I have recently lost 50 pounds and have another 30 to go. I am wading thru the bins in the basement of clothing that I saved cause I was gonna wear it again...and I am. Some has gonr to the goodwill and some has gone on e-bay.
I have a hard time just trashing things, although I am getting better.
You know if you cut them in half you CAN NOT get them out of the garbage!
This has been fun reading and meeting all of you.
I really will not lurk anymore and post once in a while.
Karen L

Qui- NuWays are "loose meat" sandwiches and also very very similar to Maid Rite burgers too! There are many recipes floating around the internet, but only one true way of making the sandwiches. First of all, I believe the meat is steam cooked, although not positive on this. I have my own favorite way of preparing them using Lipton Onion Soup Mix and use ground chuck or sirloin and top them with chopped onion, dill pickle slices and mustard. The buns must be warmed too=)

Hi, I'm Ya Ya from Arkansas. I hang around a lot at the Kitchen Table and lurk here when I should be cleaning house! LOL I'm 57, married, kids are grown and gone and I'm a retired teacher. House is a little better organized than it was when I was working but I still (always) have a ways to go.

I'm one of those "creative thinking" ones - a thinker rather than a doer, too, I guess. I have boxes of ideas and things to finish them with. Have started slowly doing projects and have had three garage sales since March and have gotten rid of a lot of knick knacky stuff.

Read this forum for inspiration and I sure get it! Thanks so much to everyone for their ideas and hints!

Next?

Fun! I haven't had time to read all the responses yet, but I'm looking forward to it.

I found this forum a few months ago when we began building a home. I'm a pretty organized person by nature, but we all have things that get out of hand. Also, I find it interesting when I read how someone has organized something that I never thought of before. Sometimes we just do things like we always have never thinking there might be a better way!

I especially like it when Talley-Sue offers to kick someone in the shins for me. ;-)

As I said, we're building a home right now, and we will (hopefully) be in around Thanksgiving. I'm married with one 11yo son. DH is a neatnik like me which is mostly good, but sometimes annoying. (He is a little OCD with the vacuuming.) DS is **not** a neatnik and seems to have inherited some hoarding tendencies from both grandmothers. And, I'm one of the meanies that gets rid of his "stuff" without asking sometimes.

Anyway, nice to "meet" you all!

Hi--I've been lurking with just a couple posts over the past year or two. Thanks for starting the thread. I'm from Northern California and, at this time, am a SAHM with 3 kids, ages 16, 14 and 11.

Without getting too Freudian, I grew up with a mother who was ultra organized and I couldn't stand it growing up. Swore I'd never be that way. Fast forward 25 years and, while I became a sufficiently organized person, I wasn't prepared for the onslaught that came with 3 school-aged kids...papers everywhere from schools, extra-curricular activities, carpools, volunteer commitments, etc. Combine that with the decision by my dh and myself to allow the kids to pursue many outside activities and go to a school quite a distance away (meaning they have little time to tend to our home) and none of them--or my DH--are naturally well organized has made for a borderline out-of-control environment. I'm sure you can picture it--cleats dumped by the front door, supplies from one activity left in my car as they go to the next activity, school books and materials left out after homework's done, etc.

About 2 years ago I decided I was going to "get organized" and found Fly Lady and this forum and I've gotten some great tips from both. I'm still thankful to the person who described her binder with all the critical info. I was always looking through stacks of paper for the one I needed so my binder has dividers for each child, myself and the house and now, when I need to find the soccer schedule for one child or what I need to bring as snack mom for another's girl scout meeting, I just check the binder--genius!! Someone else posted their idea of putting dividers in a cabinet to store their baking pans--mine used to stack on top of one another over the oven; I risked having things fall on my head every time I tried to extract a pan. Now everything slides in it's place so neatly! I could go on and on with the things I've gleaned from this site--thanks to everyone who posts here and I'm glad to be here (albeit rather silently).

Amanda here. DH and I live in Gloucester County, NJ. I'm a lawyer , but would really rather have an organic dairy farm or a specialty yarn shop. Maybe someday when I've finished paying off all these stupid student loans? I don't post often, but I get a lot of inspiration from reading the boards. I'm a packrat by birth (my parents grew up in the Depression and passed on to me the idea that you NEVER get rid of anything with use remaining), and I don't have nearly as much time as I'd like for housework. I am trying to learn to better organize my cleaning time and to learn to get rid of things that aren't actually useful to me. I love all sorts of handicrafts and cannot safely go within 2 miles of a hardware, fabric or yarn store. I'm trying to discipline myself to buy fabric and yarn only when I have a definite project in mind and a definite deadline to complete it. Even if it is linen and marked down to $1 per yard.

