Emmy you sound like you have been quite the busy girl. Wow!!!! I am
inspired.  Reading posts from you guys gets us all going.  That is why
the board has been so important to us.  It is like we found solace and
then someone yanked the rug.  I felt like one of my relatives was
missing and there was no news.  I mean it I felt a profound loss.  We
have come to depend on each other here.  I know that the participation
won't be as good until the email thing gets totally cleared up.  In the
meantime I urge people to get a new email name you can search on
askjeeves.com for free email providers.
Emmy you really did great!  I am going to email the other messie's that
I have personal email address' for an let them know the board is back!
jeeper

I'm doing this post with 2 reasons: I want to see how this new system
works with a thread, and also, I don't think it shows our whole
address; I know mine is incomplete, and I was wondering about others?
Does the system have only so many spaces before the @ or is it just the
last character that gets dropped?

Hi everyone,  I missed you all.  I agree with an earlier post I read
regarding our names.  I don't recognize anyone by the e-mail address
and I don't like having to display my e-mail address.  Maybe you can
create another field for our names and hide our e-mail addresses.
Sincerely,  Renee

I don't know what your other storage space is like (basement, laundry
room, etc.), but at the end of a season, when I think I've worn an item
or outfit for about the last time for that season, I don't bring it
back up to my closet after laundering it.  Instead, I hang it on a
metal clothes rack (K-Mart remodeled and they were throwing them out!)
in my basement laundry room where the clothes for other seasons have
been hanging.  As a new season begins, I do not bring up all that
season's clothes.  I only bring up outfits as I use them.  They earn a
spot in my closet only if I have chosen to wear them in the new season.
  That way, at the end of a season, I can quickly see the outfits from
that season that never earned a place in my closet.  They have sorted
themselves out for the giveaway/throwaway pile.  This becomes a
semi-yearly or quarterly event in my "Flipper."  Depending on the type
of item and where this storage space is, such as a basement or where
there may be moisture, you may want to use a large clear garbage bag to
cover the item.  Throw a handful of cedar shavings in the bottom of the
bag first (we always have a bag of cedar shavings around for the dog
kennel). Then pull the bag onto the item from the bottom and tie the
bag at the neck of the hanger. Just a suggestion.....you may want to
commit yourself to a policy of not buying any more dresses/outfits
unless you give away two.  Then, as the wardrobe gets down to a
manageable size, you can decrease the commitment to one for one.  This
has helped me with my packrat mentality and I feel it has helped me be
a better steward of my possessions.

I really hate this, I am sick right now and I have to lay here and look
at the mess all day. I tried to do a little each day but I am really
too sick to do even that. It is so frustrateing. I probobly should not
even be sitting here doing this but I had to get a FIX somehow. mabe I
can take some paper to bed with me and do some goal planning. Any other
ideas?
Brianna

Hi, everyone!

It's time to share the events of the past few weeks.  If you recall
from a few weeks ago, November 5th was my goal date for getting major
cleaning done.  Hubby & I had a big affair to go to and had to get (we
initially thought) a sleep-over babysitter.  Well, it turned out we
didn't need anyone to spend the night, but we DID have to get a *new*
sitter.  Worse yet, she was recommended by my friend who's a 10+
cleanie.  (She has toyed with the idea of being a professional
organizer!)  I spent about 7 hours over 2 days concentrating on the
"common" areas -- LR, DR & kitchen.  Didn't get ALL the mess out of the
kitchen (but the dishes were done & the sinks were shiny!!), the LR
wasn't too bad, but the dining room looked GREAT! (These rooms all
interconnect).  I removed 13 grocery bag "bricks" of old newspapers,
plus 2 lawn size trash bags of trash.  For the first time in a year, I
can not only get to my cookbook shelves without leaning over piles of
papers, but the shelves are ORGANIZED!!  I have decided to spend 15
minutes a night before I go to bed "picking up", so the DR/LR stays
presentable.  The kids think it is FANTASTIC to be able to walk freely
from room to room!!! (and so do I)

The bottom line of all this was that the sitter told me to call "any
time", so I guess the house didn't shock her too badly.  (It probably
was just very messy to her!) I am very proud -- the entry is clean
(thanks to hubby who cleaned the stairs & landing & set up the screen
for Halloween), and the LR, DR & kitchen are almost presentable.  My
daughter's room is holding up pretty well (you may remember I spent
several hours on her room in September) -- it's in need of a thorough
tidying right now.  The two major areas left are the master bedroom
(AKA, a bed, 2 dressers and 50 boxes of junk) and my son's room.  Oh!,
my son DID get his bookcase organized about a month ago, and
unbelievably, it's still pretty neat.  However, since you can't see the
floor in there again...We'll just do the baby step thing, and tackle
the elephant one bite at a time.

This board couldn't have come back at a better time.  I'm almost ready
to Mt. Vernon for real!  My goal of a Christmas party might REALLY
happen!!!

