true confessions part 2

Miss Dixon, her snout in the snow, breathing in the heady aroma of field mouse

I live in a house that is terribly cluttered, piles of this and that, a billion magazines, lots of just stuff, some junk and many treasured items - all kind of mixed in together. Please refer to True Confessions part 1

I hate it, I always have hated it, it is the bane of my existence. Yet for some reason I seem unable to deal with it, to overcome this problem. I mostly feel, after severely analyzing the situation, for oh, about 7 years or so - overwhelmed. I don't know where to begin.

Another Oprah show this week, mostly listened to, as I sat at the big black table in my living room that's been my office since early January, putting the finishing touches on my meticulously neat and compulsively tidy production drawings (I am a total neat freak when it comes to my work ??) of my first jewellery collection with new big fish company - Oprah's guest Peter Walsh Clutter Guru. Organizing expert from the TLC show Clean Sweep and author of several books (all three of which I just ordered from the library). His new book Does This Clutter Make My Butt Look Fat draws a direct connection from My No. 1 Issue in life to my No.2 Issue - extra pounds (at least 20 of them and that's probably being kind) that I've been carting around for far too long.

Last night I dreamt that Peter Walsh was in my house, following me around from pile to pile asking me questions like "when was the last time you looked at those piles of dusty Gourmet magazines ?" (sheepish smirk). My friend MLou recently told me about her own efforts to clear the clutter from her home office. Just in time for Chinese New Year, so that the luck of the new year could easily flow into her life. She made an appearance in this dream as well, cheering me on, as she so famously does. I am attached emotionally to stuff ?? and most of it, for no good reason that I can come up with. What happens when your home is like this is that treasured items become lost, they just become part of a pile - muddled in with all the other stuff and junk. I do fear that my dear boy Jakes ashes might fall into this same predicament - stuck in a pile somewhere keeping company with a bunch of meaningless things. That would be so sad.

* speaking of Jake, I dreamt about him last night (sigh, relief, smile). Our famous chase dreams, once again he was on the run, happily galloping away from us like a young canine stallion, teasing us (Winn, Em & I) with glimpses of his beautiful red coat disappearing just up ahead, around the next corner. We miss you and we love you always.

I do love a deadline so I have given myself 16 weeks - until the end of May. 16 weeks to go through this entire house, pitch, yard sale or donate and keep track of my diet in a food journal. My mantra ...

Action = Motivation = More Action

and one of the two New Years Resolutions that did gel in my mind.

Just begin ...

Every Sunday morning for the next 16 weeks I will report my progress here in a line at the bottom of my daily post


icy shores, Winn's walking pal Channy a 10 year old black Lab