CamiSu, I have seen you greeted on a couple of threads--looks like you're getting back to Mudcat after an absence? And you are dealing with the loss of a spouse? You're not the only one in that category here.
It's not a club, and it's not a mutual admiration society (though it has aspects of both). After the folks who are working on losing weight started listing their daily accomplishments kat realized we should list our de-cluttering progress in a similar way. These would run too long to have it continual, so we change to a new thread each month.
I am finding I have more and more cleared up "zones" around the house as I work on it. I can't do it full-time, but I use this as a way to attempt to look around through someone else's eyes. Breaking it down to discreet tasks to work on with a beginning and end make this easier. I have a house full of stuff that came from a lot of estates over the years. I've realized that there are a lot of things I can't do because of the clutter, or things I can't find that I want, so I'm de-cluttering in the way I can best afford, by documenting and donating to Goodwill and other agencies for a tax deduction, or by selling on eBay.
I think if we quit during November and/or December we'll miss identifying both stuff that can go and spaces where stuff can be placed. Smaller goals or really targeted tasks are probably what we need to work on.
Liz, that is great work, clearing out the sewing room! Keep the momentum going by actually moving the machine upstairs. You might want to take the vacuum up first and remove some of the embedded cat hair. The cats will manage to lay down another layer of hair soon. I love to get sewing before the holidays. I'm considering making a fleece jacket for my son this year. It depends on what the patterns look like and if the jackets they sell at LLBean end up costing less than the fabric, pattern, and notions.