There are a number of leftover items that are being combined into a small pot of beans for lunches next week. Papers accumulated from last year (saved monthly - receipts, bills, statements, etc) are put away and the new year's file set up. Some of my previously identifiable stacks of paper were shuffled over the holidays and now I'm sorting, filing, or shredding what I come across.

After several years of sorting, puttering, buying and selling, I can look around and see a lot more open space through out most of the house. I started with a glut of stuff that came from family estates and have donated and sold a lot of it. After the kids moved out for college I similarly down-sized stuff they aren't using and have said I can dispose of.

Every year we have newcomers to the threads who report their personal progress. Often they were lurking, keeping track of tips and progress in these threads for personal inspiration. On occasion, they took the job on in one big move and completed it in short time. I'm hoping we'll have the same kind of reports this year.