52 Pick-me-up: Dots

"You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life." --Steve Jobs, 1955 - 2011, Stanford commencement address (12 June 2005) [source]

PURCHASED/ GIFTED/ 

It's all about the Dots this week. NO BRAINER! 

I'm taking a look at my dotted socks. I have A LOT of dotted socks. Some might say too many.
No, you can never have too many dotted socks.

All the dot socks. Yes, leopard counts as dots. 

Most are Happy Socks brand. 

Severo gave me the MTA Subway socks and black ground multi dots above them. 

Full confession: the above sock organization became reality for this post.

One hour ago, my sock drawers looked like this:

The novelty ankle socks drawer had really hit critical mass!

I had seen this pin, for organizing shoes using an old wine carton.

I thought, I have tons of empty tea tins from my daily cup of Twinings Earl Grey that I can't bear to recycle.
They are a perfect size for storing socks. My shelves have become a horrid mess [again]:

(No, don't even ask about that Barbie Doll.)

The bottom shelf is now replaced with a grid of tins filled with socks! Yay!
Next I'll find some empty wine cartons to get my shoes in order.
And work on that middle shelf!  √ DONE!

Here is one of my favorite dotted pairs on their swan song:

Sad to say, they had to be retired. Soon they will get repurposed as catnip receptacles.

Did you connect the dots this week? Link and tell!

Abundance: My Closet Runneth Over

Resolving to start anew and trying to create new habits does not need to be limited to a day of the year or even the month of January. It's OK to start any time, though the new calendar year lends itself to this sort of thing.

before reorg

Last year, I made a major overhaul to my office, which also functions as my closet. In a burst of wild energy, I reorganized the placement of furniture and storage bins, removed piles of papers, garments, and fabrics, (sort of) culled my closet, and started arranging stuff where I could see it (and hence, use it).

after, upper left shelf

And then, as summer waned into fall, my energy faded. The heaps now reside in the living room (and elsewhere).

But, no need to call the A&E Hoarders team yet! I PROMISE that I'm going to get my stuff organized!
The donation pile gets bagged and released next Wednesday FOR SURE THIS TIME!

Following are some approaches to dealing with what you need and what you already have:

• The title of this post was inspired by Sharon, of Focus On Style, who offers 10 Abundant Style Matras.

• Patti, of Not Dead Yet Style, wrote a great series: Identify Your Signature Style.

• Heather, of The Style Confessions, evaluates the state of her closet.

• Pao, of Project Minima, began an admirable project to not purchase anything for a year but instead repurpose items at hand. She is now on her 3rd year! I think this is the best tactic for me. Here is her initial manifesto with progress reports.

• Bella, of Citizen Rosebud, is encouraging us all to Shop Second Hand First.

Linking up with Katy's Modly Chic FBFF consortium.
The theme for this month is New Year, New You.
Click here to see others' responses.

Web Crawl: Go Chic or Go Home

Want to peek into my closet? Are you sure? 

there it is... over my right shoulder 
[excuse me while I torture the cat] 

Sorry. It's too much of a mess here. 

3 sample heaps (clockwise from left):
hosiery to digitize + random green tee
studio garments, featuring the apple skirt
the "to fix" pile

draped over
cassette tapes (I kid you not)
audio equipment + CDs
the floor
my bed

You CAN, however, visit my VIRTUAL closet at
Go Chic or Go Home.
My garments are all nicely organized by category.

these are skirts, in case you couldn't tell
click on images to see bigger

You can see random outfit shots:

you might recognize some of these shots

or groups of items for, like, my trips and stuff:

note to self:
start building packing list for TxSC conf

There is one road block to your viewing pleasure - you must be a member!
But hey, "membership has its privileges" as they say
Why don't you request an invite?

You'd be amazed what you'll discover when you start digitizing your closet.

have yet to capture this in a post

You'll meet some cool new people too!

I don't yet know these ladies, but they sport cool boots

this is an unsolicited review
all GCoGH images are screen shots and probably ©GCoGH