CLOSET CLUTTER

Here is a small sampling of the stuff I must bring home with me each time I go to Houston. Each visit I try to tackle a new area, and this time it was my closet. Two years ago I cleared out everything I actually wear and brought it here, and got rid of most everything I knew I'd never use again. Notice I said most everything.

What was left? The toughies. The things that are gonna hurt like hell (if not me, then someone else), but which would take up way more space than I have to spare in this little house. There's the matching felt circle skirts I made for Lexie's 50's-themed

10th birthday party; an early 80's black strapless, full-skirted, Laura Ashley cocktail dress and matching petticoat that I wore B.K. (before kids), and looked oh so fine in, if I do say so myself; a red sequined cocktail dress from the late 80's (complete with jagged hem and huge shoulder pads) that John surprised me with on my birthday; a native Sumatran costume that we bought for Lex just before we left Indonesia, complete with jewels and accessories; her American Girl Doll and all its clothes, furniture and accessories, including those precious little goblets with cherries on them; Austin's Brio train and Marbleworks sets; a batik wrap-around skirt and haltar top set from our mid-70's stay in Indonesia, as newlyweds; the files from my stint as a garden designer, and all the tools of the trade, including a big drawing table; and last but not least, buried at the bottom of the pile, a lovely ecru colored, empire style wedding dress, with pale pink organza sash, flounce, and tiny buttons on the leg-o-mutton sleeves - which I already know my daughter does not wish to wear, for it is the antithesis of the sleek, white, strapless styles that are popular today.

So, there you have it - the summary of my married life, in a pile on our bed. How do you deal with the undealable? I've got four days to figure it out, else John will have no place to sleep next weekend.