Purging

No, not the "binge and purge" type of purging! I'm referring to purging as it pertains to belongings; clothing, books, etc.

Two and a half years ago, while preparing to move from city to country (I consider living in Steinbach living in the country. Long story.), I went through every item in my townhouse, one by one. I tossed dumpsters of stuff and drove to the donation door at the thrift shop at least a dozen times. We'd been living there for eleven years, so there was a lot of stuff to wade through.

It was a sense of relief each time I got rid of something. It could be anything, an old t-shirt, old letters, or anything. To part with old belongings, I was hanging onto the past and was unable to embrace the future.

Now, I can understand that I purged just prior to a move. After all, isn't that the best time to do it? So then why am I on a purging rampage the past few days? I'm parting with items that I so diligently packed up to move here. Mostly I'm posting them on Kijiji, but I haven't stopped there.

My closet got a good purge this afternoon while Kevy napped. What did I get rid of? Seven hoodies, my favorite article of clothing, are now awaiting a buyer on Kijiji. Six t-shirts and tank-tops are nicely folded and will be crocheted into rugs. A javex-ruined pair of pants will also become part of a rug, as will my beloved Adidas track pants. I thought my world would end when I put them in the back of my closet six months ago. But, when tearing through the closet today, I realized I had forgotten all about them!

Once the stained or torn items were weeded out, I went through the rest and tried on every single article of clothing. Every article. Shirts that were too short will always be too short regardless of my weight. Shirts and pants that fit but were a bit snug are being put away in a box for another six months. If I haven't lost enough weight to wear them comfortably by then, they will also become part of my rugs.

It's amazing what a sense of lightness and relief I feel when there is less "stuff" around me. Clutter in my space makes it difficult for me to think. Far from being cluttered, my home is still a lot fuller than after moving in.

I'll do a bit more tomorrow,