They do amazing things with horseshoes! Love the coat rack. We had a man who made benches,mailbox posts & all sorts of things, I used to go by his place just to see what was new. I think he got sick or moved as just a couple of heavy things are still in the yard. What great dumpster diving you have there!! Can't wait to see what pops up next! Jan

I don't dumpster dive per se, but I do "curb shop". Back years ago, when I was pregnant and broke, I saw a fold-up diaper table on the curb. I gathered my courage, went up to the door of the very nice house, knocked, and asked if I could take it. Not only did the homeowners say I could take it, but they opened up their garage and gave me a beautiful crib and boxes of baby clothes that they had been planning to take to Goodwill. I've also obtained a brand-new sofa/loveseat set, a chest of drawers, a coffee table, and bookshelves that I knock the back off of and use for raised bed garden frames! I've also gotten potted geraniums from the flower shop's dump pile - all that was wrong with them was that some bird had pooed on them. The same flower shop let me take leftover black plastic pots and a big pot full of spent bulbs. Just yesterday I saw a lovely china hutch on the curb, but I don't have room for one. A short time later I saw someone else stuffing it into their car. It was good to know someone was going to be able to enjoy it!

Nice-in my town Wal-Mart is pretty assured of killing them all the way before they ever throw them out. When they first opened I pointed out that some of there plants (they put them all in the sun in the parking lot)needed water because they were almost beyond saving-a few minutes later I heard them discussing....do you want to stock those shelves and then go to lunch? Then when you come back you can water the plants!!! Glad they didn't feel pressured-all the small plants died and the big ones were burned up-I did find a nice Fiddle-leaf fig for like $7 it is over 4' tall now-LOL

I sat down and wrote a lot the other day but baby somehow deleted it when my back was turned taking care of other kid. Sigh. TS several thoughts come to mind about this situation. In the short term: If you can't make it, fake it. Pull the vacuum cleaner out and leave it plugged in. Spray end dust around as an air freshener. Throw rags in hands of kids and dh Throw all big things in back room Then when person comes to visit you say- oh, we were just in the middle of our spring cleaning. And you can always throw in the 'of course, you come to see up, not the house'... I'm serious. And it is very easy on a forum to take a sentence and blow it up into something incorrect. Part of what bothered me a bit about your original post was your comment that your daughter was pretty unconcerned. I can understand your daughter being unconcerned about the lady visiting. But if my children had not done something expected of them, there would be some serious consequences. Part of living in the house is they pitch in and clean up their messes and some of the living area. It is a good skill to have -- to know how to clean and how to live with others. Additionally, when I tell my children to do something, I expect it done or their are consquences. It occurs to me if there were some serious 'hit it where it hurts' consequences at times, when you need it- your daughter would have done the work. Again, what do I know, just a thought. Additionally- I think you need some good routines in place0 some daily places. I also think you need your family to pitch in and participate in some of these routines. I realize about living in small places the clutter is more apparant and harder to control. I also realize that organizing and getting rid of is part of the issue. But really, things like cat litter on the bathroom floor can easily be taken care of on a daily basis. For example, daily your daughter could dust while your husband vacuums the floor. Or in our home it would be I do dishes, my son would get the handheld vacuum cleaner and do the bathroom floor and my dh would take a cleaning towel and wipe down some part of the house. I realize I have a good family and a great husband. I tend to believe everyone else does as well. I know if I put up a chart of chores that take 15 minutes and said - we are going to do 15 minutes right after dinner it would soon become routine and everyone would pitch in. Yesterday we cleaned house- not a deep cleaning but a pretty thorough cleaning and it took us an hour and a half for my whole house. I think if I didn't get some help, I would most likely be too busy for many nights in a row to cook dinner, sign school papers, etc. About your house and house keeping. It is rare, but I tend to echo some of blazedog's sentiments. I can't live like that - I require some level of clean. I can't function. Hence the suggestion of some daily routine on the hot spots of your house an additionally a weekly cleaning time. About this lady-- She is quite possibly an old wind bag who is very ugly in personality. I think, and this was said long ago, you can get rid of this lady as a friend. And even if you can't for whatever reason, you do not have to hvae her in your home. Have her meet you somewhere. I can tell you that I have made an effort to drop people out of my life who are emotional vampires- those who suck my emotions dry. It makes a difference in the energy I have for my family. Why have someone around who makes you unhappy and by extension your family. And another way to look at this situation with this lady is that she is a very good friend. Someone who is enough of a friend that she can be very honest with you and tell you that you do need a dumpster. Just a thought. I don't know if any of that helped or not. I don't know if it gave you food for thinking about or not. I guess what I'm suggesting is that 1. You look at cleaning above and and beyond decluttering. 2. Get your family to help. 3. Reconsider your relationship with that particular lady. Ginger