Hi, I'm Barbara from Atlanta. I lurk a lot, but don't post often. Have been a hoarder for years and then a tree fell through the house (no one was hurt) and we had to move everything. We had a 40'x 8' container sitting at the top of the driveway for several months. When the repairs were done, i vowed that we would only bring back things we needed/really wanted into the house. This left us with enough for a huge yard sale and Goodwill were very happy! Still have stuff in the house we don't really need, but on the whole with less clutter it is much easier to keep clean and organized. Still have a few problem areas, but no where near as bad as it was. Finding it less difficult to dispose of things these days (do i really still need that dress i wore when twenty years ago???). Live with DH and DS who is 20, and a dog. Love to garden and be outside at this time of year. Picked up many useful tips here - thanks to everyone.

Hi, I'm Susan. I live in southern Ontario, and I work in social services; although I've been on a sick leave for 15 months. I have two grown kids, one of whom still lives at home (22 and in school). I also have a DH and two chihuahuas. I usually can be found at the KT. I'm mostly organized, but there are a few things I need to work on. My sewing room is pretty organized, but I need to use up some of the fabric! First I have to finish a quilt though..I am in a slump and really need to get at it.

Hi all. I live in Northern NJ. I am married with 3 children, 2 grown sons out of the house and on their own and one 13 y.o. DD still at home. We live in a 100 y.o. house with our mixed breed terrier. I have been lurking on this forum for several months and have enjoyed and learned so much from all the posters. I found GW while doing research for a kitchen remodel [which by the way, also turned into a remodel of 3 baths and replacement of 28 windows!] I am so enjoying the fun of being kitchen-less for the last 6 weeks and living with a thick layer of construction dust all over the place - NOT!

I am a hoarder by nature, but with all of the good advice here, I have learned that it really is OK to discard or donate things that are no longer relevant to my current life [even if they are "still good" or "cost so much when I purchased them"]. It is a long and arduous journey that I am traveling since my DH and DD are both "organizationally challenged" and don't feel particularly motivated to change. I am having some success with "motivating" my daughter [taking away privileges does wonders, but DH is a tougher challenge.

I really enjoy this forum!

Hello, everyone! My friends call me Surfer, and I took a break from this forum so I could work on my thesis paper. But now it's done and I'm very proud of it. I'm 21, from Florida, and I graduate from college in May. Hey auburnfan, guess where I go to school. My goal right now is to pare down a lot of my junk so I will have less stuff to move when I leave college.

My major is theatre, so I'm always using advice I read on here to stay organized. I'm assistant directing, learning special effects, have a part-time job outside the theatre,and as part of my scholarship/work study thing, I'm working in the costume studio. It's easy to get overwhelmed with people's schedules, paperwork, and let's not even get started on that costume studio. Lots of fabric, notions, dye, everything! But I try to keep my projects in order and I have a cute little desk area. My costume professor even called me an organizational queen! So thanks guys!

~Surfer~

I'm Randi, 40, married with 2 furry children( dachshunds). I live in Southwestern Ontario in a small town(4k) close to London. I moved here from California( grew up in Florida, born in NY) 5yrs ago. I'm a total city girl and living in this rural area has taken a lot of getting used to. I'm married to a very organized person and we clash constantly on this subject. I'm a chef turned lawyer turned chef and I have tons of cooking equipment. I'm usually on the kitchen forum as our kitchen is almost finished( gutted and renovated). We also added a huge 24 x 24 addition with a large walk-in closet. More room to store stuff!!

Hi! I'm Erica, 29 years old, and have lurked/posted on this forum for a couple of years. I live in Warwick, RI (just outside of Providence) with my DH and two kids, ages 5 and 19 months. We also have 2 dogs and 2 cats. I grew up in Newport with my hoarding mom and minimalist dad. It's not a big surprise that they are divorced now! My mom is a collector of folk art, paintings, gourds, santas etc. I could go on and on! She lives in a huge 4 bedroom victorian that is bursting at the seams with expensive stuff. I struggle with being somewhere in between my mom and dad. His condo is bare. He is using a couch that I gave him about 7 years ago.

I mostly struggle with laundry and keeping up with all the day to day stuff. Our living room, kitchen and bathroom stay neat for the most part, it's the bedrooms that lack organization. We're getting there though, and this forum is always good for inspirtation!!

It's so nice to meet you all!

