I find that I was keeping business cards and little bits of paper until I started using a free online service called Evernote. (No, I don't work for them.) I have found it really useful for getting rid of many, many bits of paper that took up space on my desk. Basically you can scan documents (once you have deemed them worthy of saving - I don't want to create a new problem here) using a scanner or your mobile phone camera, or you can also enter any text by hand, and when you want the info later, the text is searchable through the website, application, or mobile device app.
I truly empathize with your situation - it's easy to get wrapped up in "needing" to keep things like phone numbers, book titles, shopping lists, to-do lists, project notes. Hope this helps a small part of the problem.

Erin Dooley writes a three times per week email under the name "uncluttered". Great tips - join in if that is not too much email for you. She also writes columns for Real Simple magazine. A couple weeks ago, she wrote a column on preparing your home for Fall and it was genius. Go to the uncluttered website and see if you can access it. (I am horrible at adding links to emails). The Seattle Times also does a preparing your home for Fall in the Sunday section and that should be out soon.

I love to organize old homes. Usually closets are very small and storage can be limited. You have to think outside the box sometimes to come up with good storage solutions.

Best-

Denise

when you bought your home you probably had to hire an inspector. You can always do so again.

Foundations on older houses can be a disaster as can the roofs.

Electrical upgrading is always a good idea.

Get your sewer pipe scoped.

Shut off every bit faucet in your house. check the water meter. is it still running? if yes, find out why.

Trees and bushes too close to the house can do damage.

Go to the spot directly beneath your bathroom. What's it look like? Rot?

etc....

Go through your clothes, books, music, and general stuff at least three times a year and get rid of some of it. Schedule a pick-up if you're not up to driving them to Goodwill. Or, you could do the "For every thing that enters my house, something else has to leave" rule. I find that last one too fascist, but whatever works for you.

Pick one drawer a week to go through and organize. It only takes about 15 minutes or so.

My mom's filing trick, which I use, is to have a file on your desk or shelf that you throw in everything that needs to be filed, and then once a month or two do all your filing at once. Generally while watching The Office and drinking a beer. And always have extra file folders, so if you need to make one it's available. And a cute little stapler helps too.

Beth, if the radiator leaked once it usually means the corrosion on the inside is making the whole thing weak. I do not think it is worth repairing. The scaling on the inside as it corrodes also prevents the circulation of water. Time to get a new one. Carlson Mechanical is who I use for old steam or boiler system work. They could address the question of whether there are good used ones out there.

If you have an acrylic shower, not a tiled one, then the silicone that you rubbed off is not allowing water to leak into the wall because the upper shower panel overlaps the lower one. This is also found at the tub to wall joint. It is still a good idea to re-caulk and Danger's discussion of the technique should get you through the process. I also mask both sides of the joint with blue tape, wipe the joint and pull the tape to avoid a large silicone joint that will discolor in time.

Myrna- Please join my newsletter list to get quarterly tips and more advice at http://www.simplifywithdenise.com. Now that my commercial is over, let's talk laundry. If laundry is an issue for you, it's one of two things. 1) You have far too many clothes and you can delay way too long in dealing with it (I loved your dishes trick!) or 2) you do not have a good support system to put your laundry away.

I also give myself two extra jobs every month to complete so that I stay above water. For October, we have our family Christmas photo taken for our cards and I address them all. I also have to plant all my tulip bulbs for Spring. Want to try it? What will be your two extra tasks this month that come off your "I should get to this list"?

A place for everything, and everything in its place.

This requires planning, executing, and control. But once you have done the first portion (a place for everything), the second portion is just maintenance.

Also, I do try to constantly examine what I have to determine what can be optimized or upgraded.

I think, overall, organization is just a matter of keeping the habit.

Hoarding is on the spectrum of anxiety and compulsive disorders. While it's GREAT to recognize that there is a problem (the first step for getting help), it's usually not an issue that you can address on your own by simply trying to control your behavior. Outside help is definitely required if you are going to be successful in the long-term, and Denise's recommendation to speak with a mental health professional is a good one.

