Purging.......

So, I have finally done it.  Cleansed my closets of items that no longer fit or have not been worn in the last year.  I have always heard this is the best step to getting rid of stuff but never let myself completely conform to the method.  You see, I am the type of buyer who would spend a few extra bucks on buying a better quality, classic type piece and have it last a longer time (like forever) rather than buy a trendy, less expensive, less quality piece that gets thrown away after a couple of wears.  I know the younger generation would probably not be able to even conceive of this idea let alone actually put it to use.  It seems things now a days are in a word - disposable.  No matter what you are talking about, clothes, pictures, cards, cars, appliances, etc., very little of it is made for the duration.  Drives me NUTS !!  I am the type who still loves to drink milk out of glass bottles.  Ahh, the fifties......... made for a great, memorable childhood.  Anyway, back to my closets.  So, in making my three piles of disposals (yikes, that word again) - one for Good Will, one for trash and one for a "needy" office worker that is the size I used to be - I started to feel myself once again second guessing my need to get rid of the stuff.  Sentences, such as, "this served me so well over the past ten years why not just keep it for another ten?" and the old familiar, "give yourself six more months to loose the weight and you'll have all this extra stuff to wear" and even, "this outfit holds so many memories from your KIDS' childhoods that you should maybe put it up in the attic (along with clothes of theirs)".  From somewhere, an inner voice yelled out loud and clear, "STOP, put down what you are holding and go do something else.  Clean something around the house, walk the dog or cook dinner but get away from the nostalgia!!"  Whoever that voice was, I say to you, "Thank You".  Luckily, I came back to the task some time later to find that I just wanted to get the job done and make some much needed room in my closets.  I think this process does so much more than just simply making space for more stuff.  For me anyway, it helped make space in my head and in my life.  I hadn't realized that holding onto "stuff" that only sits and stares back at you when you look at it really clogs up my thinking.  It adds yet another layer of unneccessary concern that I don't want or need.  It just feels good.  It gives your mind that needed space, too, to think of more useful thoughts about what really matters in life - family, friendship, morals and values.  A good steadying of the Moral Compass !  I did promise myself that "from now on" I will not let stuff pile up to the point of blurring what is most important but I am also truthful with myself enough to know that it probably will.  Maybe, this is just something we all need to do once in awhile, or, maybe..........IJTWLI