Mission: Organization

After Christmas - when the gifts, stray wrapping paper, gift bags and boxes add to the everyday clutter in the house - is the best time to organize.

Right after Christmas, I emptied out our bedroom closet down to the bare walls, piling the contents around outside it. It's incredible how much you can jam into a closet!

I was on a tear. I vacuumed the dust and wiped down the shelves. Did a major take-no-prisoners purge of outdated, worn or unsuitable clothing. Got piles of bags ready for charity.

This year's Christmas Miracle? The closet is still neat as a pin. And it's amazing how serene it is to look inside.

The after-effects made such a positive impression on me that last week I cleaned out our hall closet. The one I think of as a Black Hole of Luggage, where enough duffle bags to stock an Eddie Bauer store (remember those?) reside, oversized suitcases lurk in the shadows and coat mayhem ensues.

Now, it's an oasis of coordinated baskets and bins, housing purses, scarves, stray hats and gloves. Oh, and those tennis racquets we bought that time.

But I've been dodging that workspace organization - that's the Big Dog, the one I am committed to tackling this week.

Sure, I've cleaned up the piles of new purchases and stowed them away, but unlike the closets, the problem isn't really solved.

I vow to "Make it work," copping Tim Gunn's catchphrase. Writing it down, committing to it, will make it so. Wish me luck!

In the meantime, if you have any experience with organizing and housing small pieces of things - think beads and teensy-tiny findings that go into jewelrymaking - for which one needs full visual availability, feel free to post your suggestions.