Life

[Marilyn]

The biggest changes we are going through are due to the economy. When the going gets tough, the tough get going sorta thing. We were just awarded a contract with Valero, so now I get to know a whole new group of people.

At home, hubby and I are trying to get organized. He's finally on board with working together to go through all our stuff and tossing what we need to, having a garage sale this summer, building more storage in the garage. We've made a list of what needs to be done, and we are on the attack. We've already found some things that were lost. I have so many rolls of scotch tape now that they are all in one place. Working as we do and moving as many times as we have during our marriage, things have gotten misplaced and we never had time to really organize like we should. Oh, on the surface all looks well, but the attic, garage, cabinets, closets hold all sorts of treasure, or junk. Hopefully we will find out!!

[Janet]

Originally Posted by Marilyn

The biggest changes we are going through are due to the economy. When the going gets tough, the tough get going sorta thing. We were just awarded a contract with Valero, so now I get to know a whole new group of people.

At home, hubby and I are trying to get organized. He's finally on board with working together to go through all our stuff and tossing what we need to, having a garage sale this summer, building more storage in the garage. We've made a list of what needs to be done, and we are on the attack. We've already found some things that were lost. I have so many rolls of scotch tape now that they are all in one place. Working as we do and moving as many times as we have during our marriage, things have gotten misplaced and we never had time to really organize like we should. Oh, on the surface all looks well, but the attic, garage, cabinets, closets hold all sorts of treasure, or junk. Hopefully we will find out!!

I love cleaning closets, drawers, attic just for that reason. I find all kinds of things I forgot about and then find things too to get rid of. I do it every spring and I'm really looking forward to it this year. I want to get rid of so much stuff. I'm tired of dusting so many things and having the place looking stuffed so I'm on the warpath...lol...I just hope the guys will help some.

[DianaB]

I need to get organized too. That's great that your husband is going to help you with it, Marilyn. When Glen helps with stuff like that he ends up pushing me out of the way and just doing things the way he wants to. I end up fustrated at him!!!!

I used to follow FlyLady's house cleaning rules and she has a way of tackling messy places that I like. You go in to, say, your closet and throw out 21 items. Tomorrow you go back and toss another 21 items and do this as often as you need to. Then work 5 or 10 minutes at a time until it's clean and organzied.

[Gina]

Originally Posted by Marilyn

The biggest changes we are going through are due to the economy. When the going gets tough, the tough get going sorta thing. We were just awarded a contract with Valero, so now I get to know a whole new group of people.

At home, hubby and I are trying to get organized. He's finally on board with working together to go through all our stuff and tossing what we need to, having a garage sale this summer, building more storage in the garage. We've made a list of what needs to be done, and we are on the attack. We've already found some things that were lost. I have so many rolls of scotch tape now that they are all in one place. Working as we do and moving as many times as we have during our marriage, things have gotten misplaced and we never had time to really organize like we should. Oh, on the surface all looks well, but the attic, garage, cabinets, closets hold all sorts of treasure, or junk. Hopefully we will find out!!

Marilyn, I do the same.. I look origanzed but don't go in my attic lol I try to keep my closets pretty origanzed. In the summer I must attack my garage I moved here almost 9 yrs. ago and I still cant find stuff I packed away. It shows you we don't need it and will be giving things away to charities when I do find it.. It seems everyone puts this chore off...

[Marilyn]

Sounds like we're all to some extent in the same boat.

Janet, only thing is I'm not off work enough to do this every spring, so we have to whittle away at it on the weekends and just commit to making forward progress over the next few months.

Diana, my hubby gets into my boxes before I'm even in the room, and starts tossing things. The only thing he does understand and let me do is rummage through his discard pile and pull out things I just can't part with. He accuses me of being a packrat, but you should see his stuff, he keeps things that I would toss, too.

Gina, we've been living here almost 6 years, and last weekend when the big shelves fell and we had to go through a bunch of stuff, there were still 3 moving boxes in the garage unopened from our last move. You'd think the stuff could all be chunked, but we found pictures of our girls when they were little, and other special things. Organization experts will say that if you don't touch it in a year, you don't need it. That's crazy, there are lots of things you don't touch in a year, and do we really need our children's baby pictures and other special things, not to survive, maybe, but, yes we do need them!!!

[Janet]

I feel that way too Marilyn, about the baby pictures. They mean more to me than any object in the house.

[judy]

It is a lot of work, but decluttering can change your life a bit. I think when you have things under control at home and not cluttered, the rest of your environments start to become less cluttered.