Clearing
Out the Closets
“Little
changes and little choices add up to be revolutionary changes in your life.”
Sarah
Ban Breathnach
Several
of my friends are in the throes of “cleaning out.” The dreaded moment when you
look around you and everything in you says, “I can’t look at this mess anymore!
It’s got to go!” I’ll bet you know exactly how that feels. But right on the heels
of that thought is the feeling of being overwhelmed by the shere enormity of the task.
The thing I have found most helpful to getting the job done is to compartmentalize—set
a schedule, not one that’s going to grind you to a peg, but one that’s doable—and
then do one thing at a time.
Recently
several people gave me clothes—I suppose because they were cleaning out their
closets—and to make room for them, I had to clean out my own closets. I asked
myself with each item, “do I love this?” followed by, “does it still fit?” and “when
is the last time I wore it?” With retirement, my wardrobe changed, and then
with pandemic, it changed again. I don’t need blazers or evening jackets when I
spend ninety percent of my time in jeans and t-shirts. I hauled three big
shopping bags full of clothes to the closest thrift store.
I recall going to an
estate sale once in a large house in the “tiny kingdom.” Upstairs, off the
master bedroom suite, a closet, about eight or nine feet deep, ran the entire
length of the back of the house. Everything was built in. Stacks of drawers next
to hanging space next to shelves for shoes and purses. There were windows with
misty curtains allowing in natural light. I must have spent ten minutes in that
closet, fascinated not with the items in it but with the orderliness of it. Nothing
out of place, not one item on the floor, or cluttering the shelves. It was
amazingly clean. I don’t aspire to that, but I certainly do I admire it.
Lately,
I’ve been conversing with friends about this last quarter of life. A slew of
questions surfaced about it since my birthday earlier this month. How do I want
to spend these years? Is it important just to see things—places other than home—and
go immerse oneself in other cultures? Is it enough to read all the books on the
must-read list? If one has not already created a legacy for posterity, is it
too late? What would that legacy be? What do I want to invest my energy in now?
What do I want to be remembered for? Is it important to be remembered at all?
So many questions.
I hear my cousin’s voice
saying, “You think too much.” But together with cleaning out stuff in your environment,
it seems important to also clear out the mental debris. Decide what’s important
in your life, and how you can clear a space around it to assure time and energy
to engage. We spend so much time—at least I do—doing insignificant and
mind-dulling things. When we think we have all the time in the world, that’s fine.
But when time is short and energy is somewhat limited, maybe it's time to sit
with oneself and ask these big questions.
Sarah Ban Breathnach
suggests this: “When you first awaken or before drifting off to sleep, quiet
your mind, lift-up your heart, muse, mull over, make discoveries. Consider, conceive,
create, connect, concede that it all starts within.” While you’re clearing
out your closets, take the opportunity to also poke about inside your heart and
soul. Who knows what joyous discoveries lurk there.
In the Spirit,
Jane
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