When I told my mom that I put the 50th bag of clothes to donate in my car, she asked me if it was a little soon to be nesting. I’ve always enjoyed cleaning and organizing, but lately this has been taken to the extreme. Room by room, cabinet by cabinet, I would go through everything and just get rid of it if it didn’t bring me joy. I have a tiny bedroom closet, so my off-season clothes are in plastic bins in the basement, all labeled, and it’s a whole process to change out my closets season after season. Last fall, I was putting away summer with summer clothes that I didn’t even get a chance to take out of storage or even wear. Also, as hard as it is to write, my body is not the same as it was, and after years of dieting, I have accepted that this is it. For so long, I held onto clothes that fit me for years, and then just one day…. they didn’t. I’m proud that I’ve lost weight, but I also had to accept that I will never have that body in my twenties again. So I opened all of the bins and held up clothes that haven’t been worn in a long time and threw them into a bag to donate. Each season, I do a closet swap, I do the same thing, and PURGE. There are more than 10 empty plastic bins that once held clothes in my basement. In the beginning, it was hard to let go of clothes because they held a memory or the “what if they fit again”. But after a few months of purging, I’ve been actually enjoying filling up bags of things to donate. Shoes, coats, bags, clothes, home decor…. I got rid of A LOT.
I used to love going to HomeGoods, walking around, and buying a few things because they brought me joy. Now, when I walk around, I get overwhelmed with how much is on the shelves. It’s now turned into I only go there when I need to buy a specific thing, and that’s it. That rush of excitement of shopping isn’t there anymore. Now I would rather have a clean house and not have clutter in storage.
I went from watching people on the internet share their hauls and latest finds to people cleaning their houses on TikTok. If a post starts with “This shirt is a must-have” I quickly keep swiping because now I get more of a rush getting rid of things than buying things.
Also need to note that since I got rid of sooo much stuff, cleaning the house on Sundays got a lot easier. Fewer clothes in my closet means more room to hang, and laundry days are a lot easier.
My office/guest room went through an audit and doesn’t have as much clutter or items stored in there anymore. That room was rarely used so it turned into the place where things go that don’t have a place. Now it’s ready to be easily cleared out to be turned into a nursery if that day ever comes. Our kitchen has every gadget you could ever need, but as a couple, we really do cook a lot. Now I’m more intentional about when I food shop, only buying one of something and using up what we have before I buy more. I think growing up with a big pantry and a Costco membership, I got so used to “backstock,” but I found myself buying more ketchup before I checked the backstock pantry in the basement.
These days, I just want less. Less to clean, less in storage, less stuff. However, my book collection is extensive since I started to read a lot in the last two years. But now there is room for my books. I do have a lot of water bottles, but my new thing is to have a filled water bottle in every room, so I always have one in arm’s reach. I did, however, get rid of a bunch of water bottles I got for free or that I never use anymore. It’s called balance! I got rid of all of my jeans and pants and bought a ton of new ones that actually fit. Before, I would have a pile of jeans that hadn’t fit in years, and I would get so discouraged when I would try to put them on or see them sitting on a shelf.
And on that note, I’m going to go to the basement and find some more items that I’m ready to part with.
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