Week Three Roundup
I never know what’s going to come up next in this process, but I’m enjoying the bends and turns that pursuing our values produces. This week I did things a little differently, dedicating my time to ferreting out the little things from closets and playrooms that just didn’t need to be here anymore. That gave me three bags of things to work with and another two large items that needed no bag at all, like this cute little walker/ride-on toy:
My favorite part of dropping off these things at the thrift today was the huge smile on the delivery bay worker’s face when I handed him a stuffed animal nearly as large as he was (I wish I had a picture of it - and him with it!) I always wonder if the guys who help you unload your car there get first pick of things that come in? I imagined him taking the giant fluffy stuffed animal to a squealing, bouncy, little boy or girl at home - Daddy the Hero arrives triumphant after a long day at work. That’s my little daydream about it, anyway. Here are the three bags of toys, ready to go:
A few weeks ago, I had begun the daunting task of cleaning, purging, and reorganizing my closet. In the nearly three years that we’ve lived in our house, I’ve gone through this process with my closet at least three times and still, I’m embarrassed to tell you, I haven’t come up with a system that’s worked for me to truly feel in control of that closet. I think it may be that I just flat out have had too many things crammed into a space which, admittedly, is more than adequate for a fairly extensive wardrobe. Now that I’ve pared down, I’m finding that I enjoy both my clothes and my closet so much more!
I found three bags worth of clothing, shoes, and jewelry that could go. In one of these bags is three pairs of practically new shoes. In another is a box full of jewelry. The rest are clothes that are either no longer practical, the wrong size, or simply not a style I wear any more. Some of them were quite beautiful and/or expensive at one time, but now that matters less than the fact that I just don’t wear them. The expense of a few of these pieces is what’s kept me from purging them before now, but something has shifted and I’m seeing them for what they are: old energy, unable to contribute to the life that I’m living here and now. It felt so nice to fill up my van and then empty it of that old energy today.
Last pictures of the whole “take”, before the little trip to the thrift:
This project is gaining momentum! As I loaded up and left to donate these things, I mentioned to Christopher Thomas how good having exactly this much space back in our house felt to me. I can practically visualize the space that these items used to take up in our home - invisible outlines where now there is openness. It’s funny how I don’t feel a lack at all as I get rid of them. In fact, I’m feeling richer all the time. The further along I get with this project, the more I’m finding that “space” is more valuable and luxurious to me than most of this stuff. Oh, paradox! :-)
On to week four…
