Showing posts with label organization. Show all posts
Showing posts with label organization. Show all posts

Friday, January 21, 2011

My Own 12 Step Program

It's been a while since I've done an official "Fashion Friday" post on this "blog*," but I figured when I set to a certain task this week that it would be the perfect band-aid for the wound that is the temporarily-but-quite-noticeably-absent feature. I know I've missed it, and we're not all that different, you and me.

About now, everybody is all gung-ho about resolutions. Well, those that don't give up their resolutions on January 4th around dessert time are still gung-ho. Good for you, endure-ers. I know you all are so glad I shared some of my resolutions, but one that wasn't shared but should have been is cleaning out my disastrous excuse for a closet.



Look at it, people. This is what I would wake up to every day. This is where I hoped the appropriate outfit would just leap out of that poorly-lit closet and give me a big morning hug. Alas, never did this happen.

So, I had to organize it. While I am what many consider to be an organized person, this personality trait hadn't made its way into my closet. Call it prioritizing. Call it being busy with other things. Heck, call it plain being messy.

No longer.



Ta-da! (Are your eyes watering, because I know mine are)

How did it happen? How can you make it happen? Will your life be better afterward?

To question #3, YES! To questions #1 and #2, get to reading:

Jennifer's 12 Steps to Having a Better Closet, and Thus a Better Life:

1) Open the closet door, turn on the lights, and accept that things are a total mess. Only berate yourself for about 30 seconds.

2) Make yourself a White Russian so you can properly cope with the closet.

3) Take all your shoes out of the closet. This makes reaching everything else so much easier, which will make you less frustrated during this task.

4) DO NOT TAKE ANY CLOTHES OUT OF YOUR CLOSET YET. (I feel this is truly the secret to getting this done for real).

5) While keeping all clothes in the closet, organize everything you own by color and length. All of the shirts go from lights to darks, and all of your longer items like coats or dresses do the same (wherever they fit in the closet, that is).

6) Relish that a color-coordinated closet looks organized, even if it isn't. Sip your White Russian satisfactorily.

7) Now you can start taking out some clothes: Starting from the lights and moving toward the darks, take out the items that you a) haven't worn in a while, b) aren't sure if they fit, or c) don't care for anymore. I find it's easier sort through your white T-shirts when you know exactly how many white T-shirts you have because they are all sitting right next to the other white T-shirts. Please note that I only have one white T-shirt and used that for example only.

8) Depending on how you feel about the particular piece in your hands, you can try it on if you think you will wear it (really, I mean it: don't go kidding yourself).

9) If you don't care for the piece, I'm a big fan of either finding something new to do with it (e.g. dye it, tailor it, etc.) or donating it. Someone out there can use your clothes.

10) Try on any questionable shoes, like those you haven't worn in a while because they are out of season, or because you secretly hate them because while they are very cute they hurt your feet like crazy. Resist the temptation to keep them because they go with that one skirt from that one time.

11) Return your shoes to the closet in whatever manner you prefer (me, I like using a shoe rack).

12) Put all of your donated clothes into bags whilst both marveling at your accomplishment and finishing your White Russian.



At least that's how I do it; do you have a better strategy?

And how do you like Fashion Friday's return? Happiness, yes?


*And, actually, I'm considering a special theme for the blog in February to make up for the oh-so-many times I've missed a Fashion Friday Blog. Stay tuned.

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Organizing Memories

My wonderful Grandma passed away in 2007. She was so full of love that thinking about her always brings a fond memory to mind and a bit of a heavy feeling in your heart from missing her.

However, Grandma was also plotting trouble. I know this because I have been tasked with organizing this trouble.

You see, Grandma could cook.

Not like how everyone's grandma cooks well. She was GOOD.

Every once in a while, I'll be walking somewhere, catch a whiff of SOMETHING, and it just TAKES OVER.*

"Brain no function on task. Must get food."

These scents that remind me of her great food, cooked with love, have this way of stopping me dead in my tracks.

Anyway, her recipes are those you want to treasure, document, learn, and make every Sunday. Like any good chef, she had flexibility. She worked from a variety of source materials to make her traditional and new creations: cookbooks, recipe cards, squares of recipes scraps ripped from magazines, video tapes of celebrity chefs' creations, and good, ol'-fashioned memory.

It is now my duty to finally buckle down and organize all the recipes. This means I must look through every single page, including those I believe were put there to sabotage the whole project (i.e., the handwritten, very faded and frequently illegible notes that are also apparently recipes).

As I begin this task, sometimes I think Grandma knew I would never be able to read every item. "Is this a recipe for gravy or the directions to the mechanic?" Looking at a relatively new 3X5 with very faded writing I wondered, "Was she trying to hold the pencil two feet away from the note card while writing, slipped, and accidentally got some words on there? Was she trying to write it from the underside? Why is it so faded?!"

Some don't even have measurements, just random ingredients taunting you. I bet Grandma was thinking, "Ha! Just try to guess how much ricotta to put in that cheesecake!"

Alas, I guess that isn't too bad, really. Most of the recipes will make their way into a family "cookbook," and some will just forever be associated with her memory and the sneak-attack aromas.

How should I do all of these memories justice? I mentioned a family "cookbook," but I'm honestly not sure how to best organize everything. Do I do it scrapbook style? Take it into Kinkos? Something fancier? All thoughts are appreciated!


*You know how serious I am because of the prevalence of all caps.