this is the second attempt to post today...the first one froze my mac and i had to delete the whole program and blah blah blah. so instead, i spent a productive day...12 loads of laundry. yes. twelve. i have a closet in my studio that's 12x10 feet. we don't have a basement, so all my out-of-season clothes, shoes, size 4 pants, some furniture, husband's not-work clothes, rifles, etc, get stored there. it is not possible to vacuum or dust in there, and after so many years, i would have a major allergy attack (dust) every time i went to wear a sweater from that closet. so i got mad (and smart) and motivated and emptied every last thing out of the closet, donned a surgical mask (beauty) and vacuumed, clorox-wiped, dusted and began washing Every Single Thing in there. I have a tremendous Mt. Everest pile of clothes going to Goodwill - i mean there is no hope whatsoever that i will ever get into some of these pants. and the closet is so clean and beautiful now. i actually would use it for a task area as part of the studio. it's bright enough to draw in. but there's a pile of stuff still needing a home, so i'm sure it will fill up again. one thing that made me happy to do was wash all the linens that were stored there and put them in giant clothing bags. now i can have April fresh sheets anytime without having to run the wash before i make the bed. ahhh. it's all about organizing and simplifying right now. it started yesterday when i went to get ready for a business appointment and realized that the Big Girl clothes i had either didn't fit, or looked tattered or schlocky. perfect for my last job where i sat in a cube and no one saw me, but not at all right for my new life. thank goodness for Wholly Tara - I bought a dress there last year that is perfect for anything and is actually flattering. i was hating on the pantyhose, though. so immediately after the appointment, i took myself to the mall. as luck would have it, the salesperson watched more episodes of What Not To Wear then i ever have, and put together the start of a great wardrobe for me...and they were having a sale! the entire haul cost the same amount (including 2 pair of shoes) as the coat's regular price, so i actually shopped for free, if you think about it. (that's called "sales math" where I'm from). bags and bags and bags of stuff. and all of it fits, and is flattering and i feel great in them. and no pantyhose required. so i made a deal with myself that i would finally clean out/clear out every single thing that i didn't love, or that didn't fit. i hung onto a lot of things because even though the fit was off a bit i worried that i'd never find another whatever. and i have to say, i have a lot of duplicates because i couldn't find something in all the chaos. and it was chaos. 5 black turtlenecks. 7 pair of black pants (only 1 fit, and they were downright matronly). that sort of thing. 30 - yes 30 - pair of white sweat socks. and a drawer full of left socks with no right sock, or elastic that had seen better days. don't even get me going on the bras and unmentionables. whoosh. all out. so now i have the clothes from the big closet to re-hang, and every piece has to justify it's way back into the closet. (and i don't think the skirt from the 80's will make it, sorry to say. or the jacket with the Joan Collins Big Mutha shoulder pads). oh yeah it feels good. it's dinner time, and i haven't showered for the day yet, but got a lot done. it sure beats watching the snow outside. holy mother of george jetson! in 2 hours, the world filled with snow...i kept trying to clear a path for diva to make it to her special spot to poo, but it would fill in by the next trip. ok - now husband smells smoke, so i have to go check. happy friday the 13th! update: no fire, but somehow blogger rearranged the order of the blogs (i have 2 - one is extinct) and i just posted to the wrong blog. so thank goodness for copy/paste. and thank goodness for Sue who taught me how to copy/paste on this computer.