OK, only one New Years Resolution

We are going to clean up, de-clutter, and organize.

I am sick and tired of living amid mountains of stuff. We're both gatherers, and that's the problem. I have gaming materials I haven't read in twenty years. In the Fibber McGee room there sits our old Win 3.1 box. We have too much crap. So the purge begins today. Expect to see a lot of stuff on eBay.

A little later I'm going to take some "before" shots of the living room. I want to document the process.

We're not slovenly; aside from dust we stay pretty clean. Dishes get done, laundry gets done, counters are cleaned, etc. It's just the sheer mass of our possessions and our inability to throw anything away that frustrates all our attempts to streamline our lives.

I will admit an ulterior motive. I am so freaking sick of this apartment and my charming little barrio. So along with just making the apartment safe for the nieces and making it look like adults live here, I want to set us up for a move in early 2011. Hopefully, Kirsten will be making good money with Earth Baby and we'll be able to afford a place that meets all our requirements.

Right now, our wish list for a new place. Things with a * would be nice, but not necessary:

• Ground floor apartment or duplex


• Dishwasher


• Washer/Dryer in unit*


• Our own water heater


• Pool/Jacuzzi


• Walking distance to shopping*

So, wish us luck.

Here's what we're facing.

I've taken a few "Before" photos of the living room



We've picked up a new garbage can just for junk mail, and that's going to live right next to the door. We also got It's All Too Much: An Easy Plan for Living a Richer Life with Less Stuff and the associated workbook by Peter Walsh. When we looked at the personal inventory in the workbook, it was us right down the line.

I'm not planing on getting this done in a week, or even a month. This is going to be a year-long effort to really reduce and simplify.