I am not a hoarder by any means, in fact I am the exact opposite of a hoarder. I tend to throw things out too quickly. My husband has been known to holler at me once or twice because he left something out on the kitchen counter only to find it missing a few days later when he went back to claim it. Oops. What can I say? I absolutely hate clutter. If I had my way, my house would look like one on the pages of Better Homes & Gardens magazine, but with three boys running around I have come to face reality….that will never happen. So no, I am not a hoarder. Here’s where it gets weird though….walk into my closet. Seriously, it’s crazy full of clothes in there, like, overflowing with clothes. Or at least it was until last Friday. I owned so many t-shirts and blouses and tank tops and jeans…..some even still had price tags on them (and I didn’t just buy them). I decided it was time to purge. When was I ever going to be able to wear ALL those clothes. I normally have a few t-shirts and tops and pants that I cycle through each week but did I really need an extra 50 tops? NO!!! Here’s what I did, I went into the kitchen, grabbed a handful of trash bags and got to work. 

Step 1: I took EVERYTHING out of my closet. Shoes, purses, clothes, belts…..everything and laid it on my bed. (What a mess that was).

Step 2: I made 3 piles. Pile 1 was clothes I still wanted for sure, pile 2 was clothes I might want but wasn’t sure and pile 3 was clothes I definitely didn’t want (or need).

Step 3: I went back through piles 1 & 2 just to be sure of my decision.

Step 4: I immediately took my pile 2, my maybe’s, down to the basement so they were out of sight and I wasn’t tempted to move any into my yes pile.

Step 5: I hung up and organized all my pile 1, my yes pile. (Wow! I could actually see my closet floor).

Step 6: I put all of my pile 3, the clothes I no longer wanted, into the trash bags.

Step 7: I headed to a nearby store that buys clothes for a small price (I brought in 11 trash bags)!!!!!!!

I ended up making $315 on all my throw away clothes! What?! (small happy dance).

I had become so attached to my clothes over the years and I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel but you know what? I instantly felt lighter. I had literally gotten rid of half, if not more, of my wardrobe, and It felt great! 

Here’s my point….sometimes when we let things go that are of no use to us, we feel better. We make space for more important things. In my case, time. Having a more simplified wardrobe makes it easier for me to get dressed in the morning. Less clothes means less choices. It also means contentment. I’m on a journey to start being happy with what I do have and stop needing more. By cleaning out my closet, which was the one area of my life that was cluttered, I cleaned out my life. I simplified. I am not a hoarder but I was a shopper. Clothes gave me confidence. They determined how I felt. So I said goodbye. Goodbye to some THING giving my life meaning. I’m ready to find meaning in more……my kids, my husband, my writing, my love of yoga & books, my church. Life is so much happier this way, just simply happier <3. And I’m ready for that kind of life!