What are your closet sizes in each room?

I do not know yet. Tomorrow will be my first day in the house. I have seen it but did not poke around too much since someone was still living there.
I plan on taking my first load and measuring everything. I have several pieces of furniture I think I am going to let go because I just dont want clutter and stuff anymore.
Many of the tips I got here last year will work well. I will not be customizing this house as I would have if I had built of course but I am so thrilled with my new position that it does not matter to me at all.

Congratulations on your new job with a house! Sounds like a great opportunity.

Very exciting- I am so interested to hear follow up on what you do and what works/what doesn't. I am sure it will all work out great but will just take some time and effort to tweak it. Good luck and keep us posted please!

Congratulations on all your changes!

It seems to me that you can do this a little bit at a time. Obviously you have gotten by with very little for a long time, so I would start with the bare minimum, and gradually pull things out of storage as you find you need things - don't try to tackle it all at once. This may be a lot easier said than done, depending on how your things are stored now! For example, unpack a cake pan when you need it - not before. If you can gradually add the things that you use the most and like the best, in a year you will know what you can get rid of permanently (all the stuff that is still in boxes!)

As for the lower kitchen cabinets - most folks agree that drawers are the most efficient use of base cabinets, which is great if you are building or remodeling, but not if you are making do with existing.

I built pullouts for the base cabinets in my Mom's apartment, and they have dramatically improved functionality for her. I'm pretty handy, so I built them myself. The hardware and instructions from Blum made it pretty easy! The tricky part was installing the glides in the cabinet, but I got better with practice.

If you are moderately good with tools (or know someone who is), something like this might help a lot in your new (to you) kitchen.

I love the drawer ideas. I will look into those. I am very handy as my dad was a builder and I worked with him on many jobs. I have done all the measuring and the total size is 20x25. I texted my son and said I must purge more. Most of my furniture will not fit so I have spent the day rethinking what is most important to me. Peace tranquility and food preservation. Lol. I can't upload pictures right now but as soon as I can I will. Thank you for the encouraging words and ideas.

I agree w/ the idea of installing pullouts/in the kitchen cabinets; speak to the owners of the house and see if they'll agree. If you can do them neatly, they'll actually add to the value of the place.

Instead of focusing on what you have, and what to get rid of, maybe start with a blank piece of paper, a place to sit and write, and a little time.

Keeping your "what is most important to me" in mind, maybe sit in the space, or just picture yourself doing an activity (like the canning you enjoy so much).

Say to yourself, "What do I want in the room? When I picture myself sitting and relaxing in the living room, do I care what the chair is? What can I picture myself sitting in, placing my coffee cup in? What am I doing--listening to music, reading, what?"

And, "when I think about my home, is there a piece of furniture that has a sentimental meaning that's really powerful?" (Me, I don't care about the chairs I have, so if they wouldn't fit, I wouldn't cry, but I have an end table my mother found for me and mailed to me that I'd work hard to fit into any new place. And I own a piano that used to belong to someone dear to me.)

Pretend you're starting from scratch, and make a list of what you want in the room. Then go "shopping" among your stuff, and only pull out the things that fit your "shopping list."

And I don't know about you and canning, but for me it's really easy to have way too much sewing stuff. So, I try to think through the stuff I might do, and picture all the steps, and what are the tools I'm using?

That is exactly what I did the other day! Great advice. Instead of going home for another load I settled in with a cup of coffee and I had my sketch and furniture list and sizes and really got tough with myself. I do not want to be crowded with furniture and stuff. For once and all I want rid of too much. So I have a list of some beautiful pieces to sell. I have no living room furniture at the moment lol. I realized I had Never bought a couch. I have always had hand me downs from my mom or a friend once gave me a beautiful love seat. I really would rather have a couple of nice chairs. I do not watch tv, at all. I read and study. So that space defined itself rather quickly.

I was so looking forward to having a room for my desk and guests and my bedroom but there is noway to set it up like that. So I will use the tiny bedroom for kitchen storage, crafts, and playroom for my grands. Now to wash more dishes and unpack a few more boxes.

It sounds like you are getting a lot done. The framed smocked aprons sound like a very nice idea. It will come together.

Thank you. I always underestimate how long projects take. I found a picture of a framed apron in a magazine when I was looking for inspiration for decorating. I didn't find much that I liked and then I remembered houzz. I have been lurking in the home decor area but my space needs to be organized before I can decorate.

I did trade a futon for my single mattress so I will have something in the living room.

Very happy I downsized 20 plus bins of Christmas to 3 bins plus cedar chest. And I got rid of 8 quilts and blankets.