Emmy

PS That's my story -- how about all of you?  I'm dying to hear about
any successes or setbacks.

PPS  Sorry this is so long.  I've had all this stored up and no one to
share it with!

I have a bone to pick about having to be identified by our email
> address.  It kind of turns us from anonymous to findable.  I think it
> is a factor for me.  What do you guys think?
> jeeper
> p.s. I got a new mailbox on juno to post, but I think that it is nuts
> to have to have done that I have had my other email address for 6
years
> and it is known to alot of people and I want to post to this board
from
> my heart without inhibitions!
>
Jeeper:

I fully agree about the loss of anonymity, and I also got a new email
address to be able to post without inhibitions. (see my post to Anna
about free email!)

I also sent email to David about the ads appearing in the middle of
posts, but those seem to have gone away (thankfully).

I'm excited to see some of the old people back -- so where's  MM &
Rachel, our new moms??

Please post, guys, just to check in -- like Jeeper said, it was like a
death in the family!  We gotta make sure we all survived.

Emmy

Anna:

I got a new email address from www.my-deja.com and it's FREE.  You can
also get free email on hotmail.

The things we go through to guard our anonymity!

Emmy

I've gon through my closets so many times this past year trying to thin
out the clothes.  I've given so much away and have made double rods in
the closet to spread the clothes out but it's still stuffed in there.
Any suggestions?

Yes, Jeeper, it really bothers me alot to have my address on my posts.
I asked the eGroup folks how it might be possible to delete it - have
not heardfrom them yet.  How much does it cost to have a Juno address
and how do you go about getting it?  Thanks.  Anna ---  Oh ,I am eager
to get back to our weekly counts!  I also felt like there was a death
in the family.  I do want you to know, jeeper, that my last post about
trying out your 15 minute little job idea (which I call jeeper jobs)is
the only thing I was able to hold onto while the board was down.  I am
still picking one card a day - woops! I just realized that I haven't
done today's job: 15 timed minutes of wiping fingerprints,etc. off
doors, woodwork, etc. Better get to it!  Take care all.

David,
I don't have any questions about the ads. As far as I know they will be fine.
But since I can't get the bulletin board at all, I don't really know.
Sandra

Hi guys!  I felt like I had a death in the family.  How has everybody
been.  I hope that people didn't give up on the site.  I wish they had
just group emailed us to let us know that the problem was being
corrected and that we would have an end in site (pun intended!).  Hope
MM, Sonja, and everyonelse is doing okay.
Let's get back to business.  On the old board we were keeping track of
the numbers of stuff that we through away.  If Sandra or the webmaster
has the old posts please put that number on the board for us.  It was
great incentive.
Please post what you got rid of.  Trash not the daily kind, clothes
etc. by bag or box count.  I brought a bunch of books down to the
second hand book store and got credit for about half of them that they
could use.  I donated the rest to the school for a rummage sale.  I
have been doing yard work. Yes we are finally under 100 degrees mostly
in the 90's still hotter than normal.  I cleared out about 5 garbage
bags of debris.  So I will count out 6 for last week.  Glad we are
back!  I have a bone to pick about having to be identified by our email
address.  It kind of turns us from anonymous to findable.  I think it
is a factor for me.  What do you guys think?
jeeper
p.s. I got a new mailbox on juno to post, but I think that it is nuts
to have to have done that I have had my other email address for 6 years
and it is known to alot of people and I want to post to this board from
my heart without inhibitions!

Each morning,I would check Messies and to-day was a wonderful surprise.
I worked hard to remember organization, sometimes with success and
sometime not, without the encouragement from the board. However, I did
get 2 people interested in the books.
The biggest challenge was to continue thinking housework was important,
when a lot of people I know are taking courses or working. I kept
reminding myself, how free I have felt with order in the house and how
lighter the load was knowing I had an organized home, when I
volunteered in the community.
Hoping everyone is well.
GC

It is so wonderful to begin to read posts from my old messie friends!
And hopefully to meet up with new messies as well.  I have a request: I
am having trouble figuring out who is posting.  Sometimes there is a
name at the end or the name is obvious in the email address.  If folks
would sign their "names" from our old bulletin board, then I could know
who is talking...  I have been full of wondering how everybody is.  I'm
doing better already just having the board back online :-)  Anna

Hi, guys!!!

I am also excited that the board is back, but this is my third attempt
to get a message to go through.  I am especially confused about the
message I got yesterday that said that the "moderator" would "approve"
the message.  Do we really want or need third party screening???

Anyway, here's hoping that THIS message goes through.

I've missed you all!

Emmy

I tried posting yesterday..but it didn't go through..I hope to see
everyone posting again soon.Hopefully we will all figure this out fast
!! Linda H.

this is cool.Now all I have to do is figure out how to use the new
sight.Hope to be reading familiar Post Authors soon !!  Linda H.

