I’m on a constant journey to get more organized. I can plead a full time job, 60-90 minutes twice a day for commuting, kids’ activities, and a ton of papers that come home from school, but at the end of the day, the buck stops here. The reason we’re disorganized and have clutter around the house is because of us.
It stresses me out, too. I hate the fact that when I’m tired at the end of the day, I head to bed only to see the pile of clean laundry next to it. If you’re suggesting I stash it in the walk-in closet so I don’t have to see it that day, you’re too late – I’ve already done it. The problem with that is the old “out of sight, out of mind” saying. It doesn’t get prioritized to get done. Over time the closet got full, and there’s not much more room to stash stuff.
No more. I’m taking action.
We recently held a garage sale, and though we weren’t able to move a lot of the toddler clothes that we put out this time around, we donated them all at the end of it – those clothes didn’t come back inside. I hated to leave what I saw as cash on the table, but it was time to get it all out of the house. It bugged me for a day or two, but after a few days, I noticed something.
I felt better.
I could actually use that storage closet again, because those plastic totes of clothes were gone. I didn’t have to walk past it and think about how full it was with stuff my girls had outgrown. I didn’t have to think about how we could fit a garage sale into our busy weekend schedules. I could get to that suitcase at the back of the closet without a herculean effort.
As I let go of those kids clothes, which honestly I was only holding on to in the hopes that we could clear some cash with them at a garage sale, a little weight had lifted off my shoulders.
Two weekends later, we took advantage of Target’s car seat recycling offer and got rid of three expired car seats that had been sitting in the garage. I got rid of them without having to send them to the landfill, and I had even more space. I had three fewer things to see every time I went out into the garage, three fewer things taking up space and cluttering my life.
If you’re like me, you might be keeping some clothes in your closet that don’t fit you anymore. I open the door to look at a few of them and note that it would only take about twenty pounds to get me back into that favorite pair of jeans that I haven’t worn since I got pregnant with my older daughter. I see a suit that I haven’t had to wear in years because of my business casual office. I’m ashamed to say that I found a velvet dress in there that I haven’t worn in more than 15 years. FIFTEEN YEARS. You know what? It’s time to let that stuff go.
I’m starting now.
It’s still not easy, but I’m going to start with the jeans, the suit, the dress. I’m going to START. It may take me twenty trips to the charity in town, but I’m going to start.
A little progress is better than none at all, and over time, that pile of clothes near the bed will disappear because I’ve created more space for all of it to be properly put away. You know that old saying, “how do you eat an elephant?” The answer is a bite at a time.
I’m taking a bite.
Love it!! And I might have a velvet dress in my closet.....that I've been dragging along for 23 years, waiting for an invitation to a Christmas party I'll decline anyway. You've inspired me! And thrift stores are a great option....track your donations, keep those receipts they give you at St. Vincent and itemize on your taxes. There is your money, still at your table!