Purge

Yesterday, I took a deep breath, and I did it.

I gathered up the clothes, shoes, slippers and purses I have been gleaning out of my closet and my daughter's dressor, and boxed them all up. I didn't look back, I didn't mourn, I didn't sentimentalize over special items. I just stuck 'em in the boxes and bags. When I was done, I had one giant box, 4 medium boxes, 2 small boxes, and 2 bags of stuff. Then I quickly stuffed them in the back of my car (had to put the seats down!) and set off for the clothing mission, 24 miles away.

When I got there, I unloaded them, stacked them in the back room of the mission, closed the back hatch of my car, and drove off, without looking back. I suffered one momentary twinge as I turned away, but I kept going.

There were things in there dating back to high school, special shirts from college, clothes I'd hoped to slim down and get back into. There were special little dresses I'd loved seeing my little girl wear.

They are all gone.

And we're...I'm better for it.

Purging hasn't been easy. Getting to this point has been a very long process. My hubby really is the pack rat of the family, but I too create emotional ties to things that are just, well, things. That don't serve a purpose for us anymore. That could serve a purpose for someone else.

I've been reading articles, books, blogs and other sources about living simply, about examining our spending habits and being better stewards, and greener consumers, for the sake of the world. Its a matter of faith, and health, and future, and sanity. There's no recycling where I live, and to get basic necessities, I have to drive 50 miles round trip. So there are a few challenges to this greener, simpler world view.

But there are places to start.

And it feels good to look in my closet, and know that everything in there is something that fits, and is something that I wear. Well, nearly everything. There is that one t-shirt I just wasn't quite ready to let go of...