something clean happened here

A couple of weeks ago, Jessica over at ABIAT put her closet on a diet.  It seemed like such a good idea! I was jealous! I have a messy closet! I need to get rid of shit!

So, very behind schedule, i present to you: a giant, boring blog about how i am messy.

Now, one might think, based on these photos, that i sent a small child into the closet to wreck it, just so i might compete on the same level as Jessica.  Wrong.  I am a messy messy slob.
There are multiple factors contributing to this mess.  One is that when i moved home, there was no room for my dresser until our roommate moved out - therefore, no room for my clothes. (The space shown in that photo is LITERALLY all of the space i have for clothes.)  Mainly though, it is that having too many clothes, & too little decision-making capacity, i will try on thirty things & then end up with a discard pile i don't touch for the rest of the month.

I started with shoes.  I thought it was going to be a monumental task, judging from the box in my closet, and the fact that i had to brave my scary basement to retrieve another sack of shoes, including this lovely moldy pair.

Not counting slippers, it turns out that i had 33.5 pairs of shoes.  That's right. I had half of a pair.  That lonely heel!  I was disappointed to only rid myself of 34% of my shoes, but then i realized that 22 pairs of shoes ain't bad for a lady!  And, really, how much space does a pair (or seven) of balletesque flats require?

With shoes out of the way, that left only a mountain of everything else to comb through.

It was actually less of a mountain, & more of a mountain range - stretching through three rooms, possibly visible from outer space.  It contained such jewels as:

- My gi for a martial arts class that i attended for one month. 
- A hideous sweater that i have owned since i was five & refuse to get rid of, despite it being my beau's most hated article of clothing ever (now i keep it, not only because it is warm, but also because i am spiteful.)
- And my beat-up denim jacket from my punkier days that i can acknowledge that i will never wear again, but cannot bear to part with all the same.
I did not get rid of any of those items.
Hardest thing to get rid of that i actually did: Long, pleated, pastel, plaid, wool skirt.  I love you wool skirt!  But, in three years, i have maybe worn it twice.  It was perfect in every way.  Except that i could never find the right color/length/texture of shirt or shoes or tights to match it.  However! So perfect was it that i didn't even get a chance to take a picture of it before Lauren snatched it away, off to a land where it will be worn & appreciated more frequently.
I guess i should rephrase.  That skirt was the article that i got rid of that i wanted to the least.  But, it was not actually hard to part with, in that it was a perfect example of why i had to get rid of so much stuff!  Nice in so many ways, but if i rarely/never wear it it has to go.  And, more importantly, if it only goes with one specific article of clothing, then i don't need it! No unitaskers in the closet!!

Twelve hours later, i had rid myself of only 28% of my wardrobe!

But, i am not disappointed. I think i had more of an organizational issue than a hoarding problem. And! There is an entire drawer in there that doesn't even have clothes in it anymore!  Besides, i had gotten rid of a large number of clothes before i moved away, so thankfully, my problem wasn't nearly as dire as some people's in the first place.  Does this mean i lose? Or was i a winner to start with?