Doesn’t this look inviting? My fellow blogger, Laura, over at Lolalina.com posted it today, along with a great piece about clutter and simplicity.

As I get older, I have less patience with living in clutter. In fact, my Tampa house used to be pretty much this open and cleared out.

Then I moved a lot of stuff from California this year. Stuff that didn’t fit in the storage unit here and really, was too much for this little house.

It’s stressful to live with too much stuff. I aspire to make our new living place this simple and clean. Of course, with four dogs and a cat, it’ll be more a goal than perfection. But I believe it’s do-able.

First, I have to be brutal about discarding stuff that’s no longer useful.

And, we have to have a big enough place for our entire family. That’s critical.

Finally, my sister-in-law is a professional organizer. She helped me pack up when I thought I was moving to California last year. She is brutal about pruning, but tactful. Plus I love her! She’s offered to fly out and organize us when we move and I’m going to take her up on it. She just offered again this week.

Soon as we have a date the goods will arrive, I’m getting her a ticket.