I think it is definetly important and imperative to clean house! I had 1 "friend" whom I'd been drinking buddies with for 23 years that I cut off contact with, he kept emailing me wanting to get together and he knew I'd quit drinking. I emailed him and explained to him that I felt for a successful recovery I needed to cut off relationships with any and all my drinking buddies, I had realized before I quit drinking that in all those years I'd known him we had not one single time spent time together w/o getting drunk, not once! He would email me and say "want to get drunk tonight". The only people I socialized with were people I drank with and I ended all of those relationships as well. I have made some new casual friends in my neighborhood but I haven't socialized really since I got sober 9-1-07 but I'm happier with my lonely sober life than I ever was drunk and eventually I believe I will be comfortable socializing sober I'm not in any hurry though.
Judy