I'm Amy, almost 50, part-time academic librarian, struggling writer, and full time mom to 8yo dd who is homeschooling. Dh, dd and I live in a small town just outside of San Francisco. We've been in our current (and I hope permanent) home for about 4 years. I got the organizing bug when dd's books, toys, and art stuff threatened to take over the house. I've also been struggling with time management issues (work, house, dd, dh, dog, garden...)

Thanks to all who recommended getting a Palm pilot - my Palm Z22 has changed my life! All the chores that I previously kept organized in a file box are now on my Palm. I've been able to find time to practice yoga, write, and do some much needed remodeling of our house.

Although my house will never be completely organized, I feel like I'm getting to be an organized person. Sort of.

Hi everyone,

I'm kind of late posting on this thread - I live in northern Arkansas, where I have lived all my life. I am 30ish female, married. I am a newspaper reporter in a small town and live on my family farm, where we raise cattle. We have eight cats and dogs.

I have always, all my life, been horribly messy and disorganized in my personal space. My husband is no better. I think we are probably one of those families where we seem normal - intelligent, presentable, etc. - on the outside, but our house (and vehicles) are like a sick, dark secret. A couple times a year, we clean up the house and make it really nice for a party or something. Then, most of the rest of the time, it is such a mess that we have to avoid letting anyone inside.

We are currently building a new house, and I spend most time on the building forum. However, I came over here recently when I started thinking about designing all my organizational spaces in the new house - closets, pantry, etc. I am excited and overwhelmed by this prospect, and I hope this will be the start of a new and better organized life for us.

This is a great forum!

What a wonderful idea!!!Hello Hello everyone! - I've enjoyed reading your "bio's"! I've mainly been lurking for quite some time with a few responses here and there...I'm a mid-fifties divorced mother of two grown kids, and a mental health clinician from New England. I didn't get my masters until my late 40's...translation: I was a part-time student forever, and spent years being around for my kids and Collecting. Lots and lots of time to indulge in my varied interests via tag sales, flea-markets, & antique shops...Translation: I have too many possesions. Sadly, like the cobblers' shoeless children, I'm pretty good at conducting groups on achieving goals, managing roadblocks, organizing etc., but have difficulty letting go of my own stuff...I'm pretty fussy and don't generally bring something into my life unless I really like it, or think I will need it - therefore it becomes difficult to let go. I'm working on it. I've find your successes inspiring!

Hi guys! I'm sorry to be so late to introduce myself.
I'm a SAHM currently living in Indiana with one child (of 3) still at home! I'm married to a workaholic whose career has taken us around the country. We've lived in tiny apartments in San Francisco, huge houses in Kansas City, KS, ranch houses in Boca Raton, FL, dream house for 5 mos in TOledo, OH, and now here in Indiana. Each move also required a temporary move to an apartment with belongings in storage! Our family saying is the we've lived on both coasts and everywhere in between! I can laugh now but it was really hard moving and getting our kids settled. THe good thing is that I got used to culling things on a regular basis. We've lived in this house for a record 8 years and may be here for good(??!!??)
I really appreciated the post from Pinktoes. Could we be related? I struggle with "potential". I am always coming up with way too many ideas that send me spinning in too many directions. THe result is either total paralysis or lots of unfinished projects.
I love this forum. You all give me so much motivation and support whether I am lurking or posting. I see that my life is changing direction. I am not sure yet where this new path will take me. I feel the need to lighten our possessions, establish new and better habits and evaluate my priorities. Thanks to all of you for your interest, ideas, questions and support. It means alot to me.
T

Hi Surfer! War Eagle! I lived in Florida during my childhood years, too. AND, I even majored in 'business theater' for one quarter at AU. (The red-headed step child of majors. People in the school of business don't claim you, and either do the theater folk.) I spent a lot of time working the ticket booth at the Telfair Peat (is that still there??)

Anyway, good to meet you. Sorry I didn't see your post sooner!

Hi, I'm Patsy. I hang out on the decorating and building a home forumsbecause I'm building a home. In the interim my present house is a mess most of the time and I don't care! No, I do care, just very difficult to focus on tasks to be done here when I'm planning on things for the new house. The new house that will have so much more storage, etc. etc.

Pinktoes, the affliction you suffer from is "creativity." That's why my desk is always messy. I'd rather be creating or learning something new than cleaning off this filthy desk. However, it has reached "that point." That is the point where I can't find a piece of paper with information I had last week. I start getting even more anxious when I can't find things. So after this message I am turning off this computer and am not turning it back on until this desk is clean!! See you in January. No, just kidding!! LOL It won't take me but a minute to put all of this in the trash. LOL!!!

