Lila, not so funny - the cold air clears your head, the decisions are easy - dog poop is garbage - and you are left with an area that is much better than when you started - success!

Messi, I'll be interested to hear what you did to observe the new year. I'm going to have a glass of prosecco (it was a gift) with Dh and go to bed early.

I broke 100 items out net this year. More detail in the tally thread.

Happy new year everyone!

Lila - I read your earlier post and was going to reply and now just read your post about dog poop. We all have poop in our lives, daily, and yes, I do think we feel better when we deal with it, lol. Old and new. Bless those dogs! I am home from work and trying to decide what to do tonight. I heard a radio blurb about new year's eve customs in other countries - eating twelve grapes, going outside wth a suitcase... I decided I would clean something to start the new year's direction... then i read about the custom of throwing out dirty water at new year's and sweeping things out the door to sweep out the dark energy of the past year. maybe i will try some of these customs.
For sure, I will be wishing you and SubC and Tatoulia and everyone much love and happy spaces for the New Year.

I cleaned up all the dog poop in the yard, in the freezing cold. I feel better. Funny, huh? :)

I went into my bedroom to see what I might donate as one last push for 2025. I was aiming for a surface, but there is no where to put things out of sight. So I decided to look in the wardrobe cabinet to see if I could make space.

I have not sorted that space. I mean I have taken a thing or two out, without digging around. But it is mostly a time capsule of the last couple decades.

I started on the top shelf and pulled out a ton of big envelopes and small envelopes. It is a huge stack of CDs, DVDs, and paperwork... all medical records, mostly of Teen, a few of youngest Son, a few of mine. They are discs with MRIs and CTs on them and also discs of medical records. It is A LOT. I flipped through, found one empty padded envelope to throw away (not counted in the tally as it is trash, really). Sorted a small stack of books in there, which were baby books and small photo books of my kids. I found one large baby Book of Remembrance given to me when Son was born. He is 30 and it is blank. I was about to donate it, but noticed his full name embossed on the front in gold. I tried to gently get it off with nail polish remover so I could donate it, but it took the whole finish off. So I threw the book away.

I found a cardboard origami thing I have saved for 9 months, tossed it. Then in the back of the cabinet I found a little ceramic angel in a box that someone got for Teen when she was very little. Then I found a pretty little pill box we got Teen at a special vacation spot. She actually used that pill box to save up meds and hide them so she could take them all at once, you know why... but I found them in time. I put those two things in a bin in the storage room that has her things in it. I thought about throwing away the pill box. It has a special memory on it but also a horrible memory. I did not throw it away. I may change my mind sometime. I don't know.

At this point I was completely overwhelmed and put everything back except the envelope, box, book, and her things.

I need to figure out what to do with all this medical stuff.

I can give Son his medical things. Perhaps I should find a container for Teen's medical things and put them in the downstairs storage room, for her to have if she is ever stable and sane. I am sad.

Wow, what encouraging posts you two! Way to go, we have all come a long way!

Messi, I agree with SubC, no one HAS to tally. But it is probably the single best tool for me that has encouraged me to keep going. I've been doing Daily Tally for three years and gotten over 2200 items out of my home through the tally! Some days I just think, ugh. Well I will see if I can add one thing to the tally! And then I find a few extra. I love looking back and seeing my progress. So, if you want to try it out, join us anytime. You can tally in any way - bags out, items out, minutes spent, boxes or bags out, or an in/out tally like SubC does.

I will make a new tally thread for 2026. Hoping to do a final push for items in 2025 today!

I am resting from my bedroom which, after a huge push for days, suddenly felt very overwhelming. I think the floor is the thing that started giving me anxiety. So if I do anything today it will probably be a surface like my desk.

Catch you later!

You GO, SubC!

Good morning!

Woke up with a migraine so taking it slowly this morning.

Messi, you do not ever have to tally! It is just a tool that Lila and I find helpful. That is why it is in a separate thread. I'm very proud of you for clearing things out! Way to go! You will start your new year that much lighter.

Last night Dh and I were talking about some work/changes to be done on the house. There are a couple of big projects - two structural and one functional that we have been putting off. He suggested that this might be the year for one of them, and I told him no - I would have to clear out an entire room that is lined with bookshelves, and I can't do that yet "it is probably going to take me another year to be ready." And he looked shocked and excited - "a year? Really?! I can work with that." I meant it too. I have come so far, and I really feel like by the end of the year my house will be like the house of a normal person who just has too much stuff.

We'll see. Today I just want to finish 2025 strong.

Nice work, SubC! I hope you get to work toward that hundred.

I am not counting for totals yet, but inspired by you all and Lila's work in the bedroom, after work and walking dogs, I took two boxes to donate today - books, misc. kitchen stuff from someone's move, a vase, a flamingo bubble gun, a few other things. The kitchen stuff needed some cleaning before donating. Some things were beyond salvaging. I took the husky dog for a play date on the donation run. This morning worked on laundry, went to the out-of-town dentist, walked dogs, got ready for work.

Good evening.

I cleaned up some of the Christmas decorations today, sorted through the two fabric boxes I gathered off the dining table before Christmas, did laundry, and kept the fires going.

Also ate out of the fridge.

I recycled a few things, but it was mostly sorting and organizing today.

Dh has some electrical work to do in the basement tomorrow, so I may be down there some. Ideally a couple of hours of that would give me the 34 things I need to get to 100 for the year, but I don't know. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

O my gosh, Lila. You have been going to town! Congratulations! Congratulations for sticking with it, especially through those hard emotional parts. (I guess all of it is that, really). Enjoy the results of your work. Feel proud.

I have not gotten to much this holiday period, but hope to follow your example in the coming week, month, year.

SubC, I'm glad you've had time to enjoy family, extra time with the boys. Thanks for the focus of your resolve.

Sounds like a good day, SubC!