From what I understand, anxiety and compulsive disorders are often best treated with a multi-pronged approach: regular ol' talk-therapy (why do you feel compelled to hoard?), cognitive-behavioral therapy (which will teach you new thoughts and behaviors to counteract the bad ones -- a very pragmatic approach), and drugs (to help re-wire the brain to respond differently to stress). A good therapist will have all of these tools in her toolbox, and would be best equipped to help you figure out how to work through this stuff.

Any sealant that isn't the cheapest is usually a good bet. If you want real quality consider marine grade products by 3M or BoatLife. Just make sure you use white silicone. Other similar products like 5200 will end in disaster.

Here's the catch; no matter what you use it has to be applyed correctly. If the caulking is ragged and not smoothly applied it will dissentigrate regardless of its quality. This is how you do it:

1) Apply a bead of sealant along the edge. Make sure it is big enough to fill all the gaps when smoothed out. It will take a bit of practice to get a feel for it to try it on a scrap joint or something first.

2) Take a CLEAN plastic spatula with about 1/2 inch radius or whatever you think will look best (too small and it won't seal properly, too big and it will look strange) and carefully run it down the bead at a 50-60 degree angle in the direction you're moving (90 degrees is perpendicular to the seam). Apply enough pressure against the seam to make a nice invisible transition between sealant and each wall.

3) Every few inches lift up the spatula and clean it completly with a rag before continuing on. THe key to makeing a quality silicone seam is patience. It take a little bit of trial, but you will pick it up pretty fast.

I like Lexel caulk: http://www.kk.org/cooltools/archives/001446.php . I have a tub that requires recaulking about once a year. So far, Lexel has held up the best, and was easiest to use.

I believe you need to ask for an impregnator (no, I am not kidding) for the tile and grout in the tile department. Follow the directions carefully - wearing gloves and the hours to dry. You will need to schedule it on your calendar - it's not a one and done forever deal. Good luck.

If your home has rooms that have lost their purpose due to clutter or you are starting to block exits, you may have some serious hoarding issues. I would highly recommend working with a mental health professional and the support of a professional organizer. Behaviors need to be addressed as much as the clutter needs to be cleared.

I really admire Dr Patricia Worthey up in Everett for her work with hoarding issues and have 4 other psychiatrists that have referred clients to me for organizational help. I volunteer my time on a Hoarding Task Force.

Call these folks. Good luck.

W L May Co. 9801 Aurora Ave N, (206) 525-4500

Apex Appliance Parts & Service 14715 Aurora Ave N ‪(206) 782-4740‬

Dave's Appliance ‪1324 E Pike St, (206) 324-3270‬

1- yes. I think 90% of all JB weld sold in New York City is used to repair leaking hot water heaters.

I fixed mine by turning it off, letting it cool, applying the past to the cast seam where it was leaking after cleaning the heck out of it, waiting 24 hours and voila! No more leak. Permatex makes a great version that's available at nearly all auto parts stores.

2- I would virtually guarantee that the project will require more than a swap. The swap itself is no big deal but if your radiator is so old it's leaking then it's safe to say your pipes are as well. Some re-piping will probably be necessary.

While I don't trust yelp.com for much, it is good for plumbers. Don't expect universal love of any plumbing company as the nature of the biz is that folks are going to be pissed and on yelp there is no 3 day waiting period to let the customer calm down before virtually assassinating the company's reputation.

Last time I was in that salvage place at 1st and spokane ages ago (earthwise?) they had lots of radiators- as did the folks at the ReStore in ballard.

Well, as others say, music really fucking helps. Something kicky. Getting comfortable -- I put on jammie pants. I also like to layer my chores rather than just sequentially, so I feel like more shit is getting done *all the time* ... putting in some laundry and then doing dishes while that's washing is one way.