Hi, I'm debios from Northern Alberta. I have 50 years of treasures and stuff to deal with. I used to frequent this forum years ago, then life took over. So happy to return and see well, at least Tally Sue still here. You've given me some great advise in the past. Thank you. I've got a downsize looming in the future and I want to be ready so was very happy to see the enthusiasm here.Lokking forward to sharing great accomplishments with you all.

I am really enjoying reading this forum and "meeting" all of you. I'm Donna and I live in North Central OH-Halfway between Cleveland & Columbus. I am married 30 yrs and have 2 grown children (daughter is home due to being MR/DD), son is in the Marine Corps. My husband and I are disabled (I have COPD; limiting my energy to just about how far my O2tubing can reach LOL & the weather) Anyway I'm a sporadic Goodwill donator--and have just found our local FreeCycle group which has really helped. My clutter problems are paperwork, past inventory from all the direct sales companies I used to be with, and the usual assortment of stuff you have when you downgrade fm a big house to smaller one.

I have a storage unit which holds the usual-including the stuff of my son's--grrr i've been after him everytime he comes home on leave to "take it with you" but hmmm never does. My goal is to get rid of everything in that unit whether by yard sale, goodwill, free cycle or plain old trash!

I miss my old house in the country where I could burn the stuff but well we have to deal with where we are now.
Thanks for all the tips and keep them coming!

Donna

I've been on the forums since 2005 -- started here when building our home. Since then, I spend growing season with Cottage Garden Forum and off-season with Home Decorating, Kitchens and Building a Home (to try to give back some of the help I received and to get more help with current projects).

I'm going to be 54 in a few days, retired now (thanks to my DH). I actually have TIME to organize!

I just finished my quest for the perfect glass storage jars for my pantry! I ended up with Italian canning jars from World Market. I also got some glass pasta jars with airtight bamboo lids.

Anyway, in my now spare time, I garden and I write in my blogs. (Yes, I do miss the writing aspect of my old job).

I am looking for more creative ways to stay organized.

Cameron (Won By Her Wits is our greyhound)

Cameron, I am so impressed with your kitchen and the organization of it. All I can say is Wow!

Marie -- I took those pantry photos right after my yearly cleaning! Every year in November, I remove all unopened goods that haven't expired and give them to the food bank. Then, I start restocking my pantry. That way, I do something good (donate), stay organized and keep all of our foods on a time line.

Thanks for your comments.
Cameron

PS I just replaced the ingredient pantry photo to show the new Italian jars and the pasta jars.

Have enjoyed reading this all over again! LOL

Figure others will enjoy it, too, so....Bump!

Well, after the bump, I started reading slowly and enjoying meeting everyone, and seeing again so many of the old regulars , and then I realized this was a very old thread! I scanned it to find my introduction and saw that I never introduced myself, so here it goes:

Hi! I'm Maria, I live on the island of Chios (Greece), in my hometown were my parents and sister still live. We returned here with DH and 2 DDs after 20 years in Athens. BIG change in way (and quality!) of life. I'm a librarian, and a singer/pianist, very active at church in music and children's ministry and translating. I craft (recycling materials - I only buy glue and hotglue sticks!), and garden, and cook, and I LOVE organizing. On the other hand I don't like cleaning very much. I could definately be an organizer for other people but here it would be VERY strange for people to hire someone to come and see, and assess, and offer solutions for their mess... I am on this forum since 2000, but the last few years I only lurk, very faithfully though, and I agree with everyone that has said that people here are very genuine and friendly and always offering good suggestions and ideas and food for thought in general. This is my favorite place on the web!

I've never posted in this forum, although I read a lot of the posts.

I'm an over-the-hill widow. Live in a small apartment where storage is a problem. Add to that my anxiety about clutter and you know why I'm here.

Welcome Jay and Audrey, Nice meeting you!

Kathy G in Mi here since 2001. Started on the Weddings forum and just haven't left. These forums took me thru 4 kids weddings, 7 grandkids and lots of life changes!

We moved to our cottage in 2006, 3 bedroom, no basement, skinny stairs (I'm not skinny) to the attic. Left a 4 bedroom with a really nice basement, so the need for organizing and down sizing.

DH says I could throw away everything in the attic, he doesn't want any of it. Hey, that's my stuff!

He has 2, yes, that's right 2, 2 & 1/2 car garages, filled with boats and stuff, but at least I get a parking spot!

Welcome to all of you to the forums, be sure to look around too.

Hope everyone made the switch to Houz okay.