Missing you Tatoulia, CM, messi, Road, whoever else used to post more often!

I got the boxes out of my room and into the trash (kept one in there as a donation box). I took all the empty bins, stacked them and put them in the small storage bedroom. I sorted, put some things in the under bed bins, and put 3 of them back under the bed after cleaning the lids off. The 4th one was now empty.

I put the dusty artwork that was from my kids, that sat on my dresser for 15+ years, into one of the bins after I dusted them. I sprayed 2 applications of clear coat on a mug Teen decorated for me as a child, wrapped it in brown paper, and put it in one of the under bed bins. I would like to move the underbed bins under the bed in the little storage room once I can get to it.

There is a lot of clear floor space now. I have not finished vacuuming but I am pretty overwhelmed by all I have done, and need to let it settle. I will do one final vacuum of the open spaces, empty the vacuum, and put it away. Probably will finish the bedroom this weekend. It just needs some spaces dusted, clothes put away, some organizing and cleaning the floor with cleaner.

Lila,

I am really proud of you too! It must feel so good to have your room so much cleaner!

I had a good day with my boys today. Buddy helped me vacuum the basement stairs, but we didn't clean up the toys in the basement, so I guess it was a wash? Also they stayed for dinner and I haven't done the dishes yet, but Dd took my garbage.

Bean and I made a plan for what he wants to grow in the garden this spring. I wrote the words and he drew very nice pictures.

Currently I am enjoying a nice mug of tea in my lovely green grinch mug she purchased for me at the thrift store for 64 cents after tax - lol! She included the tea with the gift.

When I am done I will do chores, start the dishwasher, clean up the toys in the basement, and maybe sit by the fire and work on one of the boxes of papers that I scooped off the table before Christmas.

I thought Dh would be home with me all day tomorrow, but he has lunch plans with friends half an hour away, so I will be on my own for a bit midday. That would probably be a good time to work on some clearing out.

update for Monday:

- pulled the nightstand away from the wall and cleaned up the trash behind it and vacuumed the gobs of dog hair and dust from under/behind it.
- finally took my bedside lamp, which stopped working at least 6 months ago, apart and put it in the trash. I had already gotten a smaller on that works fine.
- moved stuff out of the corner by the rocking chair, threw away trash, vacuumed hair and dust, found a cloth grocery bag that was covered in hair and not good quality and threw that out.
- baked several heads of garlic so I can make soup later

What are you all up to today?

Thanks for checking in, SubC. I hope you enjoy the littles today.

Last night ddil helped me swiffer under my bed. It was atrocious. I could not believe the hair and dust and random items that who knows how they got there? And this was after I had tried to vacuum under there by just shoving the vacuum as far as I could.

Then I vacuumed under there again, then found the floor cleaner and put it on a cloth into the swiffer and cleaned under the bed on both sides, then used a dry cloth to wipe one more time. I believe under the bed is cleaner than it has been in 20 years.

This morning I took one of the bins, which had space in it now because I donated some things (see daily tally), and I took a bunch of paper artwork off my dresser, dusted them, and put them in that bin nice and flat. I have had those papers on my dresser for 10+ years gathering dust. There were 3 sheets too big to fit in the bin, but yesterday when I moved the dressers to vacuum, I found a huge Mother's Day card behind a dresser. It is big enough to act as a folder for those big art pages. So I put them in it and put it back behind the dresser. (I am not willing to get rid of them, as I have always wanted to frame and hang them, and will do so in my new home, I hope).

There is barely anything on that dresser now. I did a cursory dusting. I also used cleaner on the lid of that bin and slid it back under the bed.

I am very proud of myself for all that I am accomplishing, and after seeing all the dust and hair, I am sure it will improve my general health to be sleeping in a clean space.

Will continue working on my room today. I am working from home because my one meeting was cancelled, and I only have an hour or two of work I need to do. So I plan to cook and clean and relax.

Good morning!

Lila, I am really excited about you having a clean, clear, decluttered space to retreat to and to sleep!

Yesterday after everyone left I was sad and tired and I spent most of the rest of the day reading a book.

Today my boys are coming over again. They will be here early because Dd is bringing them instead of dsil.

It is going to get very cold again, so am going to try to get the wood stoves going. I need to set up the screen so buddy stays away from them.

My house is somewhat more of a mess than it was immediately before everyone came to visit, but overall better than Dec 1. One of my big goals for this year is to not need to spend more than one day cleaning for the winter holidays and for that to INCLUDE laundry, dusting, vacuuming, bathrooms, trash, recycling, and dishes, not just frantic scrambling to clear off surfaces. I believe I can get there.

I am going to start back in on sorting and clearing tomorrow.

Sometimes I like to imagine that there is a group of scientists studying our posts, putting together data about people who hoard and how to help them. I imagine that 200 years from now, our posts will be a book called "Inside the Mind of a Hoarder" and will be a best seller as people are fascinated by our lives, how we got into this mess and how we dug ourselves out, bit by bit.

Today I am working on my bedroom. As I have moved things that have not been moved in years, the dust is becoming almost intolerable. So I had to take a little break to let it settle, and then I will go in with a vacuum and a swiffer.

So far this afternoon:
- asked Son to move 2 bins, one of summer clothes and one of kitchen breakables, into the storage room downstairs, as well as a couple other items.
- moved the rest of the coins into the coin container and put it back in the other small room, and took the box they were in out to the trash
- put a few things where they go and threw out an old bra that is too stretched out to be any good
- moved a small chair and found a forgotten and dusty bottle of red wine, perhaps to celebrate when this is done??
- found a lot of pieces of trash and such and threw them out
- pulled two bins out from under my bed and dusted the tops

That is as far as I got before it because too dusty. I will open and sort those bins after I vacuum and swiffer. Maybe I can then toss some things from the bins and put some of the "things my kids made or gave to me" in there and back under the bed, instead of them gathering dust all over my room.

