It's purge time here at the Resort! The other day I walked into our closet and thought, "What's with all this stuff??" Since I retired from teaching three (!!) years ago, I've lived in my blue jeans. I already confessed that I wear them even to church, and here was a closet full of "nice" pants, some skirts, jumpers, and blouses. They've just been hanging there for three years and, I'm ashamed to admit, gathering dust. So I began to sort. Pretty soon I had a hefty pile on the floor in the boys' bedroom.
Fast forward to today. Dan is out of town and won't be home until after nine tonight, so I had plenty of time to continue my purge. I hauled all the clothes out to the Explorer and began to work on my shoes. We all know I have a horrible love affair with shoes, so I had plenty to work with. Again, since I'm retired, there were many shoes I haven't worn in three years. Nice shoes. But when one doesn't "dress" every day, a few pairs of cute (this is an imperative) shoes are all that are needed. I have piles of shoes already hauled to the car, piles in the basement, and a pile in the upstairs hallway. Going, going, gone. I'd take a picture, but it would be just too embarrassing. (Let your imagination go wild and you'd probably be right on.)
I'm telling you, sorting and tossing is therapeutic! I feel refreshed and renewed! It's true. Too much stuff will just drag you down.
Too much stuff drags you down -- I guess that's true. You might be surprised to know that I haven't had a lot of clothes since my college days -- and that includes shoes. So, when I purge it doesn't happen in my closet and means parting with stuff I care about. That doesn't mean I'm not drug down by stuff -- it's just not clothes. The stuff with which I should part is generally stuff about which I'm sentimental.
ReplyDeleteI'm also careful about making value judgments on Mike's stuff, but we still have his suits and sport coats from 25 years ago when he wore them daily for the last time. We even have two leather jackets that belonged to Uncle Porkie (too small for anyone in our extended family, even Mike) because Mike appreciates the leather.
It's easy for me to clear out clothes and shoes--my needs have changed and clothes are impersonal. And I'm not hard on clothes or shoes, so they rarely actually wear out. Hopefully someone will be able to use what I no longer need.
DeleteSentimental things, however, I have in abundance. I can cry over things Matt and Ann made over thirty years ago, and now I have grandchildren. I've been known to keep wrapping paper covered with ten bows because one of my grandsons did his own wrapping at a tender age.