I *love* 311. They know everything!

The only time I regretted calling them was during the first "maple syrup smell" event a few years back - they immediately transferred me to 911 because apparently odors are considered emergencies no matter what, and then I felt really guilty for wasting the 911 operator's time. (911 transferred me to the fire department who thankfully did not dispatch anyone because I was the zillionth person they'd spoken to that night about the exact same completely harmless odor.)

Whereas I'd have liked them better if they only said "whip me."

I already have one pair of wordy stockings. They amuse me, although they don't get worn near often enough.

I want some more thigh-highs.

I also like tattoos with words. My next one is going to have words, when I can get around to it.

See, if they had only said "bite me", then I would have coveted a pair unreasonably.

And I would have thought Jilli! and made sure that you saw the link.

I went through a big thigh high stage a few years ago, but don't wear them near as much anymore. I don't wear anything that's as much work anymore. But I still have a ton. I should have another go at them.

I love them. But I'd love them more with actual garters, I think.

Says the girl who wears jeans 98% of her life.

How do people organize their clothes? When I was a kid, I had one dresser and one small closet, and it was plenty of room for the relatively few items of clothing I had. Now? I have lots of clothes, including sizes that are too small (hope) and sizes that are too big (fear), and things that I never had/needed/wanted when I was younger, like shrugs and camisoles and business garb and exercise/yoga wear and underwear that isn't bras and panties. I have five closets and three dressers and various storage boxes, and they're overflowing. I can't find half of what I have, because I'm basically just shoving stuff wherever there's room for it. The items I'm wearing most are hanging on a chair and a coat tree in my bedroom, and everything else is chaos.

I've always been a t-shirt and jeans and occasional skirt wearing girl. I don't know what to do with all this stuff! Besides giving it all to Goodwill and starting over, of course, but I fear that won't solve the basic problem of not knowing how to organize.

Well, I managed to stay in bed until 7:30. But still up at 6. Loki playing dive bomber under the covers, MK poking me in the face and Devi sharpening her claws on the sheets didn't help...

Amarna came in at 5:00 am and started stalking around the bed, meowing at full volume. I had to pet her for a few minutes before she finally settled down and let me go back to sleep. She started it up again a few minutes before 7:00, but that was okay since I had my alarm set for 7 anyway.

I'm on lunch break from class. My teacher spent the morning discussing right brain/left brain types and how our thinking impacts our management style. She wrote down on the board what area each of us tested at in our morning activity, and then looked at the board and said, "You guys have been together for at least this semester--who here could have possibly guessed that Kathy was a people person?" That got a big laugh from everyone, including me.

The teacher likes to kid me and mock-hassles me because my wide range of library jobs on my resume gave her difficulty in assigning our interview topics in January. At our last class, I was having brain blockage and not coming up with the right answers, so I told her I'd rather not respond at all, and she stopped everything and set me straight. At times, I think I can take over a class in terms of participation, and that's always my fear (that I'm too dominating). She said that she'd rather I say something even if it's wrong, especially if no one else is saying anything, so now I feel much easier about speaking up.

Oops, gotta get back to the classroom!

How do people organize their clothes?

Zenkitty, I keep out-of-season stuff in storage, and rotate it out onto my clothing rack and into my dresser as seasons change. I also use the seasonal rotation as a chance to weed out stuff I'm not wearing-- if it hasn't been worn since I took it out at the start of the season, I think long and hard about whether I really need it. I'm also lucky that my friends hold clothing swaps on a regular basis, so I can get rid of the stuff I'm not wearing and pick up some new things for free.

I still have way too many clothes-- I keep a rack in my room because my closet is too full-- but this methods seems to keep things from getting completely out of hand. It would probably also help if I went to the thrift store less.

ZK,

I have the hope and fear clothing as well! Those I keep in storage (up in the attic) along with the unseasonable clothes and go through them once a year along with the rest of my wardrobe, shift things around as needed. I pretty much try everything on again, find that styles and my tastes have changed, and find it easier to part with the currently non-wearable items that much more easily.

I have a tiny apartment with one 4' wide closet for hanging and another 4' wide closet with shelves and another one out in the living room for coats and emergency sweaters during the warmer months. I don't even have a dresser. The shelves have baskets for socks and undies and jammies. and if I can't fit my work and play pants and shorts on the shelves, then I simply have too many pants and shorts and have to purge/move to the attic.

I think you just need to organize with the space you have. Start from scratch, get it sorted and organized, and only keep on hand what is immediately needed for the current season. If storing the unseasonable and unwearables is not really an option, there are low risers to prop beds on that allow slim tupperware tubs to slide under.

Be realistic, practical. Bring a friend over and have a fashion show and purge. If I haven't touched something in more than two years, definitely donate it. Be more ruthless with your hope/fear piles. Because really, styles/tastes change. I had some fearsome baby-girl/slutty clothes that were far too sparkly/girly for me and I couldn't believe I'd worn them at one point.