It is as decluttered as it has been in probably 20 years. Once I get it vacuumed and dusted, there is not much left to sort or remove. There are the closets, but that can wait. The goal was an uncluttered, clean, useful and peaceful space, and I am very near to having that.

Well I put the coins in a container I found that already had some coins in it. I put the container away but then found a box of coins, so I need to pull it back out and consolidate.

I also posted about this on the Tally... but I have had a pile of planners in my bedroom that I keep moving around over and over. Literally planners back to 2016. All filled in so I could look back and see what I was doing on any given day in the past 10 years. It was an emotional attachment.

So I took each one and flipped through it. I tore out any identifying info and ripped that up. I noticed looking through them made me sad. Lots of info about Teen getting sick and unwell, lots of psych info etc. I tore out the pages I thought I might need (car maintenance pages, my medical), bagged up 6 planners and took them out to the trash. Took 2 that were topical journals and donated them.

It actually feels like a weight lifted. I kept the planners from fall 2022 - 24 (2 planners). Now I no longer have a pile of planners and journals to move around in my room.

This feels like some kind of major accomplishment, like an emotional breakthrough or letting go.

Update -

holy cow it is emotionally exhausting looking at and touching so many things in my bedroom! It is a lot to deal with! I updated the Daily Tally with items out.

I also have one box almost full of things I decided to keep. It is not a large box. All kinds of stuff went in there, from a small doll that was very special to my Teen but had a broken arm I was going to fix, to jewelry she got for her birthday, to things I got from a trip, to swag from my work, to gifts people gave me... all small things that were cluttering up my room.

I need to figure out what to do with all the coins. I have a lot of coins and I am not sure why I am so stuck on them. Mostly just random change. All my life I have thought maybe I would find a valuable coin. I have coin books and everything. I am just not quite to the point to spend them. I supposed I should just find a container, put them all in there and shove it in the storage closet for later. Dumb, but... at least I would not have mugs, cups, bags, and piles of coins all over my bedroom.

Also I saved a lot of things my children made for me when they were little. Ugh... hard to know what to do with it all.

A box of stomach aches! Oh my! I will try to think about that while I sort. Do I want to save this in a box of stomach aches?? Or can I let it go right now?

Working on my bedroom:

I sorted my box of spices and brought it to the kitchen to put some in a drawer and make space in a cabinet. I put the rest of them in the box into the storage room.

Sorted my box of teas, threw a few out, put the rest neatly into containers and put it all in the kitchen cabinet. Now I have an empty box to use for donations or storage.

Took a lot of very small items from the tops of my dressers and put them into 2 very small plastic bins I had set up, one for toy pieces like legos, and one for tool bits and pieces like drill bits, screws, etc. Put some jewelry into the jewelry box and put some other items in a very small container and into a drawer.

Started putting some things I think I want to save into a box for the storage room. It is really making space on the dressers. Soon I will be able to dust them.

I am getting encouraged seeing my flat spaces get emptied. All my dressers and small table have been covered in small things and it is nice to see them getting cleared off.

Good morning!

Joyful chaos here yesterday. Bean got a little overwhelmed and it was hard for him to go home, but overall smooth sailing. The toddlers played together well and the grown kids all got along. Gifts were enjoyed, Dh cooked, and everyone helped clean up.

We might go see the holiday trains today.

Lila, my school is on winter break, so I don't go back until Jan 7! Plenty of time to make some progress after everyone leaves.

I hope you get your room the way you want it. I think that boxing up the emotional stuff is a very good idea. Unless the emotions are entirely positive, I think it will help you to not have those things in your sanctuary space.

Also, if you leave them boxed up for a time and come back after you have all of the non-emotional stuff under control, they may be easier to process. Not seeing them all the time can allow for some distance and healing. I call those my boxes "of stomach aches".

I'm glad you are enjoying your time with the boys, SubC. When do you start back to work? I go back on Sunday but get a 3 day weekend for New Years.

I have been very chill today. I did a few things, non of which required much energy, and I felt like I did not do enough, but I will do more tomorrow.

- took some trash out
- washed 2 loads of clothes and a load of towels is in the dryer.
- cooked french fries and ate them
- put some clean dishes away, hand washed a dish or two
- cleaned both sides of the sliding glass door and one side of the track. The track still needs work.
- took each dog outside to run around and play in the yard.
- tried on one shirt and put it in the donate box
- hung out with Tot for a bit

So, not a lot, but something.

Tomorrow is my last day off for the week so I hope to finish up my bedroom (not perfectly but at least clean under the bed, sort a few more things, and vacuum).

I am at a point where almost everything left in my bedroom has a use or an emotional attachment. A LOT of things have emotional attachment and I am not sure what to do about it. Maybe just box them up and move them to the other room so I can have one uncluttered space.

Good morning!
Happy Boxing Day!

The day when traditionally you box up leftovers and things you don't need and give them to people who do need them.

But we got home last night, Birdy's family arrived, and Bean's family is coming over later this morning and we will open presents and spend time playing with all the boys.

I will have my personal Boxing Day after everyone leaves.

Lila, I'm glad you had a good Christmas and are getting to have a hill day.

Merry Christmas you guys! Tatoulia, welcome home! I am glad you came to share a bit! Prayers for you all to have good times and rest.

I am about to breathe a sigh of relief. I love my friends, job, and family. I also am peopled out. Every day I have been with people. I think tomorrow I will just get to be home and chill without company except the fam, with regular life and me not having to cook or entertain or wrap presents or anything. Just a normal day. Looking forward to it.

Today with festivities was cooking, cleaning, presents, visiting, etc. We will be having a family dinner too with just about everyone here including significant others of my kids.

