I washed, dried and piled every piece of clothing I own on a table in the basement and sorted everything out by type. I thought this would take me a week to do, but instead it was done mostly on Sunday.
What I found is a confirmation of what I have been feeling lately – I don’t need to buy anything new. I thought this process would take me the week, but found that I have pared down my clothing over the past year, and although it was still too much to keep track of, it was already down by 1/2.
After everything was sorted, I started by taking out everything ripped, wrong-sized, and anything I wore that I really didn’t like – either style, fabric, color or how it fit.
I sorted summer, and put it away. Sorted winter and hung anything that could be layered or worn year round in the closet. Everything is organized, has a place to be put away and I like to wear everything I kept. I am leaving this open for six months – if I don’t wear the things I kept by June, I will also donate them.
The piles of donations/trash are a combination of shirts, t-shirts, dresses, pants, accessories, pairs of socks, and undergarments. Days 10, 11 & 12 add up to 33 items. With the previous jacket & sweater and shoe days (17 items) the grand total is 50 pieces trashed or donated out of my closet. Not sacrificing, not any kind of difficult letting go of anything…just the extras and unused. Someone else might be able to these things, because I clearly am not.
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| Days 8, 9, 10, 11 & 12 = 50 items |
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| Everything – coats, sweaters, dress clothes & casual. |
I use a 9 cube for storage of clothes that are not hung: Summer shorts & shirts (1) , t-shirts (1), summer pj’s (1), winter pj’s (1), undergarments (2), socks (1), gloves & scarves (1), sweats/sweatshirts (1)
I think a good measure for me is that if it can’t fit in that cube, something has to go. I need a visual measurement like this to keep on track.
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| 9 – cube storage for all clothes that aren’t hung in the closet |
The revelation? I wrote 2000 words for my novel today while I was home sick and resting. 2000 words! And I have hours left to write tonight…
I felt that with the letting go of each item, each pile, each vulnerability shared about the items…I created room somehow for creativity and the telling of the story. So I have great incentive to continue on. At first I was trying just to reach the number on the day, and I still will – but I imagine that when I get to other parts of the house, the numbers will be met easily and in the end the house will hold only the things I use and need, and the story I have held onto for several years will be written.
And after that? There will be room for whatever is next…