I am actually (finally!) starting to see real progress in decluttering my place. If you try to attack it in its entirety, you just want to crawl into bed and pull the covers over your head, but those small day-by day accomplishments do add up. One project at a time keeps you focused.

On my days off, I try to find one project to accomplish. One day, it was the coat closet under the stairs; another day, it was the linen closet upstairs. Today, I attacked the top dresser drawer and all the tangled knee-highs, pantyhose, socks and scarves. Last week, I blew some Bed, Bath & Beyond coupons on drawer dividers, and while they still weren’t cheap, they sure do make keeping the drawers neat a lot easier, so they were worth the expense.

The table in the dining area is staying clear these days, so now I’m concentrating on keeping the couch clear for me and the kittycat ;•)

I’m still hauling to the consignment store, Goodwill, the Habitat Restore and the Hospice flea market and am starting to sense that the place is opening up. When this place is finally dejunked for good, I want to get all the needed work done so that it will be a serene home when retirement time rolls around.

I grew up in a home where you NEVER got rid of a book EVER. Especially if you were given a book, you had to put your name in it and haul it around and be guilty about it for the rest of your life. Friends, you are allowed get rid of those stupid high school annuals. It’s also OK to pitch a 40-year-old obsolete textbook. You don’t have to keep these things forever. I wish I’d dumped them years ago instead of hauling them across the country twice. They didn’t mean anything; they were just the dead weight of bad memories.

I donated 4 college annuals to a large charity yard sale and haven’t missed them, either.

Another happy removal from my home was a piece of artwork by one of my college instructors who was a better artist than a human being. Even though I’d spent money I couldn’t afford to have that thing framed 30 years ago, I realized that every time I looked it, there was a negative association with the artist. When the consignment shop wouldn’t take it, it went to the charity yard sale as well and it’s been nothing but a relief to have it gone.

If you’ve been hanging on to stuff because you think you’d feel guilty if you got rid of it, just try dumping one (or more!) of these emotionally charged burdens and you’ll be amazed how good you feel.

In that process, if I find items that are useful and in good condition, I load up the trunk of the car and haul them to the local consignment shop. If they won’t accept the items, I haul it all to Hospice for their gigantic yard sale.

It only takes a load or two to start feeling the difference.

2009 is the year I’m determined to get my home (and my life) under control.

Anita – I am so excited to hear that things are on track. Those lightbulb moments can be amazing. Something shifts and reality is just DIFFERENT suddenly.

But then I had a light bulb moment. It’s just a habit. I become what I do every day. So it’s not really a big long journey. I can be the person I want to be TODAY I can take a walk. I can declutter for 10 minutes. I can buy fresh fruit and vegies. I can start living today as a healthy clutter free person. Suddenly it felt very doable.

I have been decluttering my body in lots of small small ways over the past 6 months. Lost 6 kilos. Feeling WAY healthier. I am not on a diet. I just take each day as it comes and make small changes like for example eating out of smaller bowls. Trying to up my vegies intake. Walking whenever I can. If I eat chocolate. That’s OK. There are no rules as such. I am just trying to live as the person I wish to become and each day I am becomng more like her.

I began decluttering my house around 2 weeks ago. I realised that for me my cupboards are full of stuff that I never use and in many cases have completely forgotten about. This leaves no room for the stuff I actually use which floats around the house and never seems to find a home. So I decided that each day I need to remove one item from a cupboard. Just one. But I have discovered that it’s hard to stop at one. I am amazed at how much impact this has had in even two weeks. Rooms are beginning to look clearer as cupboards are emptied and my loved and used stuff finally finds a home. My three year old looked around the room a few days ago and asked “Where have all the things gone?” I am now looking forward to declutterirng. Who would have thought??

I tried Flylady, and I absolutely hated her. She and her endless emails were just nagging clutter, and I do not miss her one bit since I finally summoned up the courage to get rid of her. The worst thing an information junkie and hoarder could do is sign up to those emails, AFAIAC. (I had thousands of them!)

I am finally addressing my weight, slowly, slowly with Weight Watchers (the first thing I have ever actually stuck to) – but it took me six months of meetings before I actually got the scales headed in the RIGHT direction (I’m heavier now than when I started, but only slightly, but like I said, slowly, slowly).

But what about the rest of it? I liken myself to a cyclone, if you were to take an aerial shot of the house, you could tell where I’ve been, there’s one mess here, and here, and here, and here….

Chris – I love FlyLady’s advice of only pulling apart what I can deal with and put back in 15 minutes. Otherwise it can be biting off more than I can chew and just make the overwhelm worse Pictures are a great idea!

Jacqueline – I am reading Brooks Palmer’s new book “Clutter Busting” (I’m going to review the book here when I’m done with it) and he writes some powerful stuff about how relationships can sometimes be clutter — it’s true. What a transformation your life is going through — you found your strength!

Bonnie – Thank you!! I spent a couple of weeks being overwhelmed myself

I have been dealing with clutter issues for a quite some time now. I was knocking my head against the wall not being able to truly pinpoint why I kept repeating the same destructive behavior. Was I trying to look helpless? Was I seeking attention and nurturing that I didn’t get from my parents as a child? Was I just an extreme perfectionist (at procrastinating at least)? Were these control issues?

Then something amazing happened. I reclaimed my space. I separated from my husband. A doomed relationship that has been weighing me down for years. We were not only spiritually incompatible, he was extremely negative. I was letting my situation and reluctance to deal with it fill my life with what I call this “air of dispair”.

I finally got the courage and strength to deal with the proverbial white elephant in the room. And do you know what??? I cleaned my home for 3 hours straight. I picked up & tossed out excess stuff. No more excuses! I have much more to do to get organized but I already feel so much lighter.

Captain “Grey Cloud” has left the building!!! It’s about fargin’ time! Whew!

Sometimes the only baby steps I can do is writing on my blog to motivate myself to keep forging ahead with better food choices.

Over the weekend for whatever reason I decided it was time to (re)organize my desk. I certainly felt overwhelmed when I had all sorts of computer equipment and papers piled on my bed. I hated feeling that committed! For me personally, I sometimes need that at first… if only to get started but then I like to be able to continue on with baby steps to get the rest accomplished.

Since I’ve been reading your site, and also looking at some hoarding videos with a friend on Youtube, I’ve decided to take ongoing snapshots of the progress of organizing my desk, which will take a few days to a week but I plan on doing that as a visual reminder. As corny as this might sound, I think doing that is a lot like completing a hike and taking a snapshot of the trail I just completed.

it’s these feelings of accomplishment that ultimately overpower any moments where I might feel overwhelmed.

Craft items often sell well on ebay, and schools, community centres, and that kind of place would probably be very glad of any free supplies too.