I have way too many black knee-high socks. What the hell is that all about? Yes, I wear them frequently under slacks and jeans, or with boots. But I have (correction, had) a collection that would outfit a Catholic girls' school for a year. Honestly, there must have been about three dozen pair in that drawer. The black tight collection wasn't far behind. And that's not counting all the other colors.
My little book's author is adamant about the "right" way to fold stuff . Not binding them, allowing them to follow their own pattern, not interfering with their energy flow, allowing them to breathe. Stuff like that. Who knew? For instance, she's pretty clear that one should not tie socks together, or stretch the tops out to make tight little balls -- she insists they should be rolled gently "like sushi". I'm not an expert in sushi, but I tried this, out of curiosity. I certainly had enough socks to experiment with. First I got rid of all the ratty ones that always seem to end up on the top of the drawer (a hint as to why I had so many, I'm not going to ponder it beyond that). Then I rolled up the survivors and lined them up in the drawer, on end. They don't look much like sushi. And those little footsie stockings look more like meatballs. But they certainly take up a lot less room, and are easier to see and access, which I suppose is the point.
One odd moment was when I discovered two new packages of pantyhose that my mom gave me at the bottom of the drawer. She was forever buying them in strange colors (bright blue and off-white this time), deciding she didn't like them or was too old for them (she was right about that), then giving them to me. We didn't even wear the same size; I'm not fat, but she was seriously skinny. And she's been dead for three years. I found that I could purge them without feeling like I was giving a piece of her away; I'm not sure I could have done that a year ago. This is progress.
The book author recommends shoe boxes to keep socks and lingerie together and in place in the drawers. I am not going to all this work and then using old shoe boxes -- this much effort requires retail. So I bought some of those nifty cedar drawer dividers, and now all my socks, tights, lingerie, and such stuff are all organized and neatly in place. Still a few too many black socks, but at least I won't buy new ones for a long time.
I'm falling back into organizing vs. purging, I see, but I suppose this is my way of rewarding myself for what I've thrown out so far -- and there's been a lot of it, about 30% of my clothes, I'm guessing. I keep going into the closet to look at how open and accessible it all is, and opening drawers. Nothing lurking under other clothes on a hanger, nothing collecting dust in the back. No secrets or forgotten chapters. Which is really what the purge is all about, and I don't mean simply my clothes. Confront it, assess it, decide whether to keep it or purge it, then get closure about it and move on.
The clothing is almost done, except for the coat closet and an odd article or two that keep surfacing. I haven't unlocked any great revelations or truths about what this sudden desire to tidy up means. But as I clear out the old I think it will be much easier to focus on where I'm going next, instead of getting mired down and distracted about where I've been. I can't retreat into cleaning up the past if I've already cleaned it up. And maybe having a clear path behind me will give me a clear path in front of me.
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