organizing, schmorganizing!

I have a confession to make...  I am a pack-rat.  It's true.  I keep things and then I do not get rid of them as quickly as I could.  Or... they end up in my basement with the lofty goal of having a garage sale -- which hasn't happened yet.

So now that I am unemployed, I have to clean up and clean OUT all of this crap, get organized and have a garage sale.  BUT I DON'T KNOW WHERE TO BEGIN!!!  I don't like our basement; there are spiders down there.  This means that I will leave my husband to bring up all of those boxes -- which I will then, gingerly go through, thinking of spiders the whole time.

Plan of Action: Clearing clutter in "pre-garage sale glory":

• Starting in my bedroom, with my clothes.  
• I have a lot of clothes.  A LOT!
• Tackle the guest bedrooms 
• This is where the extraneous clothes and accessories are
• Bathrooms 
• I am a product junkie, so I need to be ruthless here
• Kitchen 
• Pare down tupperware-ish stuff that I do not use
• Canned goods gone bad
• Items we just will not eat
• Get rid of paper and junk mail collections
• Get rid of Dog Items I Scout does not use (and donate to the Oakland County Pet Adoption Center)
• Living Room / Dining Room
• Not much to get rid of here, but there are some odds and ends, extra tablecloths, etc
• Family Room
• Clean off my desk 
• Get rid of paper and junk mail collections
• Get rid of books and magazines I have read
• Old candles
• Sort cords for charge-able items
• Office
• That is SOLELY my husband's disaster area mess -- so that one is on him.
• Garage
• This one is MOSTLY my husband's disaster area mess -- I will help, but this one will mainly fall on his shoulders.
• Basement
• Not ready to even go there.  Yet....

Then, I will think about the garage sale.  The one thing I do know is that whatever does not sell is going IMMEDIATELY to the Salvation Army.  It will not (I repeat NOT) go back into the house or remain in the garage.

--happy living (and wish me luck!)