This time of year I usually try to sift through my closet and retire things I haven't worn in years. But I know that in the past I just scratched the surface. So, taking my cue from de-clutter experts, I began hauling EVERTHING out of my closet.
I confess that halfway through I was feeling whelmed -- not overwhelmed but teetering on the brink. The bed was piled high with a strange miscellany of stuff and I'd already forgotten what was on the bottom layer. So I decided to deal with just one side of the closet at a time.
After vacuuming the empty space (and annoying many spiders,) the next step was supposed to be holding each item in my hand and asking myself if it sparked joy. And tossing it if it didn't.
Ummm . . . not working for me. Those bleach -spattered stretch pants don't inspire much of anything except embarrassment but they are useful for housecleaning. And so it went, with many of the garments being saved for utility, not joy.
An old jewelry box took a good hour of my time -- what does one do with sorority and fraternity pins? And monogrammed things? Some very odd odds and ends from my family and from John's -- I may talk about them another day.
There were some, but not many, clothes to get rid of. But there were other things that evidently I'd shoved in because I didn't know where else to put them -- a elderly set of sheets, a heavy old denim bedspread, and an inordinate number of freebie type carry-alls.
It took pretty much all day but I've reminded myself of various garments I'd forgotten about and it's all in some sort of order.
And, aside from a industrial size garbage bag of trash, I have a nice little collection of things to go to My Sister's Attic, a local thrift store that benefits battered women, or the annual Madison Has Heart flea market that provides assistance with heating costs to needy local families. Now that sparks joy!
