BBL I'm really rushed this morning but managed to pull off a 1-2-3- dance...old new clean.

Hi Declutterers:

I am sitting on my new couch! It got here last night and I had a few moments where I thought it wouldn't make it aroung those doorways and narrow passages, but it did and I have Caesar sleeping here with me and Looloo is on our... end table! I actually have three endtables now vs. none before and I have a tall, empty, bookcase and a matching half bookcase (also empty) plus the two chests, each with three drawers and they also have bookcases that sit atop them.

I was lying on my couch watching the new tv DH bought (big.3D!) and I thought that I finally have a bit of *comfort* in this place now. That was a goal for me in terms of creating an oasis=a place of shelter/warmth/comfort. We still have the futon too and we may keep it yet. I've thrown some blankets over it and now I have a lot of seating where we had only one really good place to sit.

The chests with the bookcases are only partly in place. I have them facing each other in the hallway. One is in the niche the other wouldn't fit alongside it as I didn't take the rickety bookcase down that's in there. I wanted to see if I had to or not. Looks like I have too. But I'll measure the sace first before I do that.

I now have a MOUNTAIN of boxes to go through. There are probably 35 boxes/bags/bins in my dining area now. I got so discouraged last week schlepping them down the hall and onto the growing stacks. I thought OMG I am STILL moving! I am tired of moving. I want to be moved in and even more basic than that, I DO NOT want to move these boxes another time. So, even if I don't get everythng placed somewhere, I will call it a success if I have reduced the pile by half. Or down to ten boxes. 10 I could deal with. I still have a whole stack in the second bedroom. I was just thinking I could move the shelf I take down in the hall in there--which requires me to mve those boxes out. But they are the last of them, except for the few that lurk in the closet in that room. That may be my end goal for the next decluttering challenge. To have faced EVERY moving box by the vernal equinox aka Spring's arrival.

to all of us here. LEXXISS you truly deserve a of your own for formulating that three step plan. It's so workable! I think it may even work for me! thankyouthankyouthankyou.

OnebyONe, Glad you are enjoying your new furniture. Creating the peaceful oasis that you had imagined I am right with you with downsizing boxes. I have over 10 empty christmas boxes and am heading to Goodwill to give the knickknacks and decorations away. I have labeled all my Christmas items, room by room including the contents inside. As I complete this task, I am going to put all like items together in the attic so if I want to go room by room next year, I can. I absolutely love decorating for Christmas. Making floral arrangement and garlands.I kept supplies on hand and finally this year-- I let go of many "supply items" and got it down to one box. I really am a hoarder at heart. But a recovering one at that. Off to continue to clean my first floor and put all the boxes in the attic.

Hi Ladies!

onebyone, congrats on your new couch and a place to sit and relax. I toast you on your hard work and hope your good feeling helps strengthen your goals. Thx for compliments...I do think that my 1-2-3 was inspired by FlLady as she encouraged all three every day.

Tami(helping rachel), great job thinning your holiday decorations. I am certain you will be pleasantly surprised next year-I was.
Re:Photos
I have a scanner, too, but after lots of research and the number of physical pictures I have I decided to use the scanners at walmart(our closest store). I was told (somewhere) that the commercial scanners would provide a better scan than the home ones.
Their photocenter has multiple scanners. I go early with all my pics organized and I've gotten good enough that I can scan 400 photos in 2 hours and walk out with 2 CDs total $6.00. I've done 15 CDs so far....over 4000 photos. Once at home, I load the photos onto my laptop then do a "sort" where each picture gets transfered to the applicable "folder" in the "master file". I keep the CD's and use my best disgression (right now) to pitch many photos...keeping some of the older ones. I have gone to extra lengths to make sure only scanned photos are in one box and unscanned items are actually in another room.
Now I'm starting to prepare my slides and have chosen Costco for their good price and (I think) superior service. I'll get a DVD back. One DVD will hold 500 slides. (.19/slide)
Because scanning is inexpensive and fast I haven't put lots of thinking into which photos I would or wouldn't scan. Since slides cost alot more I plan to go through them all before taking them in. I have already pitched over 100.
I recently copied the master photo file to a joystick for viewing on the electronic frame. Seeing our photos on a daily basis now really makes us happy.
After I am 100% finished with the photos/slides I will probably go back through the box where I stored the already scanned photos. I am guessing that at that point I will be ready to let go of most of them.
So that's my process.

