Everyones doing it! Cleaning closets, getting rid of stuff you don’t use, going through storage totes of crap, clearing out the file cabinet. Yes, I still have a small black file cabinet of papers that are important car receipts, courtroom and divorce papers, doctor papers and random stuff that I hold because I think I might need my last joint tax return from 2009 🙄. So little by little, 11 weeks, I am still working through… struggling through..the “getting rid of” process.
I watched a documentary on Minimalism and said to myself, I’m decluttering. I’ve actually read about minimal ism before but now I could give it the old college try because, heck, I have tons of time on my hands while our Pandemic still exists. When I told the kids that we were going to become minimalist, they laughed and said” we hardly have anything now!” Which is sort of true. When we moved 6 years ago, we got rid of so much. And especially since we have almost no storage space (our basement is over 100 years old and it shows…Ma Ingalls could sweep our dirt floor), we don’t have the luxury of keeping crap like most people I know.
But still, I wanted to cut back. Less clutter equals less stress, supposedly. I do know that moving to a slightly smaller house makes for less stuuf to clean and keep up with so I guess the less stress is true.
I started off small; a kitchen utensils drawer. Moved up to sorting through the 3 tool boxes of tools I seldom use. Some of the items I don’t even know what they are used for. Garbage! Organized sheets, towels and tossed the old ratty ones…why am I holding on to them?! Tackled a few totes of misc crap and files. Time consuming because I start looking through and reading planners I found from 2009-2015. Interesting information. Many notes of doctors, surgeries, kids events, my work schedules…of course I am keeping those. It’s reference for my book that I will write someday 😊
Then it was time for the big one! The closets! Not just one; my bedroom closet is too small and only holds my clothes for work and the season. The other closet is upstairs with all my clothes for the other seasons. Well, it took days! And the days I did it was when it was 90 degrees and I do not have central air. So if anyone wants a great workout, get your sweat on by trying on all of your clothes…yep, sweaters, leggings too,…in blazing heat. Keep your fan or window AC off. You’ll burn so many calories and keep the water near.
But anyways, being realistic in what I kept….its a struggle. I do it…I know you do…”oh, I’ll wear that around the house” or “look how cute, I’ll wear that…somewhere” or “I love that. I’ll keep it just in case I lose those 10 pounds”…more like 20 😬 And I kid you not, I bagged up around 45-50 items that don’t fit, I just haven’t worn and yes, a couple still had tags on them. And the shoes! My ex(Wasband) would die if he saw my shoes. Not an exorbitant amount but more than the 3 I had during my marriage (what do you need more than 3 pairs for?! ).
But I had to get real. I pride myself on being a realist and the reality is that I’ll never fit into that size 8 dress from 7 years ago. I can’t wear my favorite skull tank top because now I’m over 50 and it’s not acceptable for a woman of my age. I won’t wear that orange/black cardigan that a friend gave me that’s not my style… I tried. Nor will I sport the Gray sequined tank top that I’ve held on to for…well…a very long time.
There’s still a lot to do! More files, disposal of technology…I’ll burn the TV’s and old computers in my next bonfire; it’s way easier than finding a place to take them. Yes, I’m kidding! Calm down! But what I’m really going to burn is all my undergarments. Ladies, you know what a pain in the ass it is to try on those cute little bras or lacy thongs when really those all purpose briefs are what’s comfortable. Why bother! It’s pure torture! Burn it all and start fresh once the stores open back up. That’s what I’m doing! Walking out of our forced shutdowns a new lingerie lady! Pssst and nobody will even know. Nor will they know if I have anything underneath 🤭. Just keeping up with the latest trends.
Regardless, I’m feeling freer. Just cleaning the clutter and the unused items gives me a sense of accomplishment, which boosts my spirits and I guess does relieve some stress. 👍 And just a side note, I took my skull tank top and put it back in my closet. Somethings I just have to keep! Now, just waiting for Goodwill to open back up to donate our many bags of goodies!
