Out with the Old

Three down, two to go.

Closets, this time. I pulled out all the stuff from the built-in shelves (and a couple of the drawers, as well), and I yanked down all the stuff on the shelves in the two clothes closets, plus the stuff that had piled up on the floor of same, and, as I was doing my laundry, I went through shit. I had several realizations along the way. One was just how few clothes I've worn the past two years: I saw items that I haven't worn, or even thought about wearing, for, oh, probably something like that two years. Basically, I've worn chef pants, chef jacket, t-shirt, sleeveless t-shirt or camisoile, and underwear and socks to work. Outside of work, except for the recent job interviews, I've worn jeans, shorts, t-shirts, fleece, a couple of sweaters . . . and not a lot of that stuff, either. (And I don't fit into a number of items at the moment, thanks to the poundage I've managed to add.)

I have a huge wad of workout gear--shorts, compression shorts, yoga tops, sports bras, headbands (actually an old towel cut into strips), and yoga pants--that hasn't seen the light of day since I moved here 18 months ago. And t-shirts--good lord, do I have t-shirts. When one plays a sport, like handball, where t-shirts are what you get for an entry fee for even a local tournament, for example, then one acquires many, many, many t-shirts. This will all be handy for my new exercise program, so I didn't mind finding all that crap and organizing it.

I discovered that I had a ton of stuff that was just plain worn out--hems unraveled, gaping holes, elastic gone, grease or other spots that won't come out--and I threw that stuff out. Yes; really; I did. Okay, some of the t-shirts and such I saved for dust and cleaning rags, but that means I can throw my cleaning rags out as I use them, which rocks. I found a few things I forgot I have--some tights, for example--and that I probably won't use except to wear around the house, but they're in good enough shape so I cannot bring myself to toss them but not in good enough shape to give away.

The whole thing was quite therapeutic. All of the bakery-related stuff has been washed, folded, and stuck in a corner on a high shelf in the back of a closet. A couple of things I washed apparently had so much embedded flour that my winter coat, which was washed with the other flour-laden stuff, has streaks on it. Feh.

I would have been a little embarrassed at the amount of clothing I discovered, given my ranting about Stuff, but (a) nearly everything was purchased on sale (for example, I have two summery bits, a skirt and a pair of capris, that I have never worn, because I got them at the end of this past season, after it had already turned cold; this has the effect of me feeling like I have new clothes next summer without my actually having to go buy new clothes), and (b) a significant chunk is multiple years old. I don't wear stuff that's particularly trendy, so I can wear it for years, and, believe me, I do. That will all be handy if I do get a job in Officeworld, or especially if I end up doing temp work in Officeworld, i.e., I have enough to get by comfortably. I have some L.L. Bean certificates I must use before they expire, but I think I'm going to use them for a new coat--this one, though still hanging in there, is probably eight or nine years old and getting a little worn. This latest washing made it kinda flat, too, and I suspect there's just so much you can do with a coat that old. And maybe one more piece of fleece, if I can find what I want on sale (coats are on sale right now, too). There are one or two other things that I covet, and, if I get a job with a decent paycheck, I may treat myself, but otherwise? Nah.

Also? WAY too much underwear. As you women know, and you men who have lived with women know, women have at least two categories of underwear: stuff you wear when you're menstruating, i.e., it already has some bloodstains on it, or it's old and ratty enough so you don't care if it gets stained, and stuff you wear when you're not. There may be additional categories--I have underwear I used for working out, though it overlapped, pretty much, with category A up there, and there might even be special or lucky underwear of one kind or another, or maybe just favorites in terms of color or fit or whatever. I have way too much in category A, so I'm going to start throwing some of that shit out, too--after I wear it, of course; one does not throw out clean clothing if it can possibly be worn. (And I've already decided that when I finally stop menstruating, I'm going to hold a fucking bonfire and burn the underwear with stains, not least because this whole menopause thing means my cycle is wildly unpredictable and I continue to add items to category A. I've by and large spared you that ranting, but trust me, I could provide you with the full-throated version.)

In any event, I'm glad I did this task today. It took more time and energy than I really intended, but it's not like I had other plans, and now it's done. I even vacuumed the bedroom (which is carpeted). I could well have done other cleaning--like the bathroom, for example--but the virtuousness I would have felt would not have been good for me, so, in the interests of some kind of humility, I didn't scrub the tub or anything like that. I still have two closets of crap through which to wade--the hall closet, which holds coats, the sewing machine, the laundry cart, the stick vacuum cleaner, etc., and the murphy-bed closet in the living room, which holds several tubs of paper, assorted bags, and who knows what other stuff--but those will have to wait.

The most interesting meta-type thing about this exercise was seeing what I had bought in the past eighteen months--socks and underwear and sleeveless t-shirts and camisoles, mostly, with some fleece and capris thrown in for good measure. The only thing in that listing that has become unnecessary by virtue of quitting the bakery is the camisoles, which are all white or off-white cotton, and which I got for cheap ($6 apiece) at Maggie's Organic online--but, if I get the least bit motivated, I could tie-dye them, and then I'd have a bunch more colorful underthings to wear. Notably, I did not buy officewear or office-type shoes; though I did buy some shoes, they were mostly for work or were rugged and sturdy.

Okay, I can hear the couch calling me . . . let's hope I can find something on television today, mm'kay?