WOW Steph this is progress. I remember all too well movigin here and the mess of boxes all aroud. I finally moved them into my small sewing room stacked them along the walls out to the door and then filled in the center around the large pieces of furniture that was put in there. The futon and a desk or maybe it was a table. Forget THEN I was able to start in one box at a time to put away at least close to the area it would end up in our house. Later fine tuning placement and purging.

It will be good to have your storage space cleared out so the money is in your hands to pay for help verses just going out the door for storage fees.

Try not to look at the whole picture. Just eat that elephant one bite at a time. You will get rid of that pile of boxes in no time.

Agree with Shades...Do a little each day and DON'T over exert yourself. Once the adrenaline starts flowing you will get most of it put away but then you may feel so exhausted that you collapse. No point in that. Tackle one room at a time.
I feel your situation intensely! We put things in storage during our 2 year renovation and I have yet to bring it home(trepidation). I'm still wearing short sleeve shirts under a ski jacket because I don't have all my winter things yet. I wish I had the room for a floor to ceiling built in for my tiny sitting room--my bulky sweaters/coats take up so much room. I hate to be cold. I can guarantee I could be so much neater if I lived in a warmer climate...

yes shades, it was to the point with the high electric bills (from the a/c), storage and Jed that I had to start eliminating. storage first - and for that I needed Jed! so 1 step at a time. Next month will start my lower electric bills (reflecting lack of a/c use on it) and no storage pymt due.

Tomorrow I'm gonna start on that elephant's ear I think - lol!

The less boxes in my daily sight, the better.

Steph, Remembering more on moving in here. I chose my sewing room as the storage room because it was the room least important to get in order in the whole scheme of things. It was the smallest space in the house and I could close the door on it when I did not want to see the mess.

I established our kitchen first because we really are not all that fond of eating out and had already had out fill of it in the middle of the move. I was still working for the cemetery then. I quit that job 6 weeks before I went to work for the city.

The important thing is your things are out of storage and you can work on putting them away as you feel up to it. Maybe go for an hour or two a day and do not beat yourself up if you do not get done as much as you think you wanted to that day. I have had to take it pretty easy on myself the last couple of years since I have been flaring with this
@(#%^(#*@($)psoriasis.

You want some ketchup with that elephant ear?? Onions??

thx shades. I'll go w/ketchup and onion - on my quizno's Italian! I got one today and between that and salads I'll eat good for about 2 days anyway!

I do plan to just go at it for maybe 2 hrs or so a day (depending on my back). for this wk anyway. I'm still going over to my sister's once or twice a day to take care of her dog so that interrupts my time and takes time out of my day. She'll be back on Sunday.

between now and late Wed I just need to clear the LR doorway (slider) so Jed can lift in the rest of the 'stuff'.

I'm also using a small back bdrm - it's the only room with a floor down! I'm also setting up a few empty boxes to put things that will go away forever, things for Jed to take first pick of, things to launder (like towels etc that I wrapped things in), stuff that can stay boxed for a time and aren't fragile etc. Books are being stacked on a closet shelf until a bkcase or 2 are in place. once books get into a bkcase then I can use that shelf for other things.

It will take me a very long time I'm sure - and I'm ok with that. as long as I'm making progress with it.

Having that dead weight of storage unit off my back is well worth the mess here. And $s in my pocket. or maybe Jed's - lol! If it's his pocket, it still benefits me. He's an awesome worker!

That IS a big deal, Steph. We had that storage unit sitting in our driveway for months after the foundation work was done. Had to empty it out and have them come and get it. I ended up giving away a lot of the stuff I had stored in it, too. I keep saying that I will put stuff up for sale on Craigslist, but I end up giving it away first. I guess that I don't want to have strangers coming by the house for the big things. I have a whole basement to go through that has never been organized.

My problem is that I turn on my computer or sit down in my recliner before I can get anything done, and before I know it, I am too tired to want to do anything and the day is wasted. My Physical Therapy days are the most productive days.

