I pulled everything out, sorted, tossed *some* stuff (not nearly enough, just the obvious stuff).

And then realized that I didn't want to just mindlessly put it back more neatly.

So I sat down w/ a piece of paper and a pen. And said, "What do I go to the closet to get? What sorts of things do I expect to find there? And then that's the ONLY thing that can go back in; everything else has to find another home, or go to the garbage.

Some of this will go into drawers; other stuff will go into a basket on top of the drawers. Tools will go on magnetic strips that I have to mount to the walls tomorrow.

Here's my list:

Clothespins

Superglue

twist ties (the extra-long ones; the shorter ones, I look under the sink)

Wobble Wedges (a limited supply--Altoid tin!)

Poster putty and Quake Hold

Flower-stem caps/water picks (I have 5 small ones)

carry handles for twine-wrapped packages

carabiners

matches

iron cleaner

extension cord

Camelback cleaning solution

Packing tape

Masking tape

Duct tape

Lightbulbs

Lock de-icer

Then, of course, tools, and a few screws or nails. But that's another topic altogether.

Probably they're extra enough that I shouldn't own them--but they're spares, and so I'm not sure what to do with them.

There are the "Band-It trash-can bag holders (basically, a ponytail holder that's so big, it fits a kitchen garbage can). It was SO hard to find, and it's SO valuable to me, and it can get lost easily, that I bought about 12 of them.

And potato-chip-bag clips that actually work. I have enough of them in service; these are packages I bought that I thought I might give as gifts but haven't yet. I may move them to the "Christmas present stash" that's in the box in the bottom of my closet, and then I'll have them to give as presents to all the cousins when it's time.

I have the magnetic strips that came w/ the room-darkening curtains that I've been too lazy to install. I probably won't ever install them, but I'm chicken to toss them.

I actually *DO* have a place for them--the closet is a triangle, right? So when I set the plastic 3-drawer unit in it, there's a triangle of space behind it. I've cut a shelf out of foam board to sit on top, to keep stuff from falling in there.

So there's this void back there--difficult to access. I put them in there. I also put most of the Band-Its in there--all but 3.

AND, to keep myself from forgetting they're there, I wrote a note on an index card (w/ an arrow) and stuck it to the wall. Silly, but I feel relieved at not throwing them out.