Removal of gifts from my room made space. I also took out the trash and boxes from presents that I had delivered. All the gifts I got are smallish except one gorgeous framed print that I will hang on my wall, so amazing, I love it! Nothing will take much space and all is fun and cute or edible and I also got a gift card I will spend.

Thinking now about what else I can put into the donation box to fill it up and get it into my car.

I am past my number goal for Daily Tally this year, but my other goal was to have a clean and clear bedroom by the New Year. So I will work on it a little bit a few times a day.

Hope you all enjoy your time from now to Jan 1!

Merry Christmas!

Tatoulia, I'm glad you had a good trip. The children's service is always my favorite. We went to the candleIght service at the church my family has been a part of since my great grandparents were young. - my aunt and uncle, cousin and her husband and 2 adult sons, mom, my daughters, sil, and 2 grandsons. We passed Buddy up and down two pews to keep him happy, but he liked the singing.

One of dad's friends stopped by and dad and Dh stayed home to visit with her by the fire. Dad is having a hard time with his vision and mobility these days.

Lila, you are making good progress. I do keep all those random bits and pieces. I'm seriously rethinking a lot of that. When I was at my mom's house, my Dd2 saw some ornaments on mom's tree that she had made when she was younger. She also made some for my grandmother. She commented that she wished she had made one for herself, and my mother said "take whatever you want! I love them, but I have mine and Gram's." "That goes for all of you! If there's anything you want, take it!"

So I said "do you have a six inch sleigh?" And we actually had a really good time searching through all of her Christmas displays until we found one. I left the poor monkeys sitting in the fake snow and made off with it.

Anyway, I'm going to try to keep the experience of the hunt through my mom's dressers and bookshelves and tabletops in mind as I clean out my spaces - like, why do I even have this giant plastic drawer sorter full of random bits and pieces? What if I just go rid of ALL of the random bits and pieces? What if I didn't own plastic furniture? We'll see.

Messi, I hope you get some peace today before you have to go back to work tomorrow.

Tatoulia, welcome back! I am so glad to hear that you had a wonderful visit with BF. I have been wondering and hoping you made your trip. I'm sorry you are so exhausted. I hope that gets better. How are your hands? Happy holidays!

Everyone, happy holidays. I've been fighting extreme exhaustion since returning from overseas. Not jet lag. I went to the children's service tonight because I felt too tired to go to one of the later services.

My house is a mess. I need help. Still have the house cleaners once a week but my place feels messy and full. I donated a suitcase that I filled with clothes this week.

I miss you all. Trip overseas was lovely and beautiful. Was wonderful to see BF. We walked 5 miles each day, rode the trains, and napped. Doesn't get much better than that.

holy cow Messi, you have had a lot going on! I hope things start going more smoothly for you. Happy holidays!

SubC, I am glad you are enjoying your family! Merry Christmas!

And to all our friends as well.

I worked on my bedroom for 15 minutes so far this morning.

-I picked up a box of stuff and sorted it: tools I often use into the 3-drawer bin, tools I use less often into a small plastic bin (which was full of stuff as well).
- sorted that small bin, trash 1 item, donated 4 items, put tools and picture hangers etc back into that little bin neatly.
- the 3 drawer bin that had Teen's stuff in it now has frequently used tools on top, cords and plugs in the middle, and odds and ends that I do want to keep in the bottom.

So one whole cardboard box got emptied and is now a donation box.

I put one laptop on my desk so I can sort the things that were under it.

I found an old cracked phone which I believe was Teen's a long time ago. It is charging so I can take a look at it, and if it is locked or not working I will take out the sim card or whatever and throw it out. I just wanted to check it first.

Do you guys keep odds and ends, screws, pieces and cords you are not sure what they are for?

I also checked the water level on the Christmas tree, trimmed off a stray looking branch, put the tree skirt in the laundry, and the Santa milk glass in the sink for a wash.

Will continue with the bedroom. I really need to sort the small storage bedroom because it is totally full but with a short walking path through it.

Good Morning! Solstice has happened, Hanukkah is over and it's Christmas Eve, so holiday greetings to you all!

Thank you all for posting. I am catching up. Posting is a challenge for me. I have a couple days off of work and I thought I'd be getting something done on the mess and was hoping to proudly report, but holidays are rascally. So much going on. Trips to the vet, trips to the airport, special events, unexpected special visits, unexpected invitations, the electricity kept going out which meant the heat went out and no internet etc., the microwave died, the RAdIO died, yada yada yada. I haven't gotten to the mess or posting. but i hope to - before it's back to work on Friday.

SubC - enjoy your family. It's so nice to hear about the gatherings and I appreciate the thrifting. The slogan on your new sweater made me smile. Glad you saw your cousin. Wishing you and all your family the best.
I also am not a facebook user, in general. By accident, my friend's account was on my computer so I have looked at marketplace, but I don't have an account I use. I suppose that could change, but not for now...

Lila - you continue to inspire me with your work - organizing, cleaning, setting goals. The bedroom story is so familiar, including dog hair, so it greatly encourages me to hear about it. Thank you! I hope to get to organizing some things in my bedroom today or tomorrow - the time is tight, but I will think of you and persist. Thank you for sharing about Teen. Sorting through things is like sorting through your life and i get emotional and bogged down. Thanks for shedding some light.

I hope to post a little more soon.

happy Holidays!

Good morning!

Lila, I am spending a lot of time with my family.

I did get a short visit with my cousin yesterday, and will hopefully see her again today before we leave tomorrow, but nowhere near as much time as I wish we could have. She is very tired and worried about her parents. They also live in this town and she also lives out of state. She's an only child.

I'm very proud of you for all of the progress on your room. And I love that you are giving jam and spices for Christmas gifts!

My mother did all of her shopping at goodwill, and got us each a great Christmas/seasonal sweater or sweatshirt. Mine is super soft and says "nice until proven naughty". The boys got too many toys, and the adults also got little things like Christmas ornaments, stationary, mugs, or books. She did buy my Dd a new box of tea to go with her mug. We opened gifts early so mom could enjoy seeing the boys play with their gifts while we are here.