Debbie: WOW! What a great process and I can only imagine the benefits to know what is important and to be enjoyed. I am going to use walmart myself. Didn't think about that but makes complete sense. I love the DVD idea as well. I transferred all my home videos last christmas to DVD and they are so easy to access to watch. Thanks for sharing your wisdom. Loving the payoff's from my daily hardwork. I am loving letting things go to become more organized. Better late than never. Have a great night!!

Tami(helping rachel), I have all the videos in a box and look forward to getting those done, too.

I went to bed early and got up early...well rested. The thought went through our minds here to head out for a day off but reality said it would be a much better spent day off to keep working on the project. I pulled out the slide projector this morning and set it up in the dining room. We looked at all the slides that were loaded in carousels and I pitched at least 100. Now I'm going to load another 300 into some empty carousels and look at them, too. Then the slide projector could get put away.

So: Today 1-2-3 dance

1. old clutter-photos/slides
2. current clutter-do laundry and general pick up
3. clean-cat box/compost/and 10 min. in tv room

Gotta say....it gets so tempting just to "quit" in the middle of a project like this and everything just stays all over the place. I am going to persist through this today.

Cheering your inner organizer on today to continue with the progress! I have the same thoughts about my office. Craft room and utility room very manageable in the basement. My office is NOT where I want it to be going into the New Year. The time is now to continue on with that project. I have to move one bookcase and reorganize my closet in there. I have current projects and books that I want front and center and they are not. I wrote out the vision of how I want it when I am done and plan to stick with it until it is.

The value that I am focusing on is the sense that everything can have a home and the things I keep are valuable to me. It is bonus that they are cared for in an organized way. Just not tossed in a box to deal with later......thus the excess boxes. My husband helped out with the back of the utility room. We threw away two packing boxes that were moved when we came here from Chicago, 20 years ago.......YIKES! Talk about avoidance and not making a decision. Good news the Logjam of clutter is flowing right out of this house!

Have a great day, hope you have some smiles and surprises as you look thru your pictures.

Thanks! Good news to hear the logjam of clutter is flowing right out!

My DH went back to bed...there is alot of emotion involved in sorting through the old stuff. We went through all his sisters old slides (pitched about 1/2) and the rest are in the little slide boxes that Costco provides. The projector is back in the closet.

I needed a time out to reevaluate. I am going to complete what's already in process then put all the undone back in the drawer for the next segment of this project.

Amidst all this I looked out the back window into the yard that I would so like to have looking nice instead of full of weeds. The thought that popped into my head was:
It's hard to work on my present and look to my future when I haven't dealt with stuff from the past.
Today I will continue to work on the stuff from the past so I can look towards my future.

No doubt decluttering and organizing can open up old memories and if it wasn't overwhelming at times, we might have done this a long time ago. I am sharing a meditation that keeps me in the present when I declutter. It helps ground me in the now....thought I would share. “Close your eyes and relax. Breathe slowly, deeply. With each inhale take in the positive, healing energy in this room. With each exhale, let go of the tension and frustration you brought in. Listen to your breathing. Focus on the sound of your breath. Relax your forehead and neck. Let the tensions you carry flow down through your bodies to your hands and out of you.” [Allow about 30 seconds]

“Release the tension in your shoulders. Your chest. Arms. Legs. Tension and worry flows out from your body like a stream to a river, a river to the ocean.” [Allow a couple of minutes in silence]

