That's wonderful that you sorted through your closet, already!

Here are my thoughts and suggestions:

- Pick one or 2 things to do that will have maximum impact in the shortest amount of time. For me, it is important to have something to show for my efforts. I can spend an hour going through a box of papers or a file drawer and have very little to show for it, or I can spend 5 mins. picking stuff off the floor or the backs of chairs (clothes, shoes, books, etc.) and have the room look 100% better).

- Start with the laundry. Often, when I start on a room cleaning/organizing project, I start with the laundry. I gather up all the items that need laundering and start a load. That makes me feel like I am already being productive and doing something! Even if nothing else gets done, I've got a load of laundry done! And "active" time for doing laundry - the time it takes to gather up items, load the machine, add detergent, select the settings, and start the machine usually takes just 5 mins. It's not like one has to haul water from the well and heat over a wood stove and manually soap and scrub and rinse, etc. (yes, I've done that).

- Next, put away the clean laundry. I generally air dry my laundry (probably 75% of the time), so the putting away of dried/folded laundry takes place several hours after the washing. I think, now that you have gone through and decluttered your closet, you will find it easy to put away the clean laundry. That will get those laundry baskets off the floor and clear up that corner.

- Use vertical space. I know you said you don't have a lot of money for furniture, etc., but, one can get some shelving for very little money. If you can install some wall brackets and get some shelves up one wall, then, a lot of the items can be stored on those shelves, and that will free up some floor space. If not, then stack boxes, 3 or 4 high, against one wall and cover it with fabric, until you have time to go through the contents and decide what to do with them.

- Use under the bed space. One doesn't necessarily need the special under-bed storage containers. One can cut down a box to size and use that to store things like out of season clothes (just cover them with a cloth to keep out the dust), bulk-buy/stock up items, etc.

- Use behind the door storage space, if you have any. Can the ironing board be stashed behind the bedroom door so that it is out of sight?

- Baby steps. Break tasks down to smaller segments. Put away 1 basket of clothes. Sort through 1 file folder. Pick up only the light colored clothes/enough for 1 load. For me, cleaning the whole bedroom, that first time after I joined GON, seemed like an enormous task (and it was! I had piles of stuff in boxes, on top of the dresser and desk, etc.) So, I started with the least cluttered surface, which was the top of my chest of drawers. Once I had decluttered that and cleaned it, I moved on to the next least cluttered surface, which was my bedside table. The top of the desk was last, as it was piled high with stuff! Once all the surfaces were decluttered and cleaned (because that's what showed the most), I moved to decluttering and organizing the drawers, one drawer at a time.

- Work in short periods of time - 15 mins. (or 10 or even 5). Sometimes, that's all the time we have. Other times, that's all we can bear to do! I still do that, when I feel too overwhelmed by the job. I tell myself, it's only for 5 mins. and anything can be done for 5 mins.

- I know you said the chair has to stay, but can move it to another room (living room or family room if you have one?) Or, can you sit in the bed, instead, with one of those bed-rest pillows for your back and with your leg propped up on pillows or cushions?

- Finally - declutter as much as you can. For me, this is the hardest part of organizing. Getting rid of items. I am a sentimental collector of things. I become emotionally attached to things, not because of what they are, but because of the memories they hold. I am working on a mind change - from why I can't get rid of a certain thing to why I can get rid of it. It's not easy. I used to collect cookbooks and had 2 shelves full of cookbooks; each shelf was 3 ft. wide, so, 6 linear feet of cookbooks. I didn't use all of them, but I liked to look through them. But when it came to cooking, I kept going back to the 3 or 4 favorites. Gradually, I got rid of the majority of them - now I have 1 shelf, 2 ft. wide, of cookbooks. These days, when I get the urge to look through a cookbook, I borrow one from the library.

Hopefully, you'll find one or two of my thoughts and suggestions useful.

Hello wheretostart! Not sure I have welcomed you before, glad you have joined us!

I have a question; does the recliner have to stay in the room? Do you have a family/living room it could migrate to? Same goes for the tv, I find it less conductive to good sleep or study for that matter... If you're about to lose service could it be a good time to re-evaluate having it in the bedroom?

I'm also fond of the behind the door solution for the ironing board.

A second shelving unit about the same as the bigger one (found at a trift store? maybe paint it to match?) would double your vertical space. I used white fabric blinds in front of wooden shelving units we had in the basement, it kept the crafting stuff out of sight when we used the family room for other purposes.

Again, have to concur with the others on the paring down, as you mentioned your DM could do all the work in less time... Having downsized I had to cut my belongings by at least 50% on the plus size I have less stuff to maintain and I'm not missing any of it! I had up to a dozen cookbooks, now I have two plus a binder with fave or printed recipes; loooove internet for that! Another thing, could the lesser collection be moved to a shelf in the kitchen?

