Yesterday (and to be continued today) I began the gruesome (yet also quite gratifying) project of sorting through the endless boxes and bags of miscellaneous stuff that has been jammed into our closets over the last few years. I found it to be a very satisfying experience to shred through accumulated junk mail and credit cards offers (7 bags worth of shreds!) and finally throw out the charges for several cell phones that have long since gone extinct...
1) Three pink scarves I had to buy 2 years ago because they were on clearance for only 3 dollars each! I did give away 2 of the original 5 I purchased, but as Ryan points out every time they spill out of the closet, they are really collecting dust and will most likely never be re-gifted.
2) The set of glasses that Ryan bought (after we got married and got a million sets of beautiful glasses) for about $5 at Wegman's. I thought I could give it to a cousin for a shower gift, but I ended up going in on a group gift and really, the box is starting to tear and fall apart after being shoved in different closets over the last 2 years. I think we are seeing a trend here, we can't say no to a deal even if it is the most impractical purchase... which brings me to some other items I am purging (you will see this is a familial problem.)
3) A vacuum sealer. Ryan's parents gave this to us for an early Christmas gift a few months ago. No doubt his dad got it on super close-out from one of the daily deal emails he gets! They are so well-intentioned and even went so far as to get us an extra set of refill bags! But unlike Ryan's awesome sister who raises and recently slaughtered her first set of meat chickens, I don't tend to have excessive amounts of meat around to deep freeze! And if we do buy meat in bulk, we get it at Wegman's who happens to vacuum seal it for you! Now this brings up a deeper level of issues for Ryan... to give something away that his parents gave us or him as a gift. (we had quite an entertaining email exchange yesterday as I asked his permission to seek a new home for some of the items I unearthed in our closets!) He was recently able to part with some shirts he'd received from them about 4 or 5 years ago that he'd never worn, because he just 'feels bad' like it's being disrespectful or rude to thoughtlessly toss something you were given as a gift. And I totally get that, and have some items in my closet that haven't seen the light of day in a few years but have emotional meaning and attachment. But, the emotional rush that comes with having closets that don't burst forth when you open the door is a little more gratifying than the emotions I associated with the never-used items. Sorry if I seem ungrateful- but instead will pass along the vacuum sealer and other similar items to people who will actually use them. So it's almost like I'm trying to respect and honor the gift by making sure it's put to good use :) I did, on the other hand, decide to keep the cupcake holder I got for Christmas last year. Though I have only used it once, I do think it will come in handy somewhere down the road when I have kids and they want to bring cupcakes to school. I have memories of my mom using the boxes you get from a department store when buying clothing and the cupcakes always ended up a little lack-luster by the time I made it to school. Even though it might not be used for awhile, I think it is worth holding on to!
4) Hot pink snuggie... Still in the box. I was given this as a gag from a student a few years ago and got a great laugh out of it. And I thought, I'll hold on to this, and give it as a gag gift to someone else. Two years later, I found it in the back of the closet. Snuggies aren't even 'in' anymore, are they?
Oh, wait... apparently there is a new line of 'designer' snuggies. Anyone interested in a pink one? Otherwise it's going to salvy's!
5) Perhaps the most embarrassing- I finally emptied out the bag of odds and ends stuff that I took when I cleaned out my classroom LAST year. Yep, a bag full of some articles, a couple of books, a can of soup (which actually was still 'good') some students' graded final papers, a ridiculous amount of pens and paperclips, etc. I'm getting a leg up and have already cleaned out the bag from this year to prevent this hoarding tendency to continue!
It does feel good to be able to open a closet and have the only things on the floor be a vacuum and a broom, and not an insurmountable pile of stuff. The feeling of accomplishment is great, and it also helps to know that all the 'stuff' that is just collecting dust in my house might actually be useful to other people (already got takers on the vacuum sealer and wine chiller, sorry folks). I'm not at the level of being featured in a Real Simple spread on organization... but hey, I've made a few steps in the right direction!
“Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity! I say, let your affairs be as two or three, and not a hundred or a thousand instead of a million count half a dozen, and keep your accounts on your thumb-nail.” -Henry David Thoreau
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