March 25, 2010
-
Spring Cleaning
The other day I watched most of an episode of Hoarders for the first time, and I was appalled. The filth and unbelievable clutter in the homes of the people they featured depressed me and made me want to take a second shower of the day. That very night I watched an episode of Home Rules on HGTV about a family that was so disorganized that they needed a “life coach” to help them get their act together. The thing that got me the most in that show was they sent the husband to the laundromat with 600 pounds of dirty clothes. I don’t know if it was those two shows, or just my own frustration over not being able to squeeze another tee shirt in my closet, but I decided to clean out both of the closets I use.I spent about 