Good God, Tillie. That's it, I'm speechless.

It did take quite a while to get home last night but I didn't care. I just thought about things. I stopped at mom's to drop off a loaf of bread.

Another rainy Saturday although not like last Saturday when we had the nor'easter. I have errands to run. I found a very good cobbler and after he repaired two pair of shoes, I dropped off mom's boots. Today I'll pick up mom's boots and drop of a friend's boots. It's about a mile from here, so good walking back and forth.

Tillie I'm embarrassed to tell you that it never occurred to me to put the rarely used kitchen stuff on the higher shelves. I keep it lower because it's the fancier stuff. I feel like I just failed an IQ test. THANK YOU for this. I didnt even realize how I was making my life harder. By the way, I use the scary cabinet all the time now and I have my baking things in there. So easy.

I think the cleaners come on Wednesday this week. My house is clean but I need them to get here!

Oh, may I just say that having Saturdays to myself and removing the stress of the sibling have done wonders for me? People tell me I look younger, and I'm sure that's a combination of no sibling stress and having lost weight. Someone asked me if I would still make turkey dinner for him and drop off and I said "no." It hadn't even occurred to me.

This subject needs to be in it's own separate post...
Warning, it's gross and disturbing.

Steven has filled both our garbage cans to overflowing with all the cleaning he's been doing in the garage/carport area.
The afternoons have been very pleasantly warm.
The garbage cans heavily stink of carrion, putrification and have flies swarming them.

Over the last weeks I have been handing him some of his ancient hoarded meat from the fridge freezer to cook and eat.
Well, he has tried cooking and eating it but he says it tastes horrid.

Of course it does!

He bought this meat on sale because it was at the expiration date and the store needed to unload it.
It was questionable and spooky when bought.
It has been in the freezer for years getting freezer burned and funky.

He thought he was being a prudent shopper, saving lots of money.
He thought putting it in a freezer it would keep forever.

Hope you made it home Tatoulia.

So nice you have rain. The air is so dry here that static electricity is a big problem right now.
Everything clings and is unruly.

Remember when you get reorganizing & decluttering your spaces to take it one area at a time.
Trying to do it ALL at once is ridiculous.

I only organize/straighten/wipe down one drawer, cupboard shelf, etc. at a time.
Once the one is finished I see if I want to do another.
Pushing ourselves to do too much in a session causes us to not do our best and we become dissatisfied with our results.

He got his own freezer!!!!! Yipppppeeee!!!!

Not home from work yet. Sage advice, Tillie, on the organization. Thank you!!

Instead of walking home tonight I'm taking the subway. I'm carrying a lot of stuff. The subway appears to be down but I'll sit here another five before going to another plan.

I need to stop at mom's on way home. I'm hoping I can convince her to come downstairs. I have so much to carry and it's too warm today. It's warm and raining.

I got that front outside faucet all covered/insulated.
The faucet out back is not my problem, it's Steven's.
Then I taped plastic sheeting over the outside of my little room window.
On the North side of the house it can and has before become a dense sheet of ice in the past.
But the plastic fixes that problem.
Did a bunch of assorted little tasks, tidying and straightening up too.
Put my jack-o-lantern out on the compost pile.
Then I made and ate some lunch.
Working up the gumption to now cover the back door with plastic sheeting.
That door is ancient, wooden with lots of little set in panels.
It is weathered and warped with some areas allowing outside light and wind to enter the house.

Good Morning 🙂

Hi Subclinical 🙂
Good luck with your sale projects.
Happy you are prioritizing your time and energy.
Most times we do have to let some things wait/slide until we get done what we feel is more important.
It is more important to have a fun filled rewarding life full of different events and experiences, and in down times take care of the rest.
I really miss the others too and wish they would pop in to let us know how they are.

