We had our front hall and mud room closets organized yesterday with shelves, drawers, shoe racks and all the trimmings.

Once again I have been reminded we live like pigs and having to remove seventeen pairs of swimming goggles prior to construction simply confirmed what I already knew.

Having three girls is great in many ways—the big size is passed down to middle and later saved for the baby. Our problem is storing thirty-nine, mud-caked pairs of winter boots hoping that one of them will fit the baby during a winter sometime in the future but where oh where am I supposed to keep all of this?

After scolding the family for having so many goggles and storing them in bizarre closet spaces, I couldn’t get over some of the things I’m guilty of saving.

I bought a pair of DKNY shoes twelve years ago. Have shoe styles changed since then? I bought them to wear to a Christmas party for one of my first real jobs and spent over $100 on them. I had never spent that much on a pair of shoes in my life and I think I was holding onto them to remind myself what a big deal that was. What on earth was I saving them for, DKNY day? Pitched in the donation box.

Another organization challenge was Greg’s obvious, closet coat fetish—intervention pending. If you ever see my husband at a golf tournament, business meeting, trip to Vegas or otherwise and feel an inkling to offer him a jacket with your company logo on it, please know, I will hunt you down and leave a headless mouse on your front stoop. Enough with the ugly jackets! And why oh why do companies think they are making a perfectly nice leather jacket look better by embroidering their Kelly green logo on the chest. Why not quietly place your business card in the pocket and the jacket might actually see the light of day?

Duffle bags—I know we thought one day we would use each and every one of these bags. Sadly, the invitation to the duffle bag convention hasn’t arrived so I think I’ll toss a few of those too. I’m fairly certain in a past life I was deprived of a duffle bag because I’ve been hoarding hundreds of them, mostly for my embroidered company logo scrapbooking collection.

Hangers—I bought 72 wooden hangers to replace the mishmash of dry-cleaner wire we’ve been using. There’s not a recycling plant big enough to house the wire and plastics I’m about to bamboozle you with.

I found enough hats to outfit everyone watching the royal wedding.

Soccer shoes—more soccer shoes than games played, into the duffle bag box they went.

Please excuse any smudges on the pic. Those are tears of joy.