Out, out, out

Those crazy minimalists have some things right. I'm not sure what's changed in my thinking, but I've been continuing to get rid of stuff and organize what remains, and it hasn't been lame. It's been continually interesting to see what I have (and where it's been hiding). Much more like a treasure hunt than a continuous chore. Everywhere I look, I find either great things I'd forgotten I had or else I find I can free up some space. :D Anyway, here is some lame-sounding but actually not lame stuff I'm observing.

• One item sitting in a weird place can easily hide two or three other items that also don't belong there.


• Organizers can make things worse and can even be clutter themselves. I got rid of the plastic drawer organizers in my bathroom drawer... not only does everything now fit (I mean in a single layer, with room left over) but I found a pair of really nice $20 tweezers that had fallen between the containers.


• It's not just me. Even heisenbug was doing a little bit of going through old T-shirts and found some shockingly nice socks he didn't know he owned.


• A box in the closet for things destined to go to Goodwill is an essential tool for incremental... what's a good word? I don't like "purging". Maybe I like "clarification". I also need a place to put the things I intend to give away as gifts one day, so that they'll be in one place next time I rummage for a gift.


• If I buy expensive skirts from Athleta using my Old Navy card, I get gift cards that basically let me have tank tops for free.

Okay, that last item was more on the "greedy acquisition" side of things.