My laundry basket is in my closet, sits and waits when I'm ready, no daily reminder or space waister on the floor.

Visual clutter seems to be the main culprit preventing you from having that peaceful place you desire, attack it with a vengeance!

Food for thought I read this today: 'if something you want is important you will find a way, if not you will find an excuse'

Feel free to take in or discard any or all advice! We are not here to judge you or your family's needs!

Great suggestions gals. I agree, you did good on the closet. Whoooo hooooooo a GONer cheer for you. Give yourself a reward each day for all your hard work.

I too have my laundry basket (hamper) in my closet. It is a folding/collapseable one, and holds a good amount. When My DD and Mom lived with me we had different colors. DD did her own laundry, I did moms.

You can change a little at a time and when you finish up school, you will have the time to get more done.

WTS, you have an extra ordinarily busy life so you will need to stay realistic. I agree with your mom, there isn't enough time. Thank you for the video which helps us understand the frustration you've expressed.

You need to protect yourself from identity theft by tearing/cutting up Identifiers like Pay Slips, any thing with numbers like Social Security, Bank account, Driver's License, Credit Card or Utility a/c numbers, Income Tax details etc.

Could the kids take on the task of tearing paper from the pink bin? Except for Identifiers, remaining paper can be tossed. It helps to have a system to process papers coming into the house. Of course you need notes and nursing course information but mail comes daily so there are lots of ads, flyers, and householder items.

Wow, this is a lot of tips. Thank you everyone for the response. Well I am going to town tomorrow and I am going to try to pick up a few things such as a hook to put on the back of my door to hang the ironing board or an ironing board orgaznizer caddy to hold both the iron and ironing board. For the papers, I will have to work on that in small piles. And I thought about having my husband build me another bookcase if I can get the wood for a cheap enough price, but if not I am also going to go to the local used furniture places and look for another shelf. I don't have my bed on a frame yet, the mattresses and box springs are new and they are on the floor so there is no room for anything underneath them. I really wish I could just take everything out of the room and get me a bedroom furniture set. That would help me a whole lot. My daughter mentioned that her dresser is too big for her room and so she may want to get rid of it. If she does, then I will take it and have my husband sand it and paint it. This will provide storage for a lot of stuff such as my toiletries and magazines. Next, I thought about getting rid of the filing cabinets altogether. I purchased them, but they take up room in my bedroom and if I moved those out then I would have room for the dresser and I could put all those things in the floor inside the dresser, such as the blankets and things. I did the laundry, so that is done. I can't get rid of the chair because there's no room in my house for it. I am thinking about making videos of my house one room at a time and displaying them on this forum so that you all can see what I am dealing with. If I had a larger home, that would be great. On the other hand, if I had a larger home, then I am afraid we would just fill it up with more stuff.

Just out of curiosity, WTS, since you are in a house and not an apartment, could you use the papers as firestarter for a nice relaxing evening outside? Would be a way to unwind, have family time and get something done that would help in the clutter control without adding to the workload(hand shredding is a pain)

Have you thought about getting rid of the side tables by the bed and using the file cabinets as side tables? You could cut down a couple pieces of fabric to disguise them and make them feel more like bedroom furniture, still have space for your cpaps, and also have the benefit of disguised storage.

I agree with the other suggestions you have already had. If you can, move the chair out. Raise the bed and utilize the space under for storage. Go as much vertical as you can. And disguise the storage so you don't see the clutter.

I have and am doing the same in my office and have found that if I can hide the clutter temporarily, it is easier to focus on small tasks and ends up having me make more progress.

Just remember, it took a long time to get this way and it will take a long time to get out of it too, and it is a learning process. Things are important only for so long and then they aren't.....when you look at something, ask why you are keeping it and if you really need it. I am much like Bless in my keeping of way too many things and have finally realized at almost 54, that the stuff is not defining my life, I am....which is how I am finally being able to part with sooo much....but it is still not enough.

We are here for you....we are all in the same boat too. Keep up the good work.

WTS, I hope you can find one of those ironing board organisers for the back of the door. I finally tracked one down and it is great. I'm glad you are making so much good progress already.

BL you and others have come up with some good suggestions. We all learn when we read these ideas, and then we remember them when we need to reorganize a room.

Using drapes and fabric to disguise clutter works well. I installed a drapery rod and a set of long drapes I already had, in front of a double shelf unit in the basement to hide the clutter (stuff that is needed seasonally).

I have returned home and it is time to sort thru the seasonal clothes. The bedroom might get a little messy, but I thought to
move the donations into the guest room for sorting and listing before I donate them, and keep the bedroom clear of clutter while in the process. This is the closet and dresser drawers.

This thread has me on alert. When I returned home from my little visit, I was quick to make sure I didn't leave stuff around on the single bed when I unpacked. It has become important not to see clutter in there. Now the closet..........

@ Diana, That sounds like a good plan!