Andrea, it sounds like you need to establish a starting point and work outward. I thought I had a lot to do here--sounds like you're dealing with a lot more real estate!

Do you ever hit a point where you simply have so many things crying out to be done at once that no direction is right and you are at a standstill? The last couple of days have felt that way. The semester will end and it will get better, but some of these little accomplishments in the decluttering feel like the only progress made the whole day!

Sometimes I think it is the result of running up against the emotions that are triggered by the stuff in the room. Issues with my mom come to the surface readily as I do this work. It all seems to boil down to things not used, left packed away, because they were so musty from her smoker's household, and recognition at the discomfort of rejecting the smell and trying to not reject the person. Anyone else encountering these bogeymen in the clutter?

On another note, this morning the trash guys toted off the third load of the rotten fence slats removed from the back yard. There is still an ugly tangle of them resting against the fence, but this weekend I think I'll manage to finish piling them at the curb. I have a neighbor who will be out of town for a week, leaving this afternoon--I can pile some there also (he won't be putting trash at his curb) so I can spread it around a little. ;)

I'm headed to a meeting at the office today so I'll see if I can round up another bag of donation stuff to take to the thrift store and rag recycle place nearby. The more things I can do in the same trip the better. This morning on the Diane Rehm show (NPR) it was pretty depressing to hear them talk about the strong possibility of $4 a gallon gas this year. $80 to completely fill up my pickup. It cost $20 to fill it when I first bought it 8 years ago.

I think I'll take the dogs for a walk before I drive to work, see if a little exercise helps my mood.

SRS