I will tally later (I have school gifts to tally still as well.)

I will not come to Facebook. I'm not there now and want to not be. When my kids were young, I belonged to a really great parenting BB. we all thought that we would still be chatting about being grandparents. I also wrote real letters on paper to real friends. Then Facebook came along. My friends gave up writing for posting, the BB members started sending each other messages on Facebook instead of posting, we dwindled, I checked out Facebook using my mother's account and decided it was not something I wanted to be involved in, and eventually the small remaining group of BB posters moved to a private Facebook account. I lost touch with everybody, but I am even less interested in Facebook today. My dd1 deleted her account and my mother just reads hers occasionally to try to find the posts telling about the people she cares about. She finds it frustrating. Ddil uses hers mostly for marketplace. I find marketplace tempting, but not enough to join Facebook. I want to participate in and support the world I want to live in. I am like that irl too. So I may be missing for a stretch sometimes, but I will come here as long as there is a here and another person to talk to and I am alive. If something changes and I do leave, I will say goodbye, so if I disappear without a goodbye, I am incapacitated or dead.

We drive home tomorrow. My kids are all scattering from my house on the 28th, then Bean and Buddy come back on the 29th. (Although we may switch days) from then until Jan 4 my Dh and I are both off work, so we will be spending time together relaxing and I will do my year end push and new year planning. Maybe I will get the tally thread to 100 before the end of the year (remember, people are giving me gifts right now, so I will have to balance those out to even stay in the 90s.

I may not post again until I get home, so merry Christmas to all those of you who celebrate it, and Messi, CM, Tatoulia, and also road, I am wishing you well.

Wow, Tuesday and where is everyone?

I noticed that two years ago and older, the What are you doing today? threads had well over 1200 posts a year. Last year it was over 900, and this year only 600+. It makes me sad. Where did everybody go? I worry that this whole forum will disappear someday. If I made a private Facebook group for us, would you guys come? You can now make a second name on facebook with a nickname if you don't want to use your real name, and no one could see what we post if they are outside the group. Thoughts?

Tomorrow I will be home all day until evening. I plan to continue decluttering my bedroom. I thought I would post my goals for tomorrow here.

- sort each box or bin on my floor, putting the items into the 3-drawer storage thing that is now empty, or into the place where the item should live, or donate/trash. That will clear a lot of floor space.
- clean under my bed. There may be a bin under there to sort, but there is definitely a lot of dust and dog hair to be cleaned up.
- Wrap all the Christmas presents that are in my room, and put the on the kitchen table. I cannot put them under the tree yet because I am not sure my new-this-year dog would leave them alone
- put any donation boxes into my car
- if it is not going to freeze at night, have Son put some boxes of jars of jam into my car to give out
- vacuum my room again. It will need it with all that stuff off the floor.

I am not sure what to do with extra jars of spices. I have so many duplicates I will never use them all up I also have a gift certificate for $50 for spices...). Maybe I will give them away. If they are not expired I could give some as Christmas gifts. I will check them.

Hope to see you guys tomorrow.

Sunday post 2 -

- Sorted CDs (shared in Daily Tally) so there is no longer a tower of them in my bedroom
- took a box of dog poo bag rolls off my bedroom floor and found space for the rolls in a drawer, so that is off the floor
- took a box with shoes in it off the floor and put it on a shoe shelf in my closet
- took a few items off the floor and put them where they go

Slowly but surely, the floor is getting cleared.

I decided to sort the random boxes of stuff in my room and whatever I keep will go in its place or into that 3 drawer bin I just emptied of Teen's stuff. Then that bin will go in the storage room. Mostly it is tools and stuff. When TotsFam moved out, those tools will have a space in the garage or storage shed.

Thanks SubC, it is hard work but also is healing work.

I went in my room today and opened the plastic 3 drawer bin full of Teen's things. I found a small bin and put most of it in there and it will go in the other room. I threw out some craft paper and an old notebook of hers that had nothing written in it.

I also took out all my sweaters this morning, tried them on, donated one, put the ones that are a bit tight into a drawer and the ones that fit now into the drawer where I can easily get them out to wear.

I also took that box of Teen's fragile things out from under my desk in my room, wrapped them in paper and put them all in a small tote, and put the tote in the closet of the smaller storage bedroom.

In the process, I found the tote of spices I have been looking for forever! Really glad about that.

Happy solstice!

Lila, you are doing really really well. I know all the things around teen are very hard for you. I wish you peace and I hope that one day teen will find herself again.

We are at my in-laws house. We'll be opening gifts this morning with ds family on remote. Dh brother in law has Covid, so they are not coming, but Dh brother's family will arrive at lunchtime with my girl. She spent the night with HER favorite cousin last night.

I am lonely and want to talk through what my decluttering process has been morphing to, so here's another update.

My other son came over and needed boxes, so I was able to consolidate a few boxes plus give him some empty ones. That made space.

Then I picked up a bag and a box of books on my bedroom floor. I was able to make space on a shelf for some of them, put a bag of them together that are going to my office, and one to donate. There are two books left I need to find a space for.

I think one of my goals is to get things up off the floor. So those being gone, boxes gone, other things put away, are helping.

It really is not even close to as bad as it used to be. It is just scattered. That is why I am thinking, put all the scattered stuff on the floor into a box. Anything I will be using within a month can stay in my room instead of being boxed. The box can then go into the other room, for now. I will try to sort more as I move things.

I am really sick of a lot of this stuff.

I have stuff I saved for Teen in case she ever gets into her right mind/stable. I sent 90% of her things with her. I hear she is losing, ruining, selling all those things. I feel a little broken hearted about all her childhood things getting ruined. So I have a few, very few, things left here of hers. I really ought to get one tote and put it all in there instead of in little boxes all over the house. I think that is a good answer, because I do have one small open box of fragile things of hers in my room under my desk. I want it out of there.

