My Closet Purge

My closet was stuffed with clothes. Problem was that every morning I woke up, peeked into it and decided that I didn’t have anything to wear that day. Morning after morning I would stare endlessly, looking for something new to appear or at the very least for inspiration to strike. It never did.

Instead I wasted valuable time each morning. Because I couldn’t decide what to wear, I usually ended up wearing the same outfits over and over again. These outfits were composed of items I liked, felt good in and were easily accessible.

I Had Enough!

One morning I decided that I had had enough. The time had come to clean out my closet. I had shirts in there that looked good 10+ years ago, but now were out of style and after 3 kids, no longer fit.

Yes, you read that right. There were some clothes in my closet that I had worn in seminary, which for me, was 15 years ago!!

Taking Action

I finally set aside some time and got things going. I started by putting the items I haven’t worn in years into garbage bags. This got rid of most of the clutter and I was able to focus on the items left in the closet.

Then I went through all of my items again. I started putting them in piles. One pile for casual clothing, one for Shabbos clothing and one for work clothing. While I did this I also purged. Old clothes, stained clothes that never came clean, clothes that didn’t fit anymore, and clothes that didn’t look nice on me all went into garbage bags. Some bags went straight out with the trash, while the rest went into the garage to be donated.

The Results

After this huge purge I felt like a weight was lifted off of me. Each time I walked by my closet I had to take a peek. I had that giddy feeling; I was so proud of my accomplishment and wanted to tell everyone I came in contact with.

Purging for me was a process and I couldn’t just get rid of everything all at once. I had to work my way up. Over the next few days I purged even more. Every time I opened my closet I found more things that I haven’t worn or didn’t make me feel good. I added those to the garbage bags in the garage to donate.

In all honesty, there are still some old items in my closet. These items include shirts that I think are flattering and I’ve had for a while, but are a bit worn out. It will only be a matter of time before I throw them out. There are also a few others I just wasn’t ready to part with that I will probably donate.

The Hardest Part

The hardest part about purging was the feeling of wastefulness. All the money and time I invested in these items were just being thrown/given away. I find comfort in the fact that they will go to someone who needs them and will appreciate them, but I really wish that I was the one to do that.

Stay tuned for how I updated my wardrobe post-purge.

Until next time,
Shaindy