“Go inward to your quiet, calm center. Deeper inward. Direct your vision to a clutter-free life. [Here, expand on, or create a new visualization as you feel correct. Some suggestions are to imagine a small clear area and make that a sacred space. Or focus on mental or emotional clutter. Whatever feels appropriate is what is correct. There is no wrong way to do this.) Imagine a place where your clutter has ruled. This could be your bedroom, living room, office, or anywhere that bothers you. Put a clear barrier between you and your clutter. You are not your clutter. It is only stuff. View it as unemotionally as possible. You are stronger than your clutter. You are in charge. Clutterless self taking charge. See yourself creating a clutter-free space. Don't worry about where things go. Just get them out of your field of vision. Your goal right now is just to create clear space, not organize. Create order where there was disorder. Feel the texture of the objects you discard. See and feel clarity where there was chaos. Feel the joy and pride that decluttering creates in you. Hold that vision. Draw it into your heart. This is how your life really is. This is your reality.” [Spend about twice as long as before in silence while members see this. When you feel ready, or sense fidgeting, begin speaking again.]

“Slowly, when you are ready, return to this room, slowly coming back from your vision. When you are ready to begin making it real on the physical plane, first return to this vision of a clutter-free environment.”

I agree with you regarding getting rid of the past things....to me it is preparing the path for the future.

Hello My Supportive Friends

I am off to another Event, reluctznt to go but going anyway here I will actively question myself about my food choices--and then, once I am home, I am committing to looking in ONE of my old moving boxes and MAKING DECISIONS about its contents.

I am doing this to SET THE TONE for the coming new year just aaround the corner. Why wait and make a resolution on the 31st? I am DOING IT NOW. I am COMMITTING to my vision of the future.

Will update later.

Love this thread. I'm working on my clutter issues. I shredded newly 30 years of accumulated paperwork a few months back. I went though our copious Christmas decorations a few years ago and donated some, placed some into plastic storage bins for the kids (their collection) and even sorted out two boxes that go just on our white tree. However, I could do with going through it all again and being a little more "brutal". I will go through what is out now before I put it all back, and then in the summer when we do a garage clear and sort -- I'll go through everything. All the holiday stuff -- Christmas, Easter, Halloween...

I love the photo tips. I have years of photos with which to deal. This will be a 2013 goal.

Welcome! MeMel! Feel free to join in with your projects or goals for 2013. Sounds like you have been successful at attacking the paper clutter. How did you decide what to shred?

I just got back from the 1/2 price book store with$30 in my pocket. Two boxes of books out of the house and a nice little reward. It was crazy in there. I think everyone else had the same idea for a Sunday afternoon activity.

The weather is so nice here. We are grilling chicken and asparagus on the grill before it gets super cold again.

Hello declutterers!

MeMel! Wow! 30 years of paperwork has got to be alot of shredding. Kudos to you for attacking it and setting some goals for 2013.

onebyone, one box is manageable and moves you forward! Small and consistent steps of progress really add up day after day.

Tami(helping rachel), thanks for the meditation. I'm going to print it out and save in my "extra drawer" where I'm housing the big projects. Yay for money in your pocket as you declutter!

I have 417 slides in boxes ready to drop at Costco tonight and everything from the photo project is put away in the "extra drawer" for now since I won't be working on it again for a few days. credit.

I am so happy about this "extra drawer". My next project will be the company bookwork as I prepare for taxes and for the first time I will have a place to put it all away inbetween work times.

Today's 1-2-3

old clutter-counted slides (417) and am in the process of printing the costco form. Got a check written/ready for mailing to pay for taxes in Alaska....something I did by bill pay months ago but was rejected as WFargo didn't process it properly.

new clutter-folded and put away laundry, did a general pick up in all rooms.

clean-cat box and upstairs bathroom sink.

Yay! For the 2012 decluttering efforts!


I hit the big "50" today! Getting ready to have a 5pm birthday dinner here: http://www.vmertz.com/ I have never been here but rated the best restaurant in Omaha. Taking the day off from projects, light picking up here and there.

Have a great day. Happy New Year!

Faithful Declutterers!

We come to the end of this challenge. I think all of us have made some kind of progress, struggled through some tasks and mastered others and made decisions all along the way about the kind of environment that would best suit us and support our ongoing food / foodplans.

I'm going to continue working on my place and will begin a new support thread.

So for those who wish, let's keep moving forward in 2013....

Thanks for participating. I've learned a lot from all of you.