What else is in my room?
- a tower thing of CDs
(I don't think I even have a CD player anymore)
- totes of tools and picture hangers and stuff
- a 3 drawer thing... full of... mostly Teen's childhood stuff. Gosh it makes me sad, I am almost crying.
- boxes of random things. I have sorted them probably 6 times in the past 3 years

You know, just typing this out, I think it is doable. In fact I may just be ready to get rid of more things now. Hope to do this tomorrow and get it into my car immediately so I don't change my mind.
-

Saturday update -

Okay, I forced myself and met my little goal:

- vacuumed my bedroom (not perfect, but got all the hair and dust bunnies)
- emptied the big box, put the dog treats away, and put the empty box in the backyard for Son to use to pick stuff up

I also moved the package of toilet paper from the middle of the room to the cabinet in the bathroom, and moved the package of kleenex from the floor to the other room.

Now I feel stuck and am hoping to get unstuck. There is so much stuff in my room that seems "important" to me, but I am not using it. Thinking about boxing some of that at putting it in the other room to deal with later. Maybe as I box, I will be able to donate a few things. And I just want a cleared bedroom for the new year.

That's a lot of people SubC, I hope you do have some time with your cousin. My party went well. I mainly sat and talked with a handful of people who I like. Today I have another social thing but I think only 4 other people, for lunch. So I need to make a side dish to take, and it won't be stressful or take too much time.

Now that my boxes are gone from my room, I have space to keep sorting. I do need to vacuum, it has a lot of dog hair in there.

I am finding it harder and harder to find things to get rid of, since, as you know, I have been sorting and re-sorting my bedroom literally for years, and hundreds of things have gone out of there, but there is still too much. With TotsFam taking over all my spare room and garage, there is not much space anymore. Even the little room I was going to use for sorting is pretty full of stuff (mine - maybe I should sort in there) and a crib and a bed.

I guess my goal for today is to vacuum my bedroom, empty the shipping box of dog treats and put them away, and put that box in the back yard for Son to use when he and the kids pick up all the toys out there.

Good morning!

Lila, I disapprove of that method of recycling!

When I had trash service, it was an extra, non-optional dollar for the recycling bin. (Which was way too small)

Now I put my recyclables in the township drop near work - which is "free" (funded by the township, which takes 1% of my paycheck)

I hope you enjoyed your party.

My people days continue, just with different people. Today we drive to the in-laws where my niece will be bringing dd2 from the airport. Tomorrow night we continue on to my parents, taking dd2. Bean's family catches up with us Monday night. A dear family friend will join us for dinner one night, and I hope to get together with my favorite cousin. We drive home bringing dd2 on Christmas Day and Birdy's family is expected to beat us to the house. I think everyone leaves on the 28th.

This morning the mandatory things are finish packing and do chores.

The hopeful things are clean up dishes and the dining porch table (before Dh wakes up because he wants me to just leave it). I have given up on the counter of doom.

hi SubC,

yeah, you have to subscribe to a recycle can service, pay for the can and then pay a weekly fee to recycle glass (on top of the usual garbage bill). It is not in the cards for me right now, and I don't have enough that I would recycle much glass. Maybe one or two jars/bottles a week, max. Silly way to do it, IMO.

I had a good day. It is sunny but rather cold but I did get the back of my car sorted out (and some more things added to the Daily Tally), put the donations in there, and dropped them off at the donation place (3 boxes of stuff). It felt good to get all that stuff out of my bedroom. I ran some other errands too.

I am doing laundry and have a party to go to. I am not really a party person, but I value the connections I will make there, so I am going, even if briefly. I bought a few groceries because I needed something to bring today and also to a lunch with a few people tomorrow. I used a gift card to buy the one bag of food I got.

As much as I enjoy the social events, I also find them draining, and am looking forward to a few days of no people.

Good morning!

I woke up early today.

Lila, I hope it stopped raining so you can take your boxes.

I'm sad that you don't have glass recycling because glass is the most recyclable thing, but just keep what you know you will use. If you aren't sure and you are still buying something in that container - get rid of it.

I'm not sure what "you have to pay to get rid of it" means - will getting rid of it increase your expenses? Or is it included in paid trash service? Or is there a pay as you go recycling option?

I am with you on just wanting functionally space, but it is still so hard to let go.

I struggled yesterday because it was dark and gloomy. I had so much to do, and I read an entire book.

I did finish decorating my tree and wrap most of the presents.

I have three to go - one requires a couple of repair stitches, one may be ready, but I'm thinking about changing a bell, and Dh will pick up Bean's (used, Craigslist) bike this afternoon.

The big table on the dining porch is not cleaned off.
The counter of doom is not cleaned off.
I need to pack after school today and we are picking up a rental car for the trip.
I need to get to school early and unload the kiln.

Dh says it is nice to see me not stressed out this year. Mostly I am not stressed out because I have lowered my expectations and his parents are not coming to my house - my kids grew up in this mess. It is better than it was then, so it is enough. And I just want to go see my parents. I am feeling how short that time is.

Ok, I need to see if I can get a few things done before I leave for school!

Bedroom update -

It doesn't look much different, but I got a lot done. Sorted 2 drawers and some other areas in there. Did not get the vacuuming done; I had an emotionally upsetting phone call and lost my motivation for a bit. But I did get rid of a lot of stuff, as evidenced by the Daily Tally posts.

I am at a stage in life that it feels, sometimes, like nothing I own really matters. I just don't even want this stuff anymore. I have emotional attachments to a lot of it that keeps me from getting rid of things. But I want a clean room. I have a lot of things I can't find because of all the clutter. I am going drawer by drawer and reassessing everything in each one. When I am done I can put stuff in there so things are not all over every surface, but I also do not want to fill the drawers up with junk. I just want less stuff, but to keep and be able to find the things that matter.