Take care, but do at least a little something every day so that you don't get too used to living with the mess. Things will go easier when your sister is back and your energy is not going to taking care of her dog.

I love barrister bookcases. Where did you find them?

thx shades. I'll go w/ketchup and onion - on my quizno's Italian! I got one today and between that and salads I'll eat good for about 2 days anyway!

I do plan to just go at it for maybe 2 hrs or so a day (depending on my back). for this wk anyway. I'm still going over to my sister's once or twice a day to take care of her dog so that interrupts my time and takes time out of my day. She'll be back on Sunday.

between now and late Wed I just need to clear the LR doorway (slider) so Jed can lift in the rest of the 'stuff'.

I'm also using a small back bdrm - it's the only room with a floor down! I'm also setting up a few empty boxes to put things that will go away forever, things for Jed to take first pick of, things to launder (like towels etc that I wrapped things in), stuff that can stay boxed for a time and aren't fragile etc. Books are being stacked on a closet shelf until a bkcase or 2 are in place. once books get into a bkcase then I can use that shelf for other things.

It will take me a very long time I'm sure - and I'm ok with that. as long as I'm making progress with it.

Having that dead weight of storage unit off my back is well worth the mess here. And $s in my pocket. or maybe Jed's - lol! If it's his pocket, it still benefits me. He's an awesome worker!

"My problem is that I turn on my computer or sit down in my recliner before I can get anything done, and before I know it, I am too tired to want to do anything and the day is wasted. My Physical Therapy days are the most productive days."

I know just what you mean, it doesn't take much to exhaust me. I had an unexpected trip to the local town (bank - my gc to order on Amazon didn't go thru) and while there I figured I might as well pick up a few things I'd need this wk at W (behind the bank). Then on my way out of there I stopped at Quiznos for a sandwich. I had them put the lettuce and tomato in containers (I made a salad out of them for dinner) - I don't care for that stuff on this sandwich but knew it'd make another meal for me. Figured I might as well have food here I didn't have to mess with or dirty any more dishes to fix or eat this week.

Then on the way home I stopped to fed/give meds to the dog.

but just that little extra was enough to throw me off. Didn't get anything related to boxes done today.

So I'm planning to go NOWHERE (but the dog) for the next 2 days at least. Just work on boxes and rest. I do want to get out my back massager to use on my back off and on. It's up on my closet shelf. Don't know why I haven't gotten it down already! I'd better make myself a note or by tomorrow I'll forget about it.

"I love barrister bookcases. Where did you find them?"

I love them too! wish I had more of them. I don't remember where I got it. I think it would have been back in the midwest. I often went to some antique stores/used furniture shops. We had a good friend who owned an antique shop too. I know it's something I bought, just don't remember where.

sorry about the double post above. don't know how that happens. Once I click on 'submit' the screen should go away, so I shouldn't be able to hit 'submit' again!

I used to over-decorate at Christmas. One year I had so much "stuff" that when it came time to put things away, I had about ten large boxes full. Hubby threw a fit, told me to get rid of them. So I drove the boxes to a storage facility and rented a "unit". I kept my Christmas things there for about ten years. My initial rent was around $60 a month, it gradually crept up to $101 a month. and they always wanted cash, no credit cards. If I fell behind on rent, they would sell my stuff. This summer I decided to clean it out, drove there and brought everything into my dining room, again, about ten big boxes plus a huge three-piece pre-lit Christmas tree. The tree is now in my garage and I was able to empty the boxes and put most of the contents neatly organized and labelled in my attic. I have scaled back my decorating- one small table top tree in the front window, a wreath on the door and a Nativity set on a table in the dining room. I am so happy(!) to have that storage unit in the past! And I'll never rent another!

Steph, the 3,962.5 boxes has a familiar ring to it. I haven't counted, but somehow, I know our total is close to that. And I've been packing up too.

How many boxes of BOOKS we moved south last year from Massachusetts....which went immediately to the Teahouse. And in late Nov I started dismantling the book shelves here in the study, to clear all the floor of furniture. Over 20 boxes of those, keeping out some to take with us to our temp quarters when we have to clear out ourselves.

