I am starting this tonight. Guess what my ROTM is?!
I am feeling like this is the year I accomplish this basement room, as things are looking so much better than previously, along with decluttering even more!

I will be working on the back of the basement (household items and office supplies)

So shall we begin........pick your room and let us know your plans.

Since I didn't get to the 3rd room in Jan., I will make that my Feb. ROTM:

- Organize the 3rd bedroom (office/crafts/guest room)
- Deal with things that got dumped in my room!

Went down there to look things over this morning while gathering up some more items to bring upstairs to make candy, along with some recycling (I KNOW the boxes are multiplying during the night ) LOL

It is all organized but much too much. Need to take one shelving unit at a time and really really go thru them and toss what I can.

dianaro, didn't you know that boxes(and paper for that matter) are like rabbits....they always multiply!!

My ROTM continues to be my office. I have had some really good progress this past week even though I know there is tons more to deal with. It is looking substantially better than it has since I moved in this house, even though it is not done yet.

The nice part is that I can see some progress being made and that is prompting more.

I have set up all files, have gone through SO's papers and they are sorted and filed by year for 10, 11 and 12. All papers that have been "dropped" on the kitchen counter have also been sorted and put away as have the "droppings" on the dining room table, his 2 favorite spots to leave stuff. My goal was to have those 2 areas cleared before his son comes again this weekend and they are almost done.

The binder tracking expenses and payments has also been created for quick reference too. I had created a letter size check book register to track my debit card purchases and found that to be perfect to reuse, clean and easy to read.

Off to work now!

Since I got rid of 1 desk last year, during the carpet removal upheaval, my challenge now is to organize 2 desks' worth of items into the drawers of 1 desk!

Notice I said "organize" - not fit. Because they all fit, right now (a rather crammed fit, but they do fit), along with a few items that do not even belong in those drawers (crammed in there because we needed to empty out the other desk's drawers in a hurry - it was a last minute decision to toss that desk!)

The desk I kept has 6 roomy drawers, 3 on each side. It doubles as my writing/office work desk and my sewing table. I had been keeping the sewing supplies on one side and the writing/office supplies on the other side, and would like to continue to do that if possible.

Step 1, as I see it, would be to evaluate everything I keep in the drawers and streamline as much as possible.

Update...came home after work and motivation in the kitchen and dining room. I can see most of the island counter top in the kitchen!!!!! Hasn't happened in I cannot remember when! And almost the entire dining room table is clean too. Just have a couple misc items to take and put away in the morning before I leave for work!!!

On the ROTM front, the new mail has been opened tossed, shredded and filed, so that means no new paper on any surfaces in there either.

Bless, step 1 is the most important step. I have eliminated a lot of things I have been keeping for too long and either tossed or donated them.....what a good feeling!

BL:
Good going on the island counter top in the kitchen, and the dining room table! WHOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOOOO! Happy dancing with you. Awesome job.

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Hoping to get a few babysteps in today and tomorrow. Hoping to have more to toss.

Dianaro, no progress to report, but having those surfaces clean means that SO is not making a bigger mess when he comes in and that is progress.

I did sit down with him and went over the binder I created itemizing all living expenses. his response was I trust you. My reply, you trusted your ex and look what happened and what she did to you and what you let happen. This is open book and we both need to be on same page. He understands. I told him if he didn't want to do the work that was fine, but that everything is there anytime he wants to see it.....he understands..

No major progress other than maintenance here....but maintaining is good too as long as no backsliding to report.

off to work now!

I made a start, this weekend, with the desk. I actually went through and emptied one basket of stuff (mostly papers). I will have to rethink the organization of the desk drawers, as the 3 "sewing" drawers are underutilized, while the 3 "office/stationery" drawers are crammed too full! I think I can manage with 2 sewing supplies drawers and have 4 drawers for office supplies/file storage.

My Feb ROTM has to be my living room.

1. PUPA (I have managed to create a massive mess that needs to be dealt with)
2. reorganize my so-called office space/materials (I sold the desk that had inefficiently served that purpose. Now I want/need to find a storage solution that works more efficiently)
3. move the unsold "tossed items" to the thrift store. My ROTM process will probably add more to this "collection"
4. continue dealing with photograph collection (baby steps)
5. maybe do some furniture shuffling between the basement family room and the living room