I wish all my kids had homes they were living in permanently or at least for a few years, so I could box everything up and give them anything I think they want. They could do whatever they want with it all.

I am just so over it, the whole thing.

I have 2 boxes full to go in the car for donation, hopefully tomorrow, if it stops raining.

hi SubC and messi and Tatoulia and where are you CM? Road come back!

SubC, your days sound festive with the grandkids. So lovely. I got a surprise day to work at home instead of having to go in! I will only work about 2 hours. I am enjoying the peace. It is raining so we are all stuck inside, which is nice for a cup of coffee or tea. I prefer the sun so I can take out trash and clean out my car, but maybe tomorrow.

I am taking almost a week off work next week and my main goal is to have a nice clean decluttered bedroom at the end of that. I will work on it every day for a bit. Trying to donate more and reach my Daily Tally goal. Will update!

I started saving a lot of glass jars and bottles because I can use them for storing things, leftovers, making pickles etc. But it is turning into a lot of bottles. Any tips on how to decide which ones to keep or toss? There is not glass recycling near me, and you have to pay to have it picked up. So... looking for ways to know what to keep and what to throw out.

I will come back and update how I did on my bedroom today. I tend to avoid it and do other things, so this will help me stay accountable.

Good morning!

Did the school things and the need things yesterday and had a nice visit with my former student. Also stopped at the grocery store, which was very unsatisfactory as they have discontinued two of the candies and one cookie I wanted! I did get one candy variety and one cookie variety.

I did not finish decorating my tree. I was too tired.

I got my "Christmas gift" from school yesterday - the school offers families the opportunity to contribute toward a group cash gift for teachers if they wish rather than doing an individual gift. The cash comes with a card with all the names of the contributors and the administration is always the last name on the list. I am becoming skeptical about the accounting system, because this is the third year in a row it has come out to exactly ten dollars per contributing family regardless of number of children. It seems like it should sometimes be less and possibly sometimes more. I do appreciate the gift, I just wonder if there is some redistribution happening - like a family gives X amount for a certain number of teachers and the money is distributed to even out each teachers card based on other contributions rather than divided evenly, and then admin kicks in whatever else is needed? I also received a card from an individual student with more than $10 in it, and a small beeswax candle. I will do a thing tally for teacher gifts after tomorrow.

This morning I need to do chores and drive into town to have my glasses rechecked. I got new ones and have been wearing them for four days and have not adjusted to the left eye, so I think the prescription is off. Then home to get as ready to leave as I can.

Good morning!

Lila, I'm glad you are having good days.

I ended up stopping at the feed store with the boys yesterday. The feed store manager - we'll call him Joe. Small town, we're on a first name basis - brought the hand held register thingy out to my car so I didn't have to unload Buddy. Then he asked if Bean wanted a candy cane. Bean said yes. Joe asked if Bean wanted to pick it out (fruit flavored assortment)- yes. So I'm watching through the open door as Bean and Joe walk to the counter, have a short conversation, and Bean returns carrying a shrink wrapped box with Joe behind him. I said "[Bean] that doesn't look like *A* candy cane." Joe shrugged, grinned, and said "not my problem - merry Christmas!" So we started decorating the tree by opening a box of 48 candy canes and hanging 46! (Two were eaten).

The tree is not done, but Bean hung ornaments until he was tired of it - and Buddy played with them. We are working on not taking them back off of the tree and I'm not hanging anything fragile this year. With 46 candy canes, it does not look sparse. I plan to finish it tonight.

We had fun sledding. I think Buddy enjoyed it, but not as much as playing with the tree and watching ducks in the snow.

The festival of lights at the zoo was also cool. We enjoyed the displays, lights, and music, went through the nocturnal house and saw some animals, got hot cocoa, Bean rode the carousel, and we saw Mr. And Mrs. Claus. I got home very tired last night.

Today I unload the kiln before school, teach, load the kiln, and fire it. A former student is coming to visit at lunch time. I'm looking forward to it. I have a list of things I NEED to accomplish in the evening, and a list of things I want to accomplish. We'll see how it goes.

I want to stop at the fancy grocery store after school and buy a few specific candies and cookies for our celebration. They have the best graham crackers.

Worked today and yesterday, but not that many hours. Just a few. It is nice. We had our work Christmas party too. It was nice. I hear you talking about snow and I hope we get a little sometime! It has been in the mid to high 60s here, very unusual, some weird pineapple express thing, causing high winds and floods but in between, nice sunny days!

I am chipping away at my list of things to get done that are not work related, and that feels good. Today I vacuumed some, and brushed a dog, and will go to bed early. Hoping to declutter this weekend.

Good morning!

We had a lovely time with our friends last night.

Before they arrived I got the fudge made so I could send some home with them. I also finished getting the second bedroom ready (all the bedrooms are ready now) partly cleaned and decorated the dining porch (the table is buried in a mess of mostly papers), made some progress on the counter of doom, cleaned up the great room, and kept both wood stoves going to keep the house warm.

I took one crate of pottery made by me out to my studio loft, stashed three laundry baskets of mess in my laundry room, and added a couple of semi-sorted bins to the mess in my basement.

I sent the fudge home in a decorative tin I had saved and am counting as an item out. I also put simmering potpourri I was gifted last year in the kettle on the woodstove. I am planning to use it up this year. It was nice, but very subtle.

I go pick the boys up this morning. My plan is to decorate the tree and play in the snow. It is going to warm up to freezing by lunch time with a high of 38 late afternoon. Their Daddy is coming at the end of the day to pick up all three of us, and we are meeting Dh and Dd at the zoo to go to the Festival of Lights. Then Dh will take me home. I don't expect to make any house progress.

