Wi, I know what you mean about letting clutter mess up your self-esteem. Somebody mentioned 27-fling boogies, which is a Flylady term. Have you looked at flylady.net ? I've done Flylady (off and on) for something over three years I guess. A lot of what you are saying tells me that she has a lot to offer you. She goes way beyond motivating you to declutter your house. It's about self-esteem too. If you subscribe to the email list, you get essays about changing your attitude and all sorts of stuff. Although the theme focuses on cleaning up, it's really about changing your whole outlook on life. She's been where we are - she left an abusive husband, went into the hospital for severe depression, and rose from there and now inspiring others is her mission in life. I highly recommend it.

On telling distance by how long it takes to get there, I wonder if that's related to all the Scandinavians that settled in your area of the country. That's how they (and other Europeans, and I guess lots of people internationally) tend to tell distance. People are fascinating, aren't they?

***hugs*** if you want them