Life-changing Magic
Several months ago I kept hearing about a book that described the life-changing magic of decluttering your life. The more I heard about it, the more intrigued I became. I thought the concept sounded good, but I needed a good chunk of time to dedicate to the first step.
The book explains to clean by category and not by room. The recommended starting category is clothing. The idea is to collect every piece of clothing, accessory, shoe, coat, purse, glove and hat, and pile them on the floor in one location…..or should I say HEAP…..YIKES! Then comes the task of picking up each item and asking if it brings you joy. If not….toss, if so….keep. Sounds simple enough, right?…..Not so much!
Once it was go time, I began hauling out every single piece of clothing I owned. When I finished collecting and heaping, and had the chance to stop and look…..well, actually GASP, I said aloud….”What did I get myself into?” I immediately felt dread and overwhelmed by the situation, and had to take a moment to collect my thoughts on tackling the next step. I needed to gear up for letting go of items that I no longer wore, didn’t like, didn’t fit, or looked outdated. I have to admit, I felt embarrassed by the amount of things collected in the middle of my bedroom floor.
OK Sheryl, no time for judgement…..let’s get this party started! It seemed like hours had passed, and I had a growing pile on my bed. These were the items I thought I needed to try on or think about…..first wrong move….ha! By midnight I was making progress from the heap on the floor, and losing ground from the growing pile on my bed, but I needed to close my eyes. Hmmmm…..now what? The only thing I could think of was push the pile from the bed onto the floor, and worry about it in the morning.
Morning arrived and as I opened my eyes, the heap on the floor came into focus and I quickly shut them, opening them again…..”Drat…it wasn’t a dream.” OK, day two, let’s get back to work. All day, I sorted, using a bag for garbage and a bag for donating. Which ultimately turned into two bags for garbage and four bags for donating. Some items were easy to part with and others I struggled with, as I thanked the items for their service and joy; sending them off to a new home that would bring others happiness.
Day three the project was complete, and all remaining clothes and accessories were neatly hung on hangers or folded and put away. I felt a sense of accomplishment and joy. The book goes on to state the faster it gets done, the better. I all but panicked thinking they surely must have meant next week. However, a few pages later it noted it would take about six months to go through all the categories, one at a time…..phew. The next one I tackle will be books. You might ask, was the experience life-changing magic? The jury is still out….even though, on day four as I dressed for work, I thought I didn’t have much to wear…..haha. I might need to go shopping…..kidding!
Happy tidying!
xoxox…..Sheryl