Tomorrow I teach and fire the kiln, then on Thursday I need to stock up the feed for the farm sitter, wrap the Christmas presents, do laundry, finish cleaning/decorating and pack to go visit our parents. Friday I teach again and panic, and Saturday we head out.

Off to get busy..

Brrr, SubC. 2 degrees for you, maybe less today. It is cold here, but not quite that cold. Low teens, single digits at night. You have been managing and arranging a lot of things, including events. I hope your evening with friends is enjoyable and that getting ready is not too stressful.

Lila, it would be amazing to try some of your edible creations! Such good work with your spending/eating challenge and with your grocery trip. Inspiring.

December is such a busy month. And I just get slower with cold weather. I had planned to do a grocery trip at the beginning of the month, but still have not had the time to do it. The event that I've been preparing for is tomorrow evening so after that maybe I can get to the store. I did make a quick stop to get personal items for donation to the shelter.

Also after Tuesday, i hope to do work on the mess. One of the areas of work is to sort through all the broken electronics,(including computer) etc. and make an appointment with the e-recyclers to drop them off.

The sun is out enough to walk the dogs so I will go do that before going for allergy appointment. Stay warm...

Good evening.

I did not finish any of those spaces, but I made some progress on each of them.

We attended and enjoyed the play and went to the grocery store.

I cleared off the bottom half of the solar panels, so we made a small amount of our electricity today, and I made a fire in the little woodstove , which took the chill off the dining porch.

I kept the animals supplied with liquid water. They are doing fine. Tomorrow it will get down to -1 and then warm up to the 20s.

When we went to the play, we discovered that many of the roads have not been cleared . Dh is a very good driver, but others are not and I am less confident than he is. After consultation with the kids it was decided that Bean and Buddy will come on Tuesday instead of tomorrow. I will make fudge and clean more tomorrow. Our friends are still coming for dinner around 5, so that should give me motivation to really stick in to the cleaning.

I found three things to get rid of today.

Good morning!

Lila, i'd love to come over. Can i have a sandwich? They sounded good. I'm glad you get to relax for the rest of the holidays. Are you sure you want to travel and speak in January?

It is 2 degrees F here this morning. Two. Fortunately we got six inches of snow yesterday, which helps insulate the barn, and I plugged in heat lamps, but two is very cold for us. I'll be leaving the animals shut up and feeding hay and corn for warmth today. Tomorrow is supposed to be the same.

I should get the wood stoves going, but I don't want to go into the garage for wood! Dh has to plow us out this morning because we are going to see our friends in a play. It's community theatre, but very high end because it draws talent from an entire city.

I worked on ds and ddil's room some more after I posted last night. What is left fits in four laundry baskets. Unfortunately, I have nowhere to stash four laundry baskets. Actually, that is silly, because I have had far far more than four laundry baskets of mess stashed in this house as recently as last Christmas.

I have nowhere to stash four laundry baskets without making an already cleaned out area messier and less functional. My standards have gotten higher. My house looks like a house that normal people live in with two REALLY messy rooms and a nightmare room in the basement.

I have recently been getting positive reinforcement from Dh. He has even accepted that I have narrowed the path through the messy storage side of the basement to the new part where he has set up his trains. We used to fight about it a lot because he wanted it kept completely clear 4' wide. Now it is more like 2.5-3' because I have stacked bins and boxes along it, but he is realizing that letting me do that is allowing me to make the rest of the house the way he wants it and he is starting to trust that I will eventually sort through and reduce the bins and boxes.

Anyway, my probably unrealistic goal for the day is to finish cleaning off the bed, clear the counter of doom, and clean up the dining porch. I think I may end up carrying a few bins/boxes/baskets out to my studio loft in the barn for temporary storage, even though that will mess up what was almost an organized space.

I also need to shower, dress up, go to the play, stop at the grocery store for food for tomorrow/the rest of the week, and make the fudge that I traditionally make for friends at Christmas because that has to be given out this week as well.

Although I can make fudge while Bean and Buddy are here tomorrow. I'm sure Bean would like to scrape out the pot.

Sitting on the couch wishing it wasn't cold isn't getting me anywhere...

I am here, SubC! You are doing a lot. I hope you are staying healthy. Feeling cold is not good. Maybe have some hot tea.

SubC and messi, your kind words about me really touched my heart! Thank you for that. I feel so scattered and get mad at myself for the state of my house. But you guys helped me feel better. Can you both pleaaase come over for a little visit and some coffee???? (Actually it is flooding here, so you better wait. My house is safe.)

I feel very good about the last 2 days, I think I have finally decompressed and can relax because I had my last big event, over 100 people and it went very well. I have a few weeks of no events that I "own." I have some I will go work in support, but not MY events. Much easier.

Today I:
- hand washed dishes
- made cheese spread
- made a dish with beans, peppers, shallot, parsley, lemon, and olive oil
- got a haircut
- ran errands and got myself some new loose leaf teas that were new to me
- went to a social event for some friends
- paid bills and answered emails

I was also asked by someone I don't know to come and speak at an engagement in January about an hour away. I am honored that they asked me but I have to ask my boss. Yesterday I did laundry, washed and changed my sheets, made a drink out of apples, cranberries and orange zest, made soup, and made some cranberry treats dipped in dark chocolate.

Looking forward to work tomorrow.

Good evening.

I wish someone was around.

The heat lamps are on and the laundry is nearly done (for today)

But I feel like I have spent my whole day moving things around. Perhaps because I have.

Birdy's room is ready, but the bed for his parents is buried - partly with things that were already there, and partly with things that were in his room.

I moved a shelf and found a mouse nest - but no mouse.

I put a very few things in the recycling and trash, but nothing I feel like I can count. I think about how nice it would have been to have spent today baking and decorating instead of sorting and cleaning, but I still cannot figure out what to let go. It is frustrating and exhausting.