Spring Cleaning: The Great Purge Physically and Mentally
I followed through with my goal to let go of anything that no longer sparks joy in my life. At first it was really difficult. I mean I could not let go of anything. Everything sparked some kind of memory or emotional tie to the article upon touch. As I sat there, surrounded by the mass of clothing (as Marie Kondo explicitly instructs), I realized that if I never started letting anything go, I would continue to be swamped by things that I no longer wear. The joy it once brought me was enough; from there, I would have to part ways with things that no longer brought me joy, even if they once did.
I started with my clothes so far and my, oh my, what progress you can make if you start there first. While some clothes have some kind of connection in my heart, most of them don’t. Therefore, it’s easy to just plow through the piles and piles of clothes you have and just eliminate by the truckload. I started off at my mom’s house, then went to my dad’s and then ended up at my apartment. And I was able to get rid of 3 trash bag-full of clothes. And I’m not talking about the plastic bags that you get when you go grocery shopping — I was able to fill up the gallon bags that you whip out during Christmas to put the abundance of wrapping paper into. Big black trash bags filled with clothes that no longer brought me joy.
In fact, do you know what did bring me joy? Seeing the amount of space that was now freed in my closet. I was able to see everything I owned and kept easily, making it quicker for me to get dressed in the morning. Instead of rummaging through the clothes that I never wear (when was I ever again going to sport gold sequin shorts?!) in order to get to clothes that I did, I was able to open the drawer, pluck out my favorite jeans and t-shirt, and hit the road. I wasted so much time looking for things I needed among things I didn’t. And this stops now.
My apartment faced a brutal hit as well. I found it even easier, since it was the last destination that I did this purge, to just plow through the clothes and say goodbye to almost everything. It didn’t bring me joy anymore and I was a practicing minimalist — so they all had to go. Almost everything had to go. I depleted 75% of my wardrobe and in the past week, I’ve still been able to wear everything as I normally do. I was unaffected by getting rid of the junk. I tend to stick to monochromes and neutral pallets so I didn’t even notice the bright colored clothing that had disappeared!
This worked so well, I’m moving on to other things. We’ve amassed quite a bit between the two of us in this cozy apartment, but I think we can purge and do better. It’s becoming quite addicting. The clothes I do have left instantly make me happy and my days feel better when I can immediately identify them upon uponing up my drawers and closets. Do it with your clothes and let me know how it works! Pick up every single item and ask yourself in a Marie Kondo style: “Does this spark joy in my life now?” If it does not, let it go!
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