Mission Organization: Closet Rescue – Phase 1 {The Purge}

Today I’m sharing phase 1 of Mission Organization: Closet Rescue.  The Purge!

WHAT IS A PURGE?

My Mom (Hey Mama!)  read the introduction post in this series and asked “What is a purge?”  That made me realize it wasn’t a term that everyone was familiar with.  Here’s how Dictionary.com defines “purge.”

Purge – to rid of whatever is impure or undesirable; cleanse; purify OR to rid, clear, or free (usually followed by of or from):

Basically, we are getting rid of the things in our closet which we aren’t using anymore.  Fancy, huh?

How I Purge

Purging is tough y’all.  It comes with a lot of guilt.  Guilt about getting rid of something you spent $X amount of money on…or about being wasteful…Guilt about not being able to fit into something anymore…

It also comes with a lot of fear.  Fear that you’ll need that sweater or suitcase or jacket again after it’s gone…fear that you won’t be able to find another one like it…or fear that the memory attached to the item will go with it.  I’m really guilty of that last one.  I become sentimentally attached to everything!  (The sweater I wore when we got engaged or the shoes that I bought in Las Vegas or the dress that I wore to a memorable party.)  If you remind yourself that it’s just “stuff” and doesn’t change your value/size/memory/self-worth…it’s a lot easier to let go of.

Take a look at the “before” picture of my closet.

Well, that was embarrassing.  I’m glad we got that out of the way.

Here are the questions I ask myself when I’m purging…

1. Has anyone ever asked me if I was pregnant when I was wearing this and the answer was no, followed by the stink eye?  Happened more than I would like would like to admit.
2. Is it uncomfortable?  Looking at you, shoes from Las Vegas.
3. Does this fit? This was the deal breaker on more items than I’d care to admit.
4. Have I worn/used this recently? Y’all.  Some of the clothes in my closet are 6 sizes too small and from before I got married…almost 12 years and 3 babies ago.  12 years!?!?
5. Do I still like this?
6. Does this belong somewhere else?  I’m lucky to have a large closet.  But it had become a dumping ground for everything in our house that didn’t have a ‘spot.’  Notice the Bouncy Seat that the baby hasn’t used in 9 months.

My mantra throughout the Purge was “Let it bless someone else.”

Although the things that I purged no longer worked for me, they could be useful to someone else.  But they will never help anyone sitting in my closet, taking up space and gathering dust.  So I just kept saying, “Let it bless someone else” to overcome the guilt, fear and sentimental attachments that came with the process.

I shared some of the clothes with a friend.  Some went to a second-hand store whose proceeds benefit a non-profit, more went to a homeless shelter in my community and a few pieces went to the Drama Department at my girls’ school.  So hopefully all those clothes will be put to good use and helping other people soon!

The bad thing about purging is that it has to get worse before it can get better.  I text Beth and Tori mid-purge and told them I must be doing it wrong.  It had gone from unpleasant, but tolerable to catastrophic.

And I destroyed my bathroom in the process…

I did find not one, not two, but three wigs though!

I finally made it through everything and here is my closet after the Purge.  I can move the clothes on the rod now and actually see what I have!

GOALS

So now that I’ve purged the closet, here are my goals for the space…

1. Create a “spot” or home for everything.
2. Add a cute curtain.
3. Make better use of the vertical space next to the window.
4. Pretty it up a little by covering the diaper boxes.
5. Add labels to the shelves/boxes to help us remember where everything belongs.
6. Figure out a different spot for Mr. Right’s shoes.  I removed the shoe divider in his corner because most of his shoes were too big to fit into the holes and it wasn’t a good use of the space.

I’m glad that is behind me!

So have you started your purge?  Leave a comment with a link to the pictures or email them to me or Beth or Tori. We will be featuring them on Wednesday!