What are we supposed to do with all the stuff we have in our house if we don't have enough storage space or closet? Should we just close our eyes and toss it or should we buy decorative boxes to hide it? That seems to be my biggest problem. I am expecting company so I have been trying to clean house, but I keep running into the same problem that I have had for a long time. I have news articles that I want to read, paperwork I want to finish, some kind of art or computer project that I want to work on, or things that I brought home from the store that I have laying around the living room or dining room.

As I begin to clean, I must first do something with all those "extras". So, I start to gather up everything and take it to" the table" in my bedroom where nobody goes but me and my husband. The problem with that is the fact that every time I have company, that is always where the "extras" end up and" the table" has become stacked up so high that I have forgotten some of the mess underneath.

Okay, now I have to put all that stuff away but I don't have anywhere to put it. That is one of the biggest challenges in my life. I wish that I had more space to keep things that are important to me, but my home is just not big enough. So I have to decide what I want to keep and what I need to throw out. Unfortunately, many years of marriage and parenting have left me with way too much stuff to store. That leads to problems with parts of my home being messy, even if the "stuff" is very important to the family, as well as many plans and projects that are left unattended but need to be taken of.

Here are examples of some of the things that I have collected this year: birthday cards from my kids, valentine and anniversary cards from my wife and new clothes that don't fit that need to go back to the store. I have a whole box of my children's keepsakes and 12 years of pictures that I started to sort to make Christmas presents for each of my children. I have not finished the job but I still "plan" to get to it. There is a bag of baby clothes for a baby shower, plus a bag of clothes (some new and still have price tags on them), another bag of gently used clothes and assorted stuff that I have put away to give to charity. All of this stuff always ends up in my bedroom whenever company comes, and somehow they never get taken where they belong or taken back out of my bedroom.

Let us talk more about my plan. I have not finished the job but I still "plan" to get to it. There is a bag of baby clothes for a baby shower, plus a bag of clothes (some new and still have price tags on them), another bag of gently used clothes and assorted stuff that I have put away to give to charity. All of this stuff always ends up in my bedroom whenever company comes, and somehow they never get taken where they belong or taken back out of my bedroom. Please read further in part two of this article series.