It's gonna take some time to get used to this! I'm trying to organize
my coupons today!  I'm soo sick and tired of my husband bringing
something home from the store, and "I had a coupon for that! AARGH!"
Or, "I know I have a coupon for that, somewhere.." or "Here's the
coupon for ...oops! It's expired!"
I cut up some strips from old file folders, and taped them to the
inside of another folder, wide enough apart to show the top of an
envelope, with the flap tucked inside, and the category writen there,
also on the end of the envelope (which shows when the folder is closed
- I was using #10 envelopes, but I was thinking of using the samller
kind, with colors, etc).I have about 3 folders worth of slots! And I
included an envelope that says "TODAY" and another one that says "THIS
MONTH". Any ideas for keeping the coupons from falling out the top of
the folder? I was thinking of notes on the inside of the folders, or on
the appropriate category's envelope, of which brands are ok and which
are NOT ok (brands the family doesn't like). Right now, we're a 1 car
family, at least until 1/2000, so should I keep them in the car (in
case hubby drops by the store?) or in the file cabinet, for me to go
through and give to hubby with a list (he he he evil laugh)?  Washer
stopped! Gotta go!

Hello, all!

I am so glad to see the board back.  Looks like it should be easier to
keep track of postings on this new format.

Let's get going, girls!!!  I've missed you all!

(And thank you, David Hall, Webmaster)

Emmy

I am so excited that messietalk is back online!  THANK YOU SANDRA and
David and all who made this possible!  I have missed the bulletin board
so much since it has been down and my house shows it. . . I can't wait
till all the old messies find out that we are back in business and new
messies find this wonderful site.  Yahoo!

A question was raised about the advertisements.

The MessiesTalk bulleting board is a free service to the Messies
Anonymous web page users. As one knows, in real life, there is no such
thing as a free lunch.

The ISP we are using provides the bulletin board service for us for
free, in exchange for the "modest" advertisements.

MessiesTalk has requested, and will soon have these advertisements
removed. However, it will take some time  (a few days)  for this
Non-commercial process to be completed. Until that time. please be
patient with the changes.

Note, The bulletin board services offered now are greatly expanded.
However to post and take advantage of some of the services, you will
need to register and get a password. This will open up all the features
of the bulletin board

David Hall
Messies Anonymous Webmaster

I'm just learning, too. I'll forward your message to the webmaster and
hopefully we can get it really working.
Sandra

Hi, again.

I guess I've begun to figure out this board.  I found out that you have
to subscribe under "group info" to be able to post.

So, how are you all doing?  My house has been going up and down for the
past four weeks.  I DID get the newspapers out of my dining room -- 13
grocery bacgs full!  The earliest date was April 17, 1997!  Most of
them were from this year.  At least we can move around in here -- what
an improvement!


How about you?

Emmy

halld-@... wrote:
original article:http://www.egroups.com/group/messiestalk/?start=2
> Greetings,
>
> Look over the services and let us know what you think
>
> David Hall
> Webmaster  for Messies Annonymous
> and Moderator of MessiesTalk
>

Dear David,

What's with the ads in the MIDDLE of the messages?  They are absolutely
infuriating.  Certainly it must be possible to have them at the top or
bottom of the individual postings???

Cheers,

Emmy

Hi everyone!

It's great that the board is back, if I can only figure out how to use
it!  This is my fourth attempt to get a message on the board.

If it goes through --

Hello to everyone.  I've missed you all.  Thanks for getting the board
back.


Emmy

I guess my messages are now going through - halleluia!  Hello everybody
- I sure have missed you all in these past few weeks - you should see
my house.  I wonder if others found themselves backsliding without the
support and good ideas.  Anyway, I am very eager to hear how everyone
is doing.  Hope to figure out this new system as soon as possible.  It
looks like it has real pluses, but I can't figure them out yet!

I am eager to be online again with our messietalk group, but I am quiet
confused as to how to post and receive messages.  I have attempted two
posts already which have not gone through.

Greetings,

Messiestalk has moved to a new ISP that provides a number of services
that we have wanted to provide to you.

Once you sign on, you can post messages, talk/chat online and look at
the calendar of events to see what Sandra Felton is doing, or what
other Messies Anonymous events are happening.

Once you have subscribed you can post messages, (you will get an email
from us with a copy of the message). You can modify your settings to
get everyposting, a digest of what came in today, or just read
everything on the web.

Look over the services and let us know what you think

David Hall
Webmaster  for Messies Annonymous
and Moderator of MessiesTalk

Hi,

Messies Anonymous On-line forum "Messiestalk"

Changing our disorganized way of life is really tough. But we can do it by
applying methods that work for us and by supporting each other while we do it.

Until now being messy has been an isolated way of life. Now you can find the
support you need from others on line.

Remember: "You alone can do it, but you can't do it alone


Cheers,

David Hall
Webmaster for www.messies.com