Thanks, rags. Every hint at possible cause/effect relationship are helpful.

Virginia, you're back in the right place. I suspect all of us have some amount of weight to lose, and clutter seems to be an American way of life. I know I've commented here before that one of the reasons I find the CSI: Wherever programs so surreal is that they can walk into immaculate houses, find a pen on the floor, and decide that is a clue. Need I say more?

Take baby steps if that is what will keep you working. Don't try to tackle the entire house at once. One trick that has worked for several of us is to work on the smallest room first, and go from there. It might be the laundry room or a bathroom (don't be fooled by the size of a closet - the function is so different and the density of the contents so much higher that I wouldn't start with one of those).

I decided that since my income has dropped (no more child support) that I need to make a few simple changes to start with. And since I'm working on losing weight, I'm making a point of trying to eliminate most of the snack food and use fruit and veggies as snacks between meals. Sometimes just warming up a few bites of last night's dinner as a small meal (more small meals instead of three big ones) is enough to keep me comfortable during the day.

I cleaned the fridge last week (it looks so good!) and I got rid of some of the things that were either past their shelf dates or seemed to have been open long enough that they no longer tasted right. I'll buy smaller jars, etc. I won't be here by myself all of the time, my son will be back for a month over the holidays and possibly next summer, so I'll get these habits going now and see what I can do to incorporate another person in later without going back full-tilt to a cupboard full of snacks, etc. Get him to eat more fruit snacks, etc.

Now, out to the yard to mow and stack branches.

SRS