Bring myself to spring clean

Seems we have more company in the summer so that's a good incentive to clean.
The sunlight shows the dust off better too. Lots of motivators.

Seems yard work is taking priority at his point.Another great thing about summer outdoor entertaining. I having to clean the whole house just so we can have a meal! Too painful & too exhausting for me.

My office is a complete wreck - paper continues to be my weak spot. The curse of an information addict. The piles just gotta go. I have to get my "No Mercy" attiude to get it done.

More shelves OR Less junk?

I say less junk! hubby says More shelves. Grrr. We always fight over shelves. I say I don't want any more till we get rid of more stuff! It's an ongoing fight.

One could build shelves for an eternity and never purge out stuff rarely used. I hate tag sales -takes too much time. I give to friends & Salvation army.

I hate my own packrat tendencies & hate his even more! Sigh.... that's the way it goes.

He thinks he'll sort out the junk if he only had more shelves. I think that procrastination at its best!

Alas it's True, I'm an official TAX PROCRASTINATOR!

It's like looking forward to a root canal. Ugh- I hate the things.Tax calculation, I mean.Root canals, too. Don't get me wrong, I'm not one of those who thrives on last minute adrenaline addiction.
Ours is complicated. Several businesses including a rental. I have 2 boxes of receipts.

We do our own on Turbo tax. Makes it some what easier. Only 12 hours instead of 19.

Seems were so busy living daily life, it's hard to fit in just one more thing.
Bring on the flat tax!

The Big Brown Shelf

It's the dark wood I love but it just doesn't work. This week I decided that the shelf that looks so stylish in my office is nothing more than a monolith. A 1970's monument to what should be useful storage. I remember this shelf as child-we kept our "good" china in there, games and Mom's fancy blue glass collectables.

Right now there are some tapes & a sewing basket in there but the shelf takes up more room than I have stuff to fill it. I've tried giving it away but it will probably be banashed to the basement again.

It's great vertical space but I need room for laundry baskets. It's the sort of tool that's hard to repurpose.

Again with the Table - oy!

Well, the new console is helping with some of the small stuff being dumped on the table. Right now my craft stuff is all over it since I have no place in this five bedroom house to craft! My business desk you cannot see the top of.We figured out my huge pc takes up most of the space. Our bedroom is small, no room there. Laundry room & guest bedroom are loaded with furniture for the now torn up living room. Bedroom five is gutted. Bedroom 4 turned into a music room(not negotiable unless I want to start WW3). Bedroom 3 is dh's office. Seems the dh has more rooms than me-now I'm getting mad... and to think it started with junk on the table!

Give junk one inch & it will take a mile!

Of course one of my constant resolutions is to dejunk- my desk is driving me crazy. My husband mentioned the fact that he thinks my desk is too small. Hmmm ,never thought of that before! I think this is one time I agree with him. We don't often agree about space for storage. It's often a sore spot. He thinks it should be all about function -I want function AND beauty!

I think that if you give junk one inch it will take a mile! I think this week will be shred fest! I've already killed 2 shredders-so believe me I'm a serious believer in shredding!

Praise the Lord and Pass the Postage!

I'm so thankful you can buy & print postage stuff online with FREE confirmation- if you buy Priority mail at usps.com. Did you know that??? How cool!It's blessing for a handicapped person like me- you can also click on a button for a postal person to come & get your package - now thats service!

A Lot of Spirit on the Inside-Clutter on the Outside!

I love Christmas as the mailing boxes piled up in the living room proves! No, they are not Christmas decor per se, but with no carpet or lighting fixtures, they fit right in to our rough decorating scheme. Next year I hope to not have the excuse of "were remodeling" so the mess will not have to fit in!

About that Table dumping thingy

Getting someone to walk 5 feet to dump off junk didn't work- go figure!
So I emptied a drawer in the console in the kitchen hoping to stop the table dumping.
I'm not holding my breath but I have more hope for that option.

Yes,Virginia- I'm done Christmas shopping

Some of you may remember the old commercial where the girl says "Don't hate me because I'm beautiful" while she's swinging her hair around.

When I tell people I'm done Christmas shopping in Sept they usually say something like _"I hate you!"

I love Christmas so maybe that's why I don't wait till the last possible paycheck to try & squeeze out a budget for gifts.
Don't get me wrong I'm not one of those wacky people who camp out on the store door step the day after christmas, shopping for the next year.
I shop all year long because -here's my saying" Bargains Happen!"
Slap that on your bumper!

NOW THAT"S SCARRRY!

We finally sold our other house(YAY) but had to move our entire garage into our basement(UGH) so its just a horrendous mess. So I still have no place for my sewing machine and not one room in our house has gotten painted in one years worth time. I'm tired of feeling like I'm camping instead of really moved in.

I'm sick of the "house in progress" after one year.

Now I'm in search of the "perfect bookcase" to go behind the couch. I love books, I just don't think they're my kind of decorating statement. All those colors look chaotic and messy.