I also put all my pots and pans in the dishwasher before I stored them, slightly larger boxes sometimes but the cast iron, it goes into plastic totes. Cardboard won't hold those babies. I also gave away three of my five book cases which were 6 foot tall, since I plan to put those tracks on the walls with clips for shelf brackets and then I won't have anything actually sitting on the floor. Or that's what I'm planning--for the study AND the wall behind the headboard of the master suite. I will push the tall solid wood headboard up against the low shelves in the middle, and behind there is where the file boxes will be stored. If DH insists on keeping 10 years worth of tax papers, which he never refers to ever, then I will NOT let him use perfectly good chest drawers in our walk in closet.

I already got rid of several lamps to the neighbors next door. He is on disability, she out of the hospital, and I won't do anything but STORE those items, will never need them again. So......it makes me feel good to know they are not sitting idle when someone can make good use of things. I did the same with some odd dishes, a colander, and a hand held mixer. Heck, I use my immersion mixer or the big stand mixer. What I plan to keep in the new kitchen will be stuff I really USE.

Steph, if you can consider lightening the load by giving away some of those box contents, you'll find yourself feeling lighter too. It works that way for me.

We are all learning the storage unit trap - get one and you have the stuff out of sight and you find it easier to pay than to sort through and get rid of stuff!

ML, you are right about lightening the load - and helping others gives your brain a shot of oxytosin, which makes you feel all good inside!

Oh my steph! Do take it easy. I know you want those boxes out of there, but it's not worth getting sick over. They'll all still be there tomorrow. Maybe someone can come over and unpack while you watch and point?

And be careful going through those boxes. Don't y'all have scorpions out there?

I just got my stuff out of storage too, and you're right Nancy, it is a trap. The sad thing is that some of my stuff didn't weather well in there and now it's trash.

jannie - good for you! and for scaling down the decorating too. I haven't decorated for over 14 yrs. in the 90's I gave my big artificial tree to the co-worker I was living with. It worked much better for him w/2 kids than me. It was a beautiful tree. I still have a 4' tree and one maybe 1' tall. that 1' tall one is from my MIL's house. After she died our oldest boy used it to decorate his room at Christmas. Now it might be what I use! I probably won't get anything up this yr with all these boxes around me.

it's been a struggle for me to pay for storage and to go clean it out. For so many yrs I could barely function let alone do that. Since my fall a yr or so ago I couldn't even open the door of the unit on my own. Not much I could do there alone anyway. I needed a big strong guy (or 2) to move the stuff out of there and into here. Jed's strong enough for 2 guys - and he has a truck and a small trailer he can hitch to the truck. I struck gold with him!

I'll be going thru my decorations and scaling them back drastically. I used to decorate massively. I have a few beautiful ceramic pieces I made in the 70's that I'm going to chance boxing up and sending to my son (he has small kids) along with a number of other things he grew up seeing in our homes over the yrs. I'm planning to make mobile type things out of a few special decorations to hang around here and I'll keep a few things to put out on a table or 2 and around the FP (my nativity). my BIL (my x's brother who died in the 90's) used to send us a special tree decoration from NY every yr and I'll send those to my kids - they can become part of their tradition to put up/out.

Since I moved west I have bought more things - things like teeny tiny cowboy boots, horseshoes and such done up for Christmas and I want to hang those around here somewhere too.

I never have had a storage unit I had to pay for. I do have the small loft here. Was doing so well purging stuff up there last year and then fell and hurt my ankle, last year, and could not do the stairs. Going to make a REAL effort to clear it out as much as possible next year.FH put lights up there for me. I know there is a big bunch of out door Christmas stuff. I should haul it down to the thrift store next trip to town. Some one certainly could use it I am done doing out side lighting.

I can not part with my favorite Christmas ornaments. Even though I do not decorate for Christmas. I am too attached to these to let go. I only have two suitcases of them so they do not take up much space. I keep thinking some day I will put them up again.