Hi Tatoulia 🙂
WAY TO GO! donating that lovely comforter (((HUG)))
I have the pots, pans, cooking/baking dishes that I use most often right in the front of the cabinets.
Easy to get out and easy to put away.
The lesser used pie plates, cookie cutters, deep cast iron with lid, large soup pot, roasting pan, etc. are stored behind them at the rear of the cabinet.
It gets frustrating having to move a lesser used item out of the way to get to or put away something used often.
I try not to nest things horizontally because you always need the thing on the bottom of the pile.
My cookie sheets, pizza pan, cooling racks, griddle, cutting board are stored vertically in a very narrow cabinet next to the stove.
That cabinet was put in just to fill a narrow gap and make something to hold up the counter top.
In the cupboard I use a plate rack/stand so I don't have to store the smaller dessert/bread/salad plates on top of the dinner plates to make it easy to get out the size dish I want.
I do nest bowls, large and small because it's the only way I know of to get them all in their assigned spaces.
My kitchen space is very tiny but with having only the things I love and use organized and arranged "just so" it is easy to use.

Today I am going to wrap/insulate the outside faucet and cover the window to my little room on the North side of the house with plastic.
It has been unnaturally warm in the afternoons here but that will change suddenly at any time now.
Writing up a grocery list but nothing sounds appealing.
Maybe when I am at the store I'll see something I want to eat.
Meantime I will make an effort to eat lunch and dinner of what I have on hand.

The other Saturday Steven drug home what he thought was a small refrigerator to add to his vast and growing collection of other small refrigerators.
But what this actually is, is a small freezer.
He was very happy last evening to take the rest of his ancient meat from the fridge freezer and put it in there.
HAPPY DANCE! the fridge freezer in the house is now empty!
Tomorrow I plan to wash the entire fridge & freezer and put it to use.
I have things stored in the deep freeze that do not need to be in there just to fill up all the empty space to make it run efficiently.
Maybe soon I will get my wish and that deep freeze can be removed from the pantry and sold?
Then I can use that space to store out of season space heaters and avoid having to fight the garage.
Would still need garage storage for things like the cat trap, kennels, cages, etc. but I already keep two cat carriers in the house so the cats are familiar with them and freak out less when stuffed into them.

I love hearing about your sale, SubC, and wish I could buy one of your pots. I will fast with you this weekend.

Tillie Your advice is perfect. Thought-provoking and just what I need. think that I would like to further go through all storage areas. I am baking now and have pared down my pans and bowls to the proper amount. However, I have more baking supplies and I just feel like I could better arrange things. As to the dining room closet, I do have mim's China on some of the shelves and I think I can further reduce the other things in there.

I took the new pillows and comforter to the donation site for the fire victims last night. I still had the original packaging and I put in notes saying I had purchased in October for my guest room and that everything is clean and nice. I also added words of encouragement.

Tillie please try to eat.

I'm late for work. In my bathrobe with wet hair and work started 16 minutes ago.

Hi Tillie!
Hi Tatoulia! - welcome back?m
Hi CM!

I miss the rest of the group. Wish they'd stop by...

Still busy and letting the house get messier, but not too bad. Might catch up a little on the weekend, but I really need to get work done for the sale on the 17th. Still prioritizing me over the house.

Please eat more Tillie!

I am fasting during daylight until the cross quarter (nov 7), so you can eat a nice big lunch for both of us. 🙂

Hi Tatoulia

Since you mentioned the dining room closet
it must be on your mind that it needs more attention.
What's in there?
I think I remember you put some fancy dinnerware in there.
Is there any space, closet, drawer, etc. that you find more difficult than it needs to be to get things in or out of?
Do you need a better space to store something in more permanently that is just in a temporary place right now?
The whole idea of organizing is to make our lives easier.
Since you have done the bulk of your decluttering
now it is time to organize.
As we organize we also always find more things that can go away.
Think out side of the box as to what to store where. Just because certain types of items have always been stored there doesn't mean we can't rethink/reimagine the space for something better suited to live there.
Hope this helps 🙂

Had to fill two five gallon water bottles with three gallons each today.
Since I was in town anyways I stopped by the thrift shop to chat a while.
Weighed myself and I have lost more than FIVE pounds since I lost my girl kitty.
Thought I was doing good enough eating but evidently I haven't been.
I will be more thoughtful and try to eat more.
Just made and ate a grilled cheese sandwich and had two tiny gherkins with it.

