I love how Facebook shares memories from my past. The pics and posts are snapshots of where I was a year…or two or three…ago. This meme popped up this morning:
This snapshot perfectly describes what I am doing this last week in December as well…letting go of what no longer feeds my soul or serves me.
The past two days I have tackled a BIG project…cleaning out a closet in my bedroom. It is amazing the amount of stuff that can be crammed into a small space. It was to the point where I feared opening the door!
I had two goals in mind: get rid of the accumulated clutter…the stuff that no longer feeds my soul…and make the small space function again as a clothes closet.
Yikes!!
It was out with the old today. I hate to admit that I hauled three large bags of trash out of that tiny closet. Gone are years of left over Christmas paper and crumbled bows, lumpy pillows, old cans of paint and an assortment of odd items I never knew what to do with.
The closet and then the whole room grew lighter in energy as clutter was cleared away. As I worked, one of my favorite movies, Love Actually, played on the TV/DVD player in the bedroom, an interesting and somehow heart touching counterpoint to the clearing activity I was engaged in. The movie highlights the connectedness of the many characters in the story, while I was busy breaking connections with items that no longer suit me.
I created great space tonight, room in the closet for fresh new things. In preparation for hanging a closet rod and moving my clothes in from another room, I sorted through a pile of clothing, desiring to release, literally, all that no longer fits me. I was thrilled to discover that due to my recent change to a plant based diet, most of my clothes were too big. After sorting and trying on, the majority of my wardrobe went into bags, ready to be donated to a local organization.
I am creating physical space for new clothes that fit better, and creative space to determine what I enjoy wearing and what best serves my needs. It will be fun to take my time and only purchase clothes that “ring my bell”, as Aubrey would say, and bring me joy.
Tomorrow I have games and a stack of old coloring books to sort through, empty picture frames to relocate or donate, and Lord of the Rings collectibles to make decisions about. The many vintage quilts that I hauled out tonight will be cleaned and I’ll determine how best to display them elsewhere in the house.
Then the fun begins, as the cleared out closet is put back together and the clothes that I have remaining will be carefully hung in their fresh new space.
This closet is where Greg and I took shelter when the 2011 EF-5 tornado struck Joplin. That small space sheltered us and protected us from raging wind and debris. It was the calm in the midst of the storm. That space has since become a catch all, which is hardly appropriate for such a sacred place.
It feels very good to free it from clutter, while freeing my heart and soul from the pile of objects I no longer want…or need. New space, in my closet and in my life, ushering in fresh possibilities for a new year. Welcome.
