You get it done because you know you don't have to live with it "forever". When we decided to sell our house to move into our retirement home, that is when we finally completed all those jobs that were awaiting a decision. We wanted it nice to sell (which we had a bidding war over) but I didn't have to love the decisons.

The new house, my husband and I have found a clever way of narrowing our decisions down - it works best on functionality issues rather then a specific like a paint color etc. It's a twist on something that's been around for a long time.

We make a simple Excel spreadsheet and list the advantages and disadvantages of whatever the decision we are struggling with. The trouble with this is some items aren't really necessarily that important to you though, this is where Excel comes into play. For the advantages we highlight the important things in green. For the disadvantages we use red for items that we feel we have a particular aversion to and yellow if they are somewhat troublesome. (Items can just be neutral for both advantages & disadvantages). We've just started doing this and it easy to see the clear winner when you compare the greens to reds.

Exactly- the lack of "forever" makes it easier, but ironically,I'm still picking things I've been looking at all along. But I really would have split hairs and torchered myself ad infinitum if I didn't know we were leaving. I'm certain I will still have a kitchen I love this way. I seemed to have forgotten this lesson from my last home. More got done in the year before we sold and by the time we left, I almost wanted to stay it went so well.

My secret was having my elderly post-heart attack mother move in with me. Had to move on everything so the mess wouldn't drag out!!

Why ARE you moving?

We will be moving for his work. Next kitchen will either meet my needs(she said with resolve) or be big enough to work out my dreams. My current kitchen is only 11' wide and that is a real booger of a space to change things around! :)

I just wanted to say that I can so relate to this. I had (and continue to have) similar experiences. We are not necessarily moving, but when I simplified and decided that I didn't need to achieve the be all and end all result (though believe me I would love to) I find it sort of freeing and I am better able to make decisions and get going!!!

My solution to avoiding the paralysis of TKO (or LRTO or BTO or any other roomTO) was to limit my choices artificially. One of the disadvantages of sites like this and of the multitude of sales sites across the Internet is that there is too much choice. Any kind of material, any kind of appliance, any kind of fixture, any kind of hardware.

I finally limited myself to what I could touch locally. I wasn't in the market for a La Canche, but, if I were, it probably would not be possible to find it locally. No longer a choice for me. I could run all over town looking at cabinet hardware and waiting until the stock was refreshed (okay, I did that more than once), but I finally settled on exhausting the local displays and -- when that proved fruitless -- one night on the Internet (I found the hardware I wanted on eBay). Ditto for floors, cabinets, countertops,... Besides, buying local is good for your local economy.

There's a lot to be said for stepping away from the informational firehose. And even more to be said for the concept of "good enough". Maybe next year I'll see another countertop I just love. But what I have is "good enough" and I don't have to put any more emotional energy (or time or money) into a decision which has been made and is working.

That's it. Really, it's about finding things that function and that work well together. I agree that the amount of choices is what overwhelms and paralyzes us because we wonder "What if there's something even better"? Not "What if the next store/site has something I like", because we've already seen a dozen things we like. Imagine if we did this to ourselves getting dressed in the morning- we'd never leave the house working toward the perfect outfit. But every morning we make decisions: Does this fit?(function) Does this top go with this bottom (counters, cabinets)We add jewelry (hardware) and accessories (art, decor) then do our faces (make-up). Well, you probably don't do that last part, Steve! In any event, most days we look pretty darn good. We are all capable of mixing many different components and still coming away with a very nice look. There isn't one specific thing that is the only acceptable way. So we apply the things we know we like (black pants, bright scarves for me) and fill in the rest. We know what we don't like(pleats, plaid for me), so we don't buy those things. As long as we work with things we know are pleasing to us, the result should be excellent! Plenty good enough for any guest and certainly for ourselves!