Almost every day I see this homeless man while driving to work. He is always leaning slightly to one side, weighed down by a backpack slung over right shoulder. He wears an olive-green jacket and blue jeans. He smokes. His hair is a little long. I imagine him to be 40 or 50, although if he cleaned up he could probably pass for the lower end of that range.

Even in his current state, I can tell that he can be handsome.. in a rugged sort of way – someone you’d see in an old western movie. Every time I pass him by, I wonder, where does he go at night? How did he end up here? Where’s his family? Friends? Wife? I hope he doesn’t go hungry or cold.

There’s a saying in Chinese, that “as long as I have rice to eat, you won’t starve.” (I’m sure there’s a more poetic translation somewhere, but the basic gist is there.) Why didn’t he have someone say that to him? As long as I have a place to live, you won’t be homeless.

After a while I began keeping an eye out for him on the commute to work, and it’d brighten my day a little when I’d see him. I have no idea why.

Last night I decided to embark upon the ambitious project of culling, reorganizing, and editing my wardrobe.

I have a lot of clothes – too much, Mom always said. Now I don’t feel as if I have too many clothes to wear, but perhaps I do have too much stuff that I don’t wear. To make this process fairly painless, I’ve broken it down into steps.

1. Separate clothes into piles (this is probably the hardest step):

(a) Keep pile: Pieces that fits well, that I like, and that I actually wear. Take note of which items need special care (i.e. dry-cleaning, loose buttons, whites that needs to be bleached, etc.)
(b) Want-to-keep-but-never-wear pile: Clothes that I want to keep for sentimental reasons (stained sweatshirt with a giant Winnie the Pooh on the front? You get the idea), or because it should work (yet never quite look the way that I imagine it would).
(c) Donate pile: clothes that are in good condition but that I don’t wear for various reasons: the fit isn’t right, the style’s not me, etc.

2. Go through the Want-to-keep-but-never-wear pile again -

Ruthlessly edit to 4 or 5 pieces that I like. Everything else? Donate!

3. Put the Donate pile into some paper bags,

look up the nearest Goodwill Donation Center, and let my junk become someone else’s treasure.

4. Drop off Keep (special needs) pile at the dry-cleaner’s. Do laundry.

5. Organize closet:

Hang jackets, coats, and skirts. Fold and store sweaters and pants. (Incidentally, I like to have hangers that all look the same – no plastic or wire hangers – they ruin the shape of clothes. My favorite hangers I got from Ross – sets of 10 foam padded hangers for $6.99).

*** I have a small closet, so it’s even more important for me to keep my wardrobe well-organized. It also just nice to have a closet that’s neat & full of things that I love and wear. Might it even – just maybe – keep the shopping urge in check?