Black in order

In an attempt to begin the process of organizing, cleaning, throwing out, and giving away debris that has crept into drawers and closets while my back was turned, I armed myself with a gigantic plastic garbage bag and made a puny start this afternoon.  Four bathroom drawers, five kitchen desk drawers, and eight dresser drawers are better off for my time and attention.

The most daunting aspect of my meager effort was reducing from three to two the number of dresser drawers holding my collection of black knit mostly v-neck tee shirts. I own some colorful tee-shirts, but only a small pile of them, enough to stack neatly on one side of a small drawer. I decided to approach the black tee-shirt task by categorizing them. First I sorted them from oldest to newest, then in five-year increments--those purchased between 1990 and 1995, from 1996-2000, etc.--the grayer blacks belonged to the first five years, as it turns out, and these are also rather thin and frail. Well-loved, though, which is why they made the cut. While the shading differences were interesting to observe, this method turned out to be unsatisfactory because it doesn't consider sleeve style, over-all fit, and other important criteria. 

Next I tried neck style, which left me with a huge pile of v-necks and a short pile of round-necks. Clearly I have a preference for v-necks. Ultimately it came down to neck style, followed by sleeve length (long, 3/4, short, and -less). As I sorted, I tried on some less endearing shirts, casting a few into the discard pile, but finding something appealing enough about others to rescue most until the next sorting occurs.

I am half-tempted to make labels to put on the drawers to indicate the characteristics of each now neatly folded pile of black tees so that I can avoid frantically pawing through stack after stack looking for the one black, sleeveless shirt I own (since sometime in the 90's). In theory, sorting by sleeve length should help me avoid the frantic part, but in the dim light of morning even the best organizational plan for like-colored tee-shirts can go awry. 

Fortunately, my underwear drawer was less complex to arrange. Most of my underwear is/are white and the same style. Easy to grab a pair in the morning and know they'll go under anything. No smart comments, please. 
  

Addendum: Should anyone think the organizing process that was begun today will continue at a fever pitch, you don't know me very well. This could be IT for days. Weeks. Months. I make no promises.

PS: Happy Birthday week shout-outs to Regis, Shirley, Mary, and Pat. 

PPS: Mike & Margot created a Top Ten Caption List for the outhouse photo in the previous blog entry. Here we go....

10. Are these the apartments CReps is thinking about moving into? I think he can afford something better than this.

9.  An example of the pots passing the Potts.

8. The St. Peter 4th of July parade stinks. LITERALLY!

7. That's a big 10-4 Rubber Duck, we got us a ka-ka-convoy!

6.  An exclusive look at new luxury housing units on their way to Northern Anoka County.

5. You know, put a chimney on those and you have yourself an outdoor wood boiler!

4. POTTS, Porta-POTTies, POTholes... It can't be just a coincidence. Weird!

3. Another satisfied customer thanks to Incontinental Trucking Co.

2.  Uhh, I don't think that's RAIN on the windshield, honey.

And the No. 1 caption for the porta-potty photo:
1. I have a sudden, uncontrollable urge for urine cakes.