Cleaning out my closet

Officially, our master bedroom will probably be the last room I begin deep cleaning.  I've heard that it's always like that: people very often will decorate and clean the areas of their homes that guests are likely to see and leave the master bedroom bare or dirty.  That certainly applies to us.  If I have a spare moment or extra money, I'm much more likely to devote it to "the rest of the house" than my own room.

But I have had a tub of pre-pregnancy clothes sitting in a large Rubbermaid tub next to my desk since the week after Baby Boy was born.  Every now and then I'd pull out a shirt or pair of pants and try them on, but mostly I hadn't had the heart or the time to empty the entire thing and address each individual piece.  Besides, my closet was already crammed full of clothes that I was currently wearing, or had been wearing and were now too big, or wore once a long time ago and hope to fit into again.  It was time for a change.

While all three kids slept, I started pulling items out of the closet.  The rule was that if it had a spot, stain, or hole that couldn't be easily fixed, it was removed.  If I hadn't worn it in the last two months, it was removed.  If it was too big, it was removed, and if it was too small, and I really wanted to keep it, I put it on a shelf to re-examine in June.  If it was completely unstylish, it was removed, and if I couldn't find anything to wear with it, it was removed.  I also pulled out items that I can't imagine why I still had...for example, a pair of ski bibs that I last wore in 2006.  I tried on shoes, shirts, dresses, skirts, and pants, and I purged my scarves (of the winter variety; I had far too many for this southern climate!).  In the end, I had five trash bags full of items to donate.  One bag of clothes went to a bigger friend, one to a smaller friend; the shoes were donated to Soles for Souls, and the remainder went to the Goodwill.

I'm left with a logical, clean, and pleasant closet.  Rather than bursting at the seams with items that I never wear (which hid the items that I DID), it's organized and airy.  I can find anything, and every item inside is actually used and usable.

I've never really been one that had problems with organization.  I have a detailed home and computer filing system; I plan our menu every week; I attempt to schedule my chores.  But My Love says that the crux of my organizational "obsession" (his word, not mine) is my closet:  it is color-coordinated (ROYGBIV fashion) and also organized by item type and season. Organization gives me a great deal of pleasure and makes me feel in control, but I want it all:  organization AND cleanliness.  In this particular case, taking a break from my cleaning sweep to de-clutter seemed like the best choice for me, especially since I mentioned that I was a bit dissatisfied with the results of my last day's work.  A neat closet was the visual motivation I needed to keep going with another week's work.