Sounds like a real find!! Congratulations on the score as they will all come in very handy. Dave

Country Sampler and Country Marketplace were my two favorites. I did country things. I sewed, and stuffed and painted. I don't have a lot of thing left because I have a problem of giving my things away when a birthday or something comes up. I designed a muslin doll with hi heel shoes that were a part of the body. I then painted the muslin. Painted an old lady face and dressed her like a bag lady. Some of them had two different shoes painted on because that was all she could find in the dumpster. But they had class...Black velvet hats with a rose on it. A once beautiful sweater with a few holes in it. Nice warm wool plaid skirts, so what if the moths were a little hungry. They each had a bag full of goodies they had rummaged. I think they were my favorite things I've made. Sure wish I would have kept one. They sold like hotcakes. I made lots and lots of snowmen. Crafted some out of old quilts, some out of chenille,Many out of muslin and then I painted them. I've painted lots and lots of santa's and snowmen on old pieces of overly weathered wood. I had a pile of old wooden palets out back that were falling apart. That is where I got a lot of my santas. Fence boards with snowmen painted on them. I still have two or three of them. And I still have a santa painted on an old ironing board. I also painted country snow scenes on big old coat button and made them into pins. I was thinking about painting little ghost trick or treaters on some buttons for little gifts for some friends this year. But haven't gotten it done...maybe next year. Oh and screens...I painted snowmen on screens. Did lots of wooden signs. Way back when nylon sculpture was big I made old lady heads. I live in Iowa and one of them was bought for a gift for some lady who owned one of the big newspapers in D.C. I always wondered if she liked it or not. I made long eared bunnies before anyone knew what they were. People were always asking...what's this a pregnant kangaroo?....(mine had chubby bellies) I have somewhere a picture of me and a bunch of the heads. I'll have to see if I can find it and scan it to post. I'm one of these who stores all her pictures in boxes...I hate scrapbooking...lol The cradle is cute. And so is the baby in it. I've only made one of those. not a cradle but a bed. For my grandaughter. I think she still has it and she is 14 now. patti

Sexual abuse, wife beating, inequality of women were always with us and no doubt always will be. Things were different back then, but "better" is open to debate. Nostalgic reminiscing is fun, though. It can depend a bit on your age - where in the old millenium you spent your childhood and formative years. After WWII when the vets came home, married, built or bought a house, started families just about anyone who wanted a job had one. (Not like today!) The future looked promising. Budgeting, saving, paying one's bills and meeting obligations was what people did even if it was difficult... and it often was. We kids played with toys that didn't do all the playing for us; spent a great deal of time outdoors both in the summer and winter. We used our imaginations and learned to amuse ourselves; learned to transport ourselves by opening a book. Hard to believe now that getting the old piece of furniture black & white TV was life changing! Kids today are a lot more cosmopolitan and worldly wise than we ever were, but many are going to be struggling to find a decent job - or a continuous string of decent jobs - and the money to move out of the folk's basement. Even with all the electronic toys, they're not going to have it easy by any stretch of the imagination. Although I had a very pleasant childhood and life, in general, was good, I have no desire to go back.

Several things to do. 1) start with ONE drawer. If you finished that and feel like continuing, do! You'll find that once you start and feel a sense of accomplishment, you want to keep going. 2) Throw anything broken, too dirty to clean, out immediately. 3) Go to Freecycle.com every day when you've cleaned whatever you do. Offer it free. People will come take it immediately. You can leave it outside too. 3) if you don't have any takers for the items, throw them away or put on the curb with a sign "FREE" 4) If you want, donate the rest to thrift shops but put all the items in the trunk of your car so that you'll not have them in the house. It's one step closer to making you actually GO there. 5) If you haven't used it in over a year, it's chuckable/donatable. You will NEVER NEED it if you haven't used it in a year and you will never find a use for it. I know, I do that trap too! I always say "it's nice, I can use that later or make something from it". But honestly, you will not. 6) Really interesting, antique or good quality items, put in one area for selling. Try Ebay before a garage sale. But if you are not going to Ebay it, then give it to family or a church for auction or sale there. 7) don't stop. If you stop, you'll never start back up. You'll accumulate more and be where you are again... you gotta keep going. 8) Break habits. Do not shop. You have enough clothes, shoes and your babies/grandbabies do not need 101 teddy bears... It's adorable in the store (whatever it is) but you do not need it. If you REALLY want it, go home, think about it for a few days and go back for it if it's on your mind. If it is still there, it was meant to be. If not, you probably are better off without it. 9) Take all the money you've made from sale and then take any money you'd of spent by buying something and use it for something that doesn't fill up your house. Like vacation. Or like a dinner out... 10) Lastly, if you DO buy something, then you have to get rid of two items. If you bring a 12 pack of pens into the home, you get rid of 24 things. Even if that's going through your pen/pencil box and checking all the pens for ones that don't work! Hope this helped. I started with the WORST room in the house (kitchen because it has the most glassware etc). I then cleaned it so well...and it was beautiful. Then I went to the second worst, my spare closet. I got rid of 80 suits and old work stuff. I freed up a closet's hanging space. Then I stopped. Major mistake. But I kept the shopping rule and if I buy a new blouse, I get rid of two clothing items. It's kept my clutter down a lot!