Reorganization mission: accomplished. Before I forget though I want to comment to ideefixe: I don't want to limit her reading by any means however, a lot of the junk is old old old and baby/toddler books. We jumped that hurdle first though by donating the baby books to friends and handing down the toddler books to her little brother/my son. She still has four shelves full of age appropriate books and she kept the books that were special to her like nursery rhyme books that are signed by grandparents etc. I did most of the reorganizing without her. She started helping and became overwhelmed and asked me to just do it for her. She has three decorative buckets that were full of 'stuff' I asked her to go to another room to sort through them and she can back with two empty buckets and one 1/2 full of what she wanted to keep. We went through her jewelry and threw away what didn't have a match or what was really old. We made a necklace hanger and hung up all of her necklaces and a bow hanger for all of her hair bows and moved ALL of her other hair accessories to a 'handmade' box As suggested by jlt above and put clippies and bands Into baggies so their easier to find. Took pictures of her most recent 'box' collection and she threw them away herself. I let her keep a box she had used to make a 'puppet' show stage but we found a place in her closet. I cleaned out he clothes of what she can't wear and organized them as I normally do. We didn't get rid of any stuffed animals, she organized them in a large tote in her closet and what appeared to be just a huge stack of junk wa a bunch of hand-me-down purses from grandma. We bought a tote to store all of the purses and she can get them out if she wants but the new rule is, they have to be put away when she is done. Organized her baby doll stuff and ended up with one large basket and one tote with a lid and I'm happy with that. Organized her game/movie collection on a freed up shelf on her book case and that made her tv stand look so much better. Her desk is cleaned off minus her lamp and laptop. Bought her a HUGE pencil box for her pens and pencils to keep on her desk. Got her a three drawer rolling cart for all of her art supplies and crafty stuff and threw away the boxes some of the stuff came in. It looks fabulous!! We hung up several of her art pieces and put all the others in an under the bed tote. Even got one for my son. She is Proud of her 'art collection' box. Thanks for all of the ideas. I was able to vacuum without Moving anything. The floor is cleaned up and everything is where is should be. She said she feels so much better and is so proud of her room. It's only day 1 so we'll see how long it lasts... But I think she is so proud it will stay organized for a while. I am a bit OCD ... And I don't want to push that off on her. As I do respect that she is very much an artist and understand that artists are cluttered and unorganized just not in their own minds. But I think everyone works better when they can see their desk... And surely they sleep better when they can find their bed...

Adding another layer, or two, over the plaster will have the same detail-deadening effect on the inside as extra layers of stucco will on the outside. You'd have to move all your trim, fir out all your opening jambs (window and door) etc., to fix this but then you also must extend or re-wire your outlets and wall switches .... well, it's a big job! Re insulating to the max in the attic. I was not suggesting insulating the undersides of the roof, unless you have heated/conditioned space just under the roof. In that case it should probably be done, but you can't just tack up insulation under the roof sheathing. You must arrange to have some channeled air -baffled barriers between the top-side of the insulating material and the underside of the roof. Look for info about insulating a cathedral ceiling to see what I mean. As for the walls, if they aren't plastered up there, then I would rip out sheet rock or paneling and insulate and, more importantly for rooms at the top of the building, install a vapor barrier before reclosing the wall. I wouldn't insulate between the floor joists on the enclosed space, but of course I would between the floor joists of any unenclosed, unheated space. And I would consider using an insulating product with the highest R-value per inch of depth. When insulating (assuming you're are not doing the whole house) put your money and effort into the upper areas/surfaces first, and then cut the infiltration pathways by caulking and sealing like a demon. I'm not familiar with a stucco-coated house, but in a frame house with wood siding, you could see evidence of moisture being trapped in the walls when paint peels off the outside, or mold grows on the inside walls or your walls get stinky and moldy internally. Not a pleasant thought! Good planned ventilation (kitchen and bath fans, primarily) goes along way to fixing this issue. But you can also but vapor retardant paint on all your walls and ceilings, which reportedly helps a lot. Now for the op-ed on this subject: Plaster by itself, especially old plaster on wooden lath, can be a huge moisture mediator, all by itself. And hollow walls allow a good deal of vapor and air to move harmlessly to the outside. (At least in wood-clad house, I'm not familiar with stucco.) All the steps we take in closing up a house in the name of energy efficiency may, paradoxically, be somewhat interfering with the time-tested engineering of these old building systems. And certainly, I believe the standards that are used for new houses which require intense efforts at moisture/vapor management are successful and necessary in builings built of more complex man-made components. But I'm not so sure that one should blindly transfer the standards of one building system backwards to buildings of another construction system. The good news is that older buildings can be quite tolerant, and apparently unharmed, by tightening up and some insulating (especially of attics) without vapor barriers. Just be aware that you can, even in the laudable effort to improve energy costs and loss, create another problem. For myself, beyond the above steps, I try to achieve overall building energy efficiency in different ways, on other systems (heating, laundry, appliances, lighting) and "forgive" the energy inefficency I can't cure unless I tear down more of the still-intact wall covering materials. And naturally, whenever I have an occasion to open a wall for any reason, then that portion in insulated and vapor barriered before closing. I find one of the most satisfying things about living in and owning an old building is that it keeps me aware that there are many different solutions for things, and the latest and greatest modern notion may have nothing on what was common a hundred years ago. Have you looked into the useful series of Preservation Briefs from the National Park Service? I'll attach a link; many topics are available for free on-line and I've always found the info very helpful. They cover a wide range of topics including energy efficiency for old buildings, and most importantly in your case, care and repair of stucco (along with window repair, roof, plumbing, building assesment, etc.) HTH Molly Here is a link that might be useful: Series of Preservation Briefs, List of topics

An opinion on what's needed to be repaired would need to be done from someone who has seen the building. Call in a few more masons and get their opinion. On older brick building they might use a special mortar. You want to use the same type mortar for repairs. I would probably call the local historical society for guidance as they have had more experience dealing with this issue then you. It couldn't hurt to post some pictures here for the masons on the forum to give a little guidance. Ron

Hi Seajay! I am glad to see you are making progress! It is very rainy here today on the Gulf coast! I have a contractor remodeling our master bath right now! The soak tub has been converted to a walk-in shower. And the old shower is being framed as a closet! They have been here since Tuesday, and they are almost done today! Yay! The painter we are hiring just called and wants to start next Tuesday! OMG, my head is spinning!😂🤣😂