That Feels Great

Over the past two weeks, I have been really pushing this "purge" of the house. I started in Joel's room and have worked my way through every single room. Every closet. Every cupboard. Every drawer. Every box. Every cabinet. Every shelf. Every nook. Every cranny. Every single space in this house has been purged. There is now a HUGE pile of stuff sitting in the garage. Some things are waiting to go to Value Village. Whatever they don't take will go to the dump.

There are six garbage bags full of clothes...going through our closets and drawers was long overdue. We threw out the underwear and socks we don't wear anymore (as if I'm going to put those in the donation pile). As we went through our closet, it was tough to get rid of some of the shirts. When I was in grade eleven and twelve, I went through an obsession with Eddie Bauer (the men's section, to be more precise). I loved loved loved the long sleeve, button up shirts. Picture a lesbian in the army and that's how I dressed...khaki coloured cargo pants with an army green long sleeve shirt. Or a long sleeved, button up collar-less denim shirt with my black baggy jeans that had holes in the knees. Add in a black suede vest, my Doc Martens and my nose ring and my look just screamed lesbian. While it's no wonder why I never had a boyfriend in high school, it is slightly surprising that I didn't at least have a girlfriend.

Anyways, I'm losing track of the point - that all of these shirts became Mike's shirts when we started dating (plus the EB sweaters, sweatshirts and long sleeved cotton shirts). Over time, Mike has quit wearing these shirts and it was time for them to go. But it was tough to say good-bye to these clothes that have been a part of my life for the past fourteen years. That's some high quality craftsmanship on Eddie Bauer's part :)

I have taken a liberal attitude in this purging...if we haven't used something in the past year, or if we had no plans to ever use it again, it was chucked in the donation pile. Books, movies, picture frames, jewellry, lotions, creams, perfumes, hair accessories, clothes, towels, bedding, decor, knick knacks, games, and kitchen accessories...all of it is gone gone gone.

Tonight, after cleaning out the office/baby's room, it just felt so wonderful to walk from room to room and not see crap/junk/stuff everywhere. The kitchen is spotless. The living room is neat and tidy. Our bedroom is no longer a dumping ground for everything else that doesn't have a place. Joel's room is tidy and his movies are categorized first in genre, then alphabetically. And our pantry - don't even get me started on my pantry. When I need a moment of serenity, I like to open the pantry doors and just stare at how wonderfully organized everything is - grouped into similar foods/uses with all the English labels facing out. Sigh. I know I'm crazy, but I love it.