Liese, does Biscuit wait for you to go to bed? Around 11 or so, when Chile can feel the evening winding down, she'll just sit in the hall doorway impatiently. Like "come on lady, it's time to go to bed!" It's so funny that she cares where I am and that I stay tuned to her clock.

She knows when I start the evening-clutter-round up.

Bartleby is the same. So, lately, I've taken to putting him to bed before I begin the evening ritual. That way, he doesn't have to follow me around and I don't have to step over him. It's more relaxing for us both.

I've also started doing the first part of my morning ritual before letting him out of his crate. That way, he doesn't get bored waiting for me to get my act together and after the morning kisses, his first order of business is "OUTSIDE!" Which, of course, is the awesomest way to start the day.

I can only wonder what this must be like.

Me too. I can manage it for short periods of time when I have guests staying here. Then they go to bed and I take a few minutes making sure the kitchen is clean and setting up coffee for the next morning. But it's a rhythm that doesn't work with just me as well.

a house with no clutter

I would feel like I was living in someone else's house.

Not that that would necessarily be a bad thing.

See, what I want is a book on household/clutter organization (or instructive human) that will simply TELL ME WHERE TO PUT THINGS. Not a single one I've ever seen has done that. They'll tell me how to plan a party or how to let go of clutter or how to understand where my need to collect/keep things comes from, but they don't tell me what to DO with the stuff I am not getting rid of. I'm serious. Thz srs prblm.

I hired a organization person once. She spent two hours at my apartment. We talked about my issues with abandonment and feeling unfulfilled. We cleared off one table. She charged me $150 and left, telling me I could call her again anytime. Needless to say, I didn't. What a ripoff! I don't want therapy, I want an organized living environment!

Me too. I can manage it for short periods of time when I have guests staying here. Then they go to bed and I take a few minutes making sure the kitchen is clean and setting up coffee for the next morning. But it's a rhythm that doesn't work with just me as well.

I can clean and have things in some order when guests arrive but totally clutter free? Never. I'll still have piles of books with no homes, too many teacups, etc.

Liese, does Biscuit wait for you to go to bed?

Totally! He also has a point where he'll give up, and go in and get in the (giant king) bed by himself, as if to say, you guys can stay up too late if you want to, but I, like all reasonable people, am going to bed.

I like waking to a house with no clutter, and that 5 minutes at night clearing stuff up is a really helpful little ritual.

I'm sure this would be lovely, after I spent 5 months reducing the clutter to a 5-minute level.

Mr Peabody tries to get me to come to bed at what would be a rational hour, and when I stay at the computer, he rolls his eyes at me and goes to bed.

A lot of the house is clutter-free right now because we put everything in closets and such to move it out of the way of the tile guys. It's kind of freaky.

Me too. I can manage it for short periods of time when I have guests staying here. Then they go to bed and I take a few minutes making sure the kitchen is clean and setting up coffee for the next morning. But it's a rhythm that doesn't work with just me as well.

I wasn't always like this. But I really like doing it; it only takes minutes. I find that the clearer the flat places are in my house, the clearer my head is. The more physical clutter for me, the more mental clutter I have. I am certain I have characteristics of an attention deficit problem and this little ritual of clean slating the house really helps me with my scatterbrainedness.

I grew up in an absolute pigsty of a home - one where I could never bring anyone home because they'd be horrified. The good friends I did bring over, I made them close their eyes to walk to my bedroom.

So as an adult, I do everything in my power to not have my surroundings anything like what I grew up in.

One of the nice things about the funeral was seeing relatives that in some cases I haven't seen since I was a little girl. I just sent out a bunch of friends requests to them so even if I never see them much, I can have some idea of how their lives are going.