Tillie I want to reduce further in November. What would make the most sense in this situation as a goal? Should I look to do another pass at dining room closet? I bet I can make different choices. What do you think? Could you help me define a goal?

November 1st

A whole new month already.
Anybody have a specific challenge they want to do?

I would like to do some of those things I have been wanting to do but was too busy doing other more important necessary things.

I want to get my garden area all sorted out and cleaned up.
When Springtime comes I want it to be easy to keep.
As long as the three remaining cats aren't needing hospice care I can work out there off and on without physically over doing it.

I am glad to be back with you all here. It was a great visit. She's an easy houseguest, once I get over the constant talking.

Kitty sends her love, Tillie. She was a very brave girl when we had our visitor.

I am glad to be back with you all here. It was a great visit. She's an easy houseguest, once I get over the constant talking.

Kitty sends her love, Tillie. She was a very brave girl when we had our visitor.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN
to Tatoulia's little black kitty!

So happy you had this nice visit in your new clean home.

Yes, I saw that fire on the news.
Great way to donate the comforter to a good cause.

Sounds like fun you all handing out the candy together on the steps.
I understand how weird the crowds can get, I have spent some Halloweens in Detroit.

I'm sure your weight will get back on schedule soon.
It's a busy time of year with so many things to do and see in a big city.

Hello hello and happy Halloween from my black cat!

What a great visit with mom's friend. She's my friend too. Important stuff: kitty held up very well and so that was great. Each evening friend would say, let me clean up the kitchen. We tried to get a lot of walks in. We saw mom at least once each day. Saturday was a rainy windy nor'easter. I had day two of cake decorating class and friend went to mom's. I've done all the laundry now and I have the new comforter and pillow I bought for the fold-out ready to donate. I was going to see if I should keep the comforter but there was a big fire on Saturday I believe that displaced 100 students and there's a bedding and clothing drive tomorrow night.

I have kept up with things on my end. Friend was so much fun. My weight may have taken a hit as friend eats normal meals and I'm more of a one meal a day. However, I couldn't have friend eating alone as she would refuse to eat if I werent hungry. I don't blame her. That can be very uncomfortable.

So it was great and wonderful and mom had a great time.

I am going to do a bit of relaxation now. The city is crazy between the Red Sox victory parade today and now Halloween. My neighbors and I sat outside and handed out candy. We ran out of candy before the crowd turned weird.

I am so thrilled that CM got the plumbing fixed!!!! SubC i would like some applesauce right now! Tillie I'm glad you are back.

Tomorrow is first day back in the office. I was tired today, working from home. I decided not to go in due to parade and Halloween.

I need to shampoo the bedroom rug. It is a disgrace. This weekend. No excuses.

Oh! The scaffolding is still up, SubC. But they took the wrapping off. I don't know why it's still there other than one neighbor is having a dispute with the company. Who knows. I can't tell if they've painted the house or not but I believe they have. So I'd like it all to just go.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN CriticalMass

Waiting for someone to come do things is more tiring than doing any tedious task.
So happy this wait is over.
Poor kitty (((HUGS Kitty)))
it is hard having strangers tromp and bang around in your space.

I never get any trick or treaters way out here so I only buy the candy that I want to eat.
Must have some candy, it's Halloween!

I always iron dry fabric too. It comes out better than sprinkling/misting it later.

Enjoy your movie 😀

YEA!