Meanwhile my desk is a disaster. Paper clutter really is my downfall.I do well with other clutter but paper NOW THAT'S SCARRRY!

Be It Ever So Humble...

From the sadness of Israeli giving away its inhabitants homes away to the warring faction to the awful tragedy of Katrina, I am looking at my humble messy home with much more thankfulness these days.
I also am wondering if our insurance coverage is what it should be. I think I know where those papers are. I'll let you know if I found them!

Please, I urge you to clean through your extra towels, sheets, curtains and furniture and give them to Katrina victims. We have and feel better already! Because we can help and because our is much tidier! Many places already have alot of clothing but not household items. So please
consider such things as board games, food containers and what ever you will spare thats an extra.
Ask Salvation Army and others if they will pick your items up. Our local SA will if it includes furniture.1-800-SAL-ARMY

Some places you can consider giving are:
http://dreamcenter.org
http://samaritanspurse.org

I think the "Shelf with no home" will be going to someone who has no shelf. It will be much more loved in its new home. Suddenly that impulse purchase isn't making me feel so guilty!

And the Good News Is....

We took our old brown stove to Salvation Army~YAY! nothing wrong
for the house on sale-it's just ugly. Unfortunately, ugly doesn't sell -go figure.
I sold a piece of jewelry on ebay.
2 things gone and about 40+ or more counting to make me happy.

Prayers for house sale acccepted.
Need money for medical bills.

That's Crabby Appleton to You Matey!

Yep, that's me. I've got that "Nothings sacred" attitude & look out! No soul or in animate object will be spared! Everything has got to be pared down - & it was supposed to happen yesterday - you got that?

I'm in the mood to dump my old furniure in my house for sale just to try & get rid of it!~ Not that I have a ton of it but I'm sure that won't work for either party- so I guess that's out... rats.
I'm feeling overloaded & crowded.

I'm sure it has nothing to do with my PMS.

Ugh, Argh and Oh Well

Ugh is for yuck! the table I now use to place the junk that inevitably falls on the kitchen table is an eye sore. Mostly for me since its in my PC room. So far its working well for me . BUT as for the hubby-no way. Seems he can't be bothered.

Argh- I am so grumpy about all this mess & I'm becoming verrrrrry vocal. We are trying to sell a house which is so much stress we are about to rip each others hair out over all the stuff we "think" needs to be done. I'm handicapped so I can't scrub anything for the pain. So I can't manage 2 messes, 1 here & 1 over there. It's hard to want something immaculate & have no power to get it done. SO I am a crab!

Oh well- Sort fits into my "No one will die" category. The famous shelf with no home still doesn't have one. No one will die if they buy a home with mismatched light covers & a dusty ceiling fan. Nor will I, from having no home for shelf I bought almost a month ago. I 'd rather keep my marriage in tact than to keep up the frantic hysterics that have been going on here about cleaning & fixing.

The Shelf with No Home

Sounds like the title to a bad song about a horse in the desert that you can't get out your head but you still know all the words!
Anyway, I bought a pristine white 3 shelf storage organizer (18" high _5"wide). Bargain of the month _under $6.00.
Of course I had no particular place in mind but was sure I'd put it to immediate use.
Um, I haven't ...yet. I'm no perfectionist, mind you, but I am a color match freak. Hubby can't stand stuff on the back of the commode, so that's out!
The shelf is put together and I have plenty of stuff to put on it but it doesn't hang so I have to find a surface where nothing else is and it HAS to match! I am determined that my bargain WILL pay off.
Now that I've told you, I'll use my guilt as a motivator to git 'er done!

Off The Table- Six feet Away

I let my spouse know about not dumping on the kitchen table but onto the new table six feet away. I was met with a look like " you want what? ",a sigh, then finally a resigned okay.
After all it's not to Siberia and a valid request.
So far other than a verbal response- it's still drop 'em & dump 'em _on the wrong table!
They say it takes 30 days to form a habit. Check back and I'll let you know if the yes was really a yes!

The Disaster that is my Table

In order to stop the age old dump on my dining room table, I put a smaller table and in the next room to offset the amount that will invitably be dumped with out a care there!(dr Suess -eat your heart out). So far this has not taken off - I forgot to give instuctions as to not dump stuff there, but dump on the smaller table about 6 more feet from door. Yes, I know I'm asking for trouble when someone has to walk six extra feet to dump. Too bad. We can think of it as the excersize we never get. I'm hoping my "hell hath no fury like a woman" technique doesnt have to be instituted for this to work. Truly I am fed up with the constant kitchen table mess that NEVER goes away. Can I get an "Amen"!?

My Struggle, Your Benefit

I find that sometimes my experience of trying to stay organized often mirrors that of vistors to my website http://organizetips.com. Folks may think that I've got my act all together but in truth its just as much a struggle for me. No, I am not a neat freak. Of course because entropy (a process of degradation or running down or a trend to disorder ) occurs on a daily basis my struggle is on going. So here goes...