I knew things were going to have to change one day a few weeks ago when I opened my closet door in my bedroom and it looked like a 6.8 earthquake had just hit. Shoes were lying askew; shelves were piled to the ceiling; and there wasn't room for one more hanger on the rack.
"Attention family members!" I announced in my most authoritative tone from the depths of the tiniest, yet messiest room in the house, "Do not disturb me ... I will be cleaning out my closet this afternoon."
A collective gasp was heard. "Mom," my son said, "That will take you hours!"
I shut the door to the master bedroom and yelled, "Don't come in unless I call for help!"
As I began to throw clothes, shoes, and purses in a pile on the floor of my bedroom, I suddenly comprehended the magnitude of my task. I removed one clothing item at a time from the pile and slowly slipped it back on hangers. Why, I certainly could never give away the blouse I was wearing when I met my husband. I definitely was not going to part with the cute little swimsuit coverup I once wore on the beach in Cancun or with the gold lame purse my grandmother gave me when I was in junior high. It wasn't long before my mountain became a mole hill and eventually, just three items were left in the giveaway pile.
An hour later as I lay on the floor spooning with my prom dress from 1978 while clutching a platform shoe in each hand, I called out in a weak voice, "Help?"
My husband shouted from the living room, "You hung it all back up, didn't you?"
I sighed. "Yes," I answered sheepishly.
"And you are not giving away the pants you wore on our first date, the blood-stained t-shirt you were dressed in when our daughter lost her first tooth, or the boots you danced in the night you learned to do the disco splits the first time, are you?" he asked.
"I put it all back," I answered, "But the closet definitely looks more organized now!" I learned a long time ago that it's always good to add a little bit of good news with the bad.
That afternoon after I finally got up off the floor and got to business really cleaning out that closet, I came to the significant realization that parting with my things would not cause me to part with the memories. It was like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. I piled shoes, belts, clothes, and purses on the floor. My molehill had transformed into a mountain and it felt great. A few hours later, my closet was clean, organized, and some woman somewhere was going to love all her new shoes. And you know the craziest thing of all? I don't miss any of that stuff at all.
"What you keep rots; what you give flourishes."
~ French Proverb
- Vicky De Coster - www.wackywomanhood
Click here for more of Vicky's posts.
Good for you, Vicky! Got any room for those bamboo undies yet? They're yours for the asking... ;)
Posted by: Teri Breier | January 20, 2009 at 04:20 PM