I have managed to stay awake today!
Got the kitchen all clean.
Did all cat related stuff.
Went through my jeans and blouses.
Everything still fits and is still in good condition.
5 pair of black Wrangler jeans
25 assorted style/color blouses/tops
Have enough really nice socks too.
Tidied up and even dusted the livingroom/dining room area.
It's 3:35pm and I think I will be awake until at least 9:00pm.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

Hope everyone's doing well. My roommate and I are still finding it hard to believe the plumbing is done!

He was supposed to do my van today but got behind, texted me once that he was coming in an hour but that was hours ago. It's okay, we'll get it done.

I've not done a whole lot - took a nap. I think there's like this residual tension from all the waiting and wondering and I just felt like a nap would do me good for unwinding. If he'd come at the expected time I was thinking of doing laundry including quilt fabric that I press dry. I didn't want to set that all up until I knew how the day was going to go.

Don't know if we'll get any Trick-Or-Treaters or be forced to eat all that candy ourselves - LOL!

I'm going to go watch my video of "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" and see if I can coax girl kitty out to play. She's been a bit withdrawn, probably from all the guys tromping and banging yesterday.

TTYL

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

Hi Subclinical
WAY TO GO! for all you have been doing to take good care of yourself.
Enjoy your cozy fire.

Spent yesterday afternoon napping on the couch with a cat.
Just keep getting so sleepy, can't keep my eyes open.
Then long before 8pm I go to bed and sleep.
Whatever I don't get done in the morning doesn't get done.
Gets so dark so early in the evening now and there isn't much sunshine early morning.

Yay for plumbing!!!!!!

Yay for working vans!!!

Yay for Steven making progress!!!

My life is crazy busy right now.

The basement is currently a mess from dd2 looking for a Halloween costume and me dragging things out to find canning stuff (I didn't can last year)

Pottery show/sale looming and I don't know when i'll do the prep work.

Swam 2000m yesterday. Ate a good dinner. Got 7 hours of sleep. Did yoga this morning. Taking care of myself. We have clean underwear and clean dishes.

I don't have a costume for school today, but I do have fun lesson plans.

I am not perfect, but I am getting better.

Happy Halloween! (It is going to rain all evening here, so I will have my fire in the wood stove.)

Hi CriticalMass
Wonderful to read your post!

YEA!!! HAPPY DANICIN!!!
What a relief the plumbing is finished!

One thing I have found working with hissy fussing cats...
I force them to share the same space by placing the "newcomer" in the "resident" cat's space inside a kennel.
This way they can see each other and smell each other but both are safe from any physical contact.
After a while they both calm down and relax.
I stay nearby softly talking to both of them.
Very important to not show one favor over the other so there is no jealousy generated.
I will sit on the floor by the kennel and slowly give both cats snacks, little bit by little bit to make snack time last longer.
Then I release the cat back in the other room and shut the door.
This gives the cats a chance to learn together.
After a while I can bring the cat out without the kennel, do the snack time routine and supervise any interaction before returning the cat to the bedroom.
I would not trust the boy cat any alone time with the bunnies.
Feral cats here eat even the adult cottontail bunnies.

So happy the van is so wonderful!
Yes, get it all maintained before Winter sets in.
Steven got my car serviced this past weekend.

Some of those plastic drawer units can't take much weight in the drawers.
I have seem many of them where the drawers constantly fall off the tracks and don't open or close very easily and constantly need the drawer realigned.
Maybe one of those low plastic storage boxes, like the kind that can fit under a bed.
Some of them are not any longer/wider than a typical storage bin.
I got one from Walmart for Twinkles to use as a litter box.

YES! pack that printer away!
Make room to sew!
Winter is the best time to sew!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! 🙂

Ah, been away again more days than I intended to be - but I come bearing good news! 🙂

THE PLUMBING WORK IS DONE!!!

HAPPY DANCE!!!