Met, talked to, and got yelled at by a 14 year old boy who had stomped a kid to death. On my second day.

If it ends up being more expensive to fix than it's worth, most vacuum repair stores will take it off your hands for free and I assume they can use at least some parts off of it. So at least the entire thing doesn't go off to the landfill.

I worked on all three seasons of A&E Hoarders television so the sheer volume of items is truly unbelievable to grasp sometimes. Do you really need 140 hair scrunchies? Really?

I honor my professions confidentiality code, so sorry, no stories to tell.

I have worked serving at banquets before (I'm one of the guys wearing a bow-tie and a tuxedo shirt carrying around appetizers). At one party for a high-end make-up company they paid models to be "live artwork" for the event, which basically meant they painted nude men with white body paint and made them stand in one pose for six hours. I think it was intended to seem avant-garde and sophisticated, but the booze was flowing, and people of both genders made lewd comments and had their friends take pictures of them standing one inch away from the models' members. Many people commented on how ones guys member was way smaller than the other guys in clear earshot of both of them.

All the while the models were supposed to remain expressionless. I felt really bad for them. I hope they were well paid...

I've seen distraught people screaming at the media and news cameramen not to shoot their house fire, thinking that by not shooting the flames and firefighters working to save their house, that somehow they can keep it from being real....

Tim is right on with this one. Aluminum windows were a bad idea in the 60's, and they are a bad idea now. For all the reasons Tim detailed, they work far worse than the old wooden double-hungs they usually replaced) Let go of your fascination with schlocky "mid century" architecture and install new windows.

I worked on a house where the previous owner hid pistols in the ducting, ammo clips in the basement ceiling and $20 bills on the back side of drywall. We have also found lots of cool historical artifacts in the walls of old "balloon framed" houses in Seattle

I can get motivated by giving myself a timeframe (I'm going to sit here for 30 minutes), and since I'm also motivated by treats (after 30 minutes I get a cupcake) that really helps. Ultimately, I'm motivated to do more by the good feeling I get from looking at the place where the pile used to be and seeing clear space/my favorite picture/a shiny surface.

I also recommend hauling in a good-natured friend (or hiring someone) who has a talent for helping you make decisions without a lot of yelling or threats. That's basically how I started doing what I do: it was a friend's out-of-control t-shirt collection that helped me discover my "talent".

Name your treat and tackle it :)!

I'll admit that I've got a pretty low-fi closet system since we're not ready to put in the cash to upgrade it to something fancier. But what I make a point of doing (if not nightly, then every few days) is tackling any random piles in our room and putting stuff where it belongs so everything has a home and isn't making me crazy.

I think you could make any closet system work, from fancy to cobbled together, if you take some time to:
1) WEED OUT what you don't use
2) decide where things will live (here's where the pj's live, here's where the folded jeans go, these shoes go in the shoe house, etc.)
3) make a commitment to yourself to do a quick "clean sweep" every day to put things back where they don't belong.

If you find out it really is your dresser and no amount of sandpaper or soap makes those drawers pull out better, then maybe you need a new dresser or a closet system upgrade. But sometimes all you need is right there already and you just need to roll up your sleeves for a bit to find it (you know, the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak kind of thing :).

Good luck!

Set a timer for 20 minutes and start. Congratulate yourself hugely for starting. Have a peanut butter cup and celebrate that you did it or order a netflix movie as a reward. Take a digital photo of all the boxes so you can see how far you have gotten after a few of those twenty minute sessions. You can do it!

Schedule a party with friends you know are OCD about keeping their own houses spotless. Sheer shame always works for me. It's the only time I ever really clean, so that no one sees how I actually live.

Storage sounds like a solution, but don't store anything for more that 4-6 months. If you can live without anything that long, you don't need it. Storage companies count on people putting stuff in storage for eons until its either retrieved or abandoned (after the storage company has received thousands and thousands in storage fees).

Plus, storage fees in Seattle are OUTRAGEOUS - even for the smallest bin.