Fibber Magee's Closet

Now I'm much to young to know from actual experience about Fibber McGee, but I've heard about him.  He was a character on an old radio show and every week he'd open the closet door and tons of stuff would fall out and make a BIG NOISE.
Well, I've inherited his closet. 

One of my favorite shows was on BBC America a while back: "How Clean Is Your Home."  Two neat-nick ladies, Kim and Aggie, go in and inspect the absolute FILTH in British homes, chide the homeowners (who are rarely embarrassed--their 15 (or in this case 30) minutes of fame, I suppose) and clean up the mess.  They usually do it in 24-48 hours.  (I'm on day three of my quest.)
I loved this show because no matter how cluttered my house is, I know I'm not living in that kind of squalor.   But alas, my house (and especially my home office) is cluttered.

The new year makes you want a clean start, so yesterday I decided it was time to clean the closet.  Talk about a trip back in time.  I have stacks of paper going back 10-20 years. By the time I sorted out the wheat from the chaff, I had 8 bags of shredded papers and a stack of stuff for the recycle bin that was at least 12 inches high.  (To quote Dave Barry:  "I am NOT making this up!")

I was able to reclaim quite a bit of closet real estate, which was immediately swallowed up by stuff that had been sitting under my china cabinet (where I keep my collection of 1950s figurines) for ... several years ... and STILL this room is cluttered.  I simply have too much STUFF, but a lot of it is stuff I just can't seem to part with.  Like books.  And books on tape.  And figurines.  (*Sigh*)

Today's quest is to reclaim my computer desk.  As I've got the file cabinet in order I might be able to clear it off...and hope to keep it clear for at least a few days....

Cross your fingers for me!

What's cluttering up your house?