Now he is supposed to do the transmission fluid flush and oil change on my van tomorrow morning. Due to the delays with the other things, this works out well for me because Friday is payday. The van, by the way, has been SUCH a blessing since I've had it. Starts without fuss, runs like a dream, heater and AC actually heat and cool - going to be so much more comfortable in winter, just as I've already been in summer.

I hope I haven't lost too much lovely Indian Summer weather time - rain is coming in and it will be in the 50s rather than 60s-70s. The fall color of the trees here has been off the charts because we got rain at just the right times. Many trees multicolored - so cool - and others all one gorgeous red or orange or gold. But the leaves are starting to fall more, and some branches are bare.

Tillie - hope you and the lost boy cats are coping better. It's so hard losing our beloved animals. The cat situation here is moving along slowly - still segregated with brief reintroduction periods and Feliway pheromones and so on. We hope soon we won't have to go through all this - it's inconvenient for us trying to get to one part of the house or the other, and give enough individual attention to each cat.

I learned that boy cat will also try to go after my bunnies, which are larger than my roommate's bunnies. He took boy bunny's face in his paws but boy bunny was like "Seriously, dude?" and turned away. But between that and the fear of the bunnies chewing the vinyl flooring, I'm just going to be 100% supervising when any bunny is out playing. Part of the scenario may be the fact that the cat books we are following say cats need to go through the hunting and killing sequence in play with toys, so we are awakening more natural instincts. So time to put extra safety measures in place.

Decluttering tasks can take place during such times, though - I'm continuing to make progress on getting rid of some old receipts and such. I can work on that while supervising bunnies. Tillie, I totally get what you mean about when there's less stuff it will get more difficult to decide what to let go of. I experienced some of that when I moved the storage unit to this side of town. I'll continue to evaluate what things I truly want to keep.

Glad Steven got something done, hope he will do more. And good for you learning to be more chill about when to work and when to relax than the unbalanced ways you learned as a child.

Well, the World Series is over - Tatoulia, congrats to the Red Sox, a fine team. My Dodgers hopefully will get another chance sometime. I understand what you mean about the compulsive talker friend! I have a phone friend who can go a minimum of two hours. I get a stiff neck holding the phone. She can use speakerphone on her end but I can't because of my ADD auditory processing issue. In fact, sometimes I have to ask other people not to use speakerphone because it sounds like they're down a well. My friend is semi-homebound though so I understand she gets lonely.

SubC, glad you worked things out with hubby about the space for now. I love those big guillotine school paper cutters! If I had the space I'd find myself the biggest one available. I have one that's like 18" or 15" but it's put away - one of these days... Have you looked into any of the books on organizing for right-brained or creative or ADD people? I've found a few helpful things in that sort of book. One thing that sometimes helps me is project trays - you may already have that going on with your ceramics. Something you can lift up and set aside without having to dismantle an ongoing project.

I'm going to have to reconfigure for these Barbies I've adopted this year! Plastic shoe boxes hold them, but when I want one out of a box under several other boxes, it's a pain. I think I'll get some of those plastic 3-drawer things like people use for scrapbooking paper/office supplies, etc.

Can't remember if I mentioned this but I should soon have stuff off the craft table in the family/bunny/art room. Both I and my roommate want to be able set up our sewing machine(s) and work on quilting and whatever (doll clothes for me, too, of course). All I really need to do is find a place for an inkjet printer that's sitting there - I may even pack that printer away since I use my roommate's laser printer in her office anyway, and that printer's out of ink which is not a high priority.

Well, hopefully I will get time to pop in tomorrow, but if I don't, have a Happy Halloween! Beware the spooks!

Good Morning

He has finally gone back to work today!
He took Friday and Monday off to use up some of his days off time from work rather than lose it at the end of the year.
He spent a lot of the time sorting/sifting through that hoard between the back door and garage door.
There is a noticeable difference. The footpath is wider now and the heaps/piles at the edge are not as tall as they were before.
I think he may be trying to make room for the huge amount of clutter/hoard that's under the now 'dangerously precariously hanging down ready to completely collapse at any time' far side of the carport roof.

