That's a good motto! Right now I'm looking at Christmas decorations that need to go back where they live, so there's a lot of ''evidence'' staring me in the face. It sounds like you know exactly what to do, which is half the battle. Happy New Year...May all your projects get sorted out quickly!

I'm going thru my closet and getting rid of anything that is too tight, ugly , never worn or worn out. That will be a huge accomplishment for me as I really hate to give up stuff that is too tight but *might* fit again someday. Also it's hard for me to give up stuff I paid alot for even if it's no longer worn or in style.

I'm starting tomorrow.....

RESOLUTION: Double evaluate the necessity of potential purchases.

I currently evaluate an item before putting anything in my shopping cart (including virtual shopping). Obviously I wasn't diligent enough as I am returning too many items or they sit unused. I resolve to filter the potential purchases a second time i.e. before checking out.

I'm getting ready to put the Christmas items up and start several projects. Last year I started something that I'm going to continue this year. Monthly I have to get at least one large bag of items for donation. Of course I started out with closets - lots more than one bag there! I went through everything - drawers, etc. It didn't seem so overwhelming because my goal was to "clean" something 1x per month. I'm going to do that this year again. Too much stuff!!!

I recently heard, you should get rid of all but four crafts. You can work on four craft projects on and off, but not more than four. One Christmas I was embroidering bibs for my twin nieces. It was getting close, and I hadn't nearly finished the first, so I bundled up the two bibs and ALL my embroidery floss and tossed them in the trash. It was very liberating. I haven't started another embroidery project since. But I do love knitting. . .

I have been collecting candles from around the house and putting them all together to see what I want and don't. I have a drawer here and there and have way to many so free cycle they go.

I always decide what I am going to do with an item before I put it in my cart these days also. It does help. Some days it is easier than others.

I find when I have to many craft projects going I don't end up finishing any so when I do something I will finish before I buy something else to start no matter how good the sale is.

So true! Almost all of the clutter around my house is unfinished projects...curtains that I can't decide whether I like them (obviously I don't, or I'd know it) - things that sit around because they need to be hand-washed (it would be so much faster to just wash it than to keep moving it around!) I like the way she put it: finish it or get rid of the evidence.

It was a wonderfully liberating day when I gave away the needlepoint project that never got started.

Not allowing myself to buy the elements for a new project until an old one is finished has staved off many a purchase for me.

At one time I was into ceramics. I was making a Hummel plate for a girlfriend's new baby (date, weight, name, etc). When I can across a billboard recently with his name (the baby) as the realtor for a new development, I knew it was time to pitch the project.

mustangs, thatÂs so funny!

In mid December I was emptying my old buffet before selling it on CL. I knew it must have been a while since I had done it, but I wasnÂt sure how long. I just knew it was so stuffed it was hard to get anything in or out, and I never burrowed very far down in the drawers. My daughterÂs 18th birthday was in a few days and Âguess what I found? "Happy 1st Birthday" pink napkins! Leftover Birthday napkins squirreled away for 17 years.

I'll just say "ditto, ditto, ditto, ditto."

I had the pieces of vest that my grandma has cut out, patterns still pinned to them, making me feel guilty. I wasn't even that size anymore.

Once started a counted cross stitch picture of a girl in t-shirt and bellbottoms. It said, "Never trust anyone over 30!" (I threw out the partially done piece when I was 41! LOL)

A lot of New Year's improvement is just looking at things with "fresh eyes". Old projects--try not to beat self up; just realize that life moves on and those are from a previous era! As I noted once before, every year I finally make some changes when my "kids" (now 18 and 23) get another year past WHATEVER it was that we or they were in to, and now it's comfortable to toss or downsize, as well as howsomeever I have changed and moved on to different things.

Like I have 2 "drawers"(really pull out plastic boxes on shelves) devoted to picnic and birthday-ware. Still want some stuff --paper plates, cups, plastic utensils--but now it is much easier to see that I don't need to save the birthday plates, the over the hill plates from a friend's 40 or 50th party--but somehow, LAST year I couldn't see that. I still may want special plates for a party, but now it will be a who knows what and no point to save pink balloon plates or whatever, hoping that they will fill the bill. So I don't need to use my storage space for that.

And we don't need all the sport drink cups, or water bottles, or lunchbox things, or 5 car coffee mugs. Wheee! Just what I use for my lunch and maybe one to lend.

Sometimes I need to toss or give away stuff even if I technically have the space. As in these drawers, I don't have to keep one just as full as it can be. Even with the best organization, "less is more" still holds true, and it is easier to find and use a few things in one storage area than to riffle through and have to put everything back in place like a puzzle. Breathing space really helps!

17 year old baby birthday napkins, been there, done that. I had pink stationaery personalized with my daughter's name. Used it for thank you notes. Put it away. Will find it someday. . .

After discovering FlyLady, I was going like gangbusters, decluttering and organizing the house. Then I took a little diversion to have treatment for breast cancer. Now that the radiation fatigue is starting to fade, I have more energy. And we're leaving on vacation in a week. One more reason to get the house in order -- and a welcome deadline!

Yesterday, I finally cleared off the coffee table that has held the giant plate my sister gave me for Christmas. It has been holding my hand sewing supplies at times. I went into the basement to get a picture hanger. Bang! Into the wall. Hey, it's not perfectly centered on the wall, but now the giant plate decorated with irises is hanging in the powder room, where she suggested I hang it. It matches some other stuff in there, and it looks so nice.

So then, I cleared the rest of the clutter off the coffee table, and washed the dust and gunk off the glass top. It looks great. Why did that have to take three months? Oh, right. Cancer. Well, I had an excuse, for a while.

I also went out on the garage, and loaded all the scrap metal into the sled. Put the harness on the dog, and had her haul it to the barn. I had been waiting for permission from hubby. I wanted to put it in our small trailer, so that when the spring thaw comes, we can haul the scrap to the dealer. I only had to remember to ask. (Not easy when you're tired and distracted.)

Now I have more room in the garage for my gardening supplies. When we get back from our trip, I'll need a place to organize my gardening activities.

So, bottom line to this long story ... even though it seemed like I started out the year slowly, I am getting stronger, and still finding a few things to declutter or put away, and exercising, and getting more energy.

I have a renewed commitment to making our home a nice place to live. Hooray for FlyLady.