Anyways...
Very cold today. 55 degrees in the house.
Have a load of laundry to hang out.
Need to carve my pumpkin.

Tillie, you are a great cheerleader!

I made apple sauce.

It took 14 hours. The first three hours were getting the kitchen and scullery clean enough to make apple sauce.

I also lost an hour when a jar broke and I had to empty, refill, and reheat the canner.

I will end up with 21 quart jars of applesauce. This is neither cost effective or practical, but the applesauce is so much better than anything I can buy.

I wish I had made twice as much - next year. A batch in September and a batch in October. There were also some inefficiencies in the process due to things I forgot.

And I hate my canner. It is too wide for my stove and too short! Why do they only make canners 9 1/2" tall? They boil over constantly. It is messy and frustrating. I looked online and couldn't find a taller canner, but I did find someone suggesting a tamale steamer (13.5" and it has a rack) dh said I can buy one if I get rid of the big steamer. I'm going to check it out at target.

The old things will be taken away when dh or ds takes them.

It will be so nice once the home renovations are finished and all the materials for this are no longer needing to be stored. 🙂

When can the old stove and water heater be taken away?
That is not a "woman" type chore. Those things are heavy and awkward.
Maybe someone can come help you get them loaded up.
I have that same problem here with anything we replace, the old units sit out in the way here for years.

I pictured your paper cutting table just as you described it.
Like the one we had in high school art class.

Two boxes of saved jars is not bad since you use them.
Good that you don't waste your precious time on the jars that have tenacious label glue.

Little by little the kid's things are being taken to their new homes.
So a little more storage space is needed for them for now.
So nice your dolls no longer need to be stored but are nicely displayed.

Remember you were sickly weak & tired with anemia for quite a long time and couldn't function much.
Even still you kept up with whatever you could manage.
Don't be discouraged by what still needs doing.
Look at what you have done and know that in time, you will eventually get your home sorted out, functional and a lovely place for both you and your DH. 🙂

Good morning!

The basement is divided - my half is split into two rooms with the stairs down the middle, and his half is a big empty space. The problem is that you have to walk through my half to get to his half. My half also has the water heater, the heat pump, the chest freezer, a dehumidifier and the pantry cupboards in it. Also my egg/milk fridge - all of which need space around them and paths to them. He gets upset when the paths are less than 3' wide.

He let me put my exercise bike in his half.

Switching halves would not work because of heating and finishing issues.

The studio barn is semi divided - there are defined shop spaces, year round parking spaces, and a pottery only area. But then there is a big area that is storage/projects/winter parking.

When I cleaned out my pottery area to make it more functional, I moved a bunch of stuff into that space (I also moved an entire carload to my son's house, some things to my basement, and some things away forever.)

Also in that space right now is all the flooring for the addition, the window trim, and 5 huge beam covers that were recently delivered. Dh us finishing the beam covers and putting them up (there were 7) and he needs space to store and space to work. The old electric stove from the old kitchen that needs to go to the recycling is still there (there is also a dead water heater in the garage. I can't lift either thing alone and the whole experience is not woman friendly.)

The pick-up needs to be parked inside now or it won't start. That is what happened yesterday.

At the moment, the paper cutting table has become a dollhouse stand. Each of my kids had a dollhouse. Dd1 took hers. Ds's is buried in the mixed pile in the studio barn. Dd2's is now on my 3'x3' paper cutting table. (The surface of the table is ruled and there is a giant blade on one side that needs to be sharpened.) I have had it for about three years and only used it as a table to park things on in my studio. A friend was getting rid of it because she thought it was dangerous and also she couldn't sharpen the blade. Dh (unlikely) or ds could sharpen the blade for me. I might ask ds when he is here for Christmas. I might wait.

Thing I didn't remember to say - dd2 works for a company that designs clothes. She brought each of us a t-shirt when she visited this weekend. So I am up a t-shirt. (I try really hard to tell you guys everything I get except normal weekly food. And clay. I only buy clay as needed because it is expensive compared to anything else I buy and never goes on sale. I don't think I get very much?)

Also, I save jars because they are useful and I am a teacher (last week I used two saved jars to take spiders to class) but I only have one large box and one small box of saved jars. Enough to do a project with one class. I give them to other teachers if they ask. Yesterday I looked at the counter in the scullery and made a decision - if the labels on the jars leave behind gook when they come off, I will not attempt to remove the gook. I will just recycle the jar. The jars are not worth it.

Yeah,
it is very difficult when there is no place else to put things to make room.
Can the big paper cutting table do duel work, multitasking?
That way he could see that it is a very useful table for you.
You two share the space in the basement and studio barn.
Is there any way you can divide the spaces so you have your space and he has his in these areas?
A line down the middle type agreement?

What I had to do here was to make all the inside of this tiny house my territory (except his bedroom) and let him have all the carport, huge garage (including the full loft) and yard, except the tiny square I call my garden.
He was the one who told me I could store the space heaters and a few other things in one tiny specific area of the garage he chose to give up.
If I could eliminate the freezer in the pantry I would be able to store that stuff in there.

I know you are working hard to get things organized and any excess eliminated.
You also tend to the animals, school work, food bank, housework, pottery, home improvement, etc. and family.
I feel that you need some space that you don't have to move your things out of.
You also need time.
Time to keep up the great job you have been doing sorting out and finding permanent homes for the keepers.
Doing this all by yourself takes time.

He tries to give me warning, but sometimes he doesn't realize he'll need a space until he needs it, and often he underestimates how big a job he is asking me to do.

Also, when he is waiting and he sees me shifting around things that he thinks should just go, he gets angry.

He was very sweet today and helped me carry my big paper cutting table back to the house and put it in the basement. He did it grudgingly and said "you are never going to use this." But he did it.

He also feels like once an area is cleaned out, it should stay cleaned out. But sometimes stuff comes in faster than it goes out, and my process is iterative - I will bring things into more active space or shift them into less active space depending in what I am working on, and sometimes the quantity gets reduced as things move, but sometimes the group gathers up more "like" things from elsewhere.

And a lot of stuff is like the dolls were for so long - I move the stuff for him, but then he eliminates the storage and the stuff can't go back, so it is now crowding a new area with nowhere to go...

I'm glad someone lit a fire under Steven. Maybe they will keep fanning it for you.

Good Evening everybody

Hi Subclinical
So very sorry your DH is angry.
Wish there was a way to help both of you through this.
Would asking him to point out to you areas he needs you to focus on so that he can do the things he needs to do?
Not everything, not all at once, just so you have time to get moved out of his way before he needs the space?
With Steven I am just wasting my breath explaining what I need moved so that I can get to the area where I need to get to, to do what I need to do.

Finished up all the little projects I had started the other days and have everything put away where ever it goes again.
Did not give in to the lure of napping with a cat today.

Think somebody possibly said something to Steven about his hoard...
Today he has been busy sorting out, straightening, decluttering and actually going through the huge heap piled/stacked up between the back door and the garage door.
I have seen him take a few things out and put into the truck and a few things taken out to the trash can.
There is a noticeable difference out there in that small area.
Nothing I have ever said has ever gotten him to do anything like this, so must be someone else he is doing this for.

Today I did not remove anything from the basement. Instead I moved things from the studio barn into the basement because dh needs space to work and park equipment out of the weather. He is mad at me about the mess again. And about cancelling the garbage service.

I still have not started the applesauce, and I am afraid that is going to be another epic fail.

I did a little pottery today, so not nothing, but it has not been going well.

I'm trying to be positive, but it's hard when dh is angry. He is so very patient. We've been married 28 years - how long should a person have to wait for a functional home? I really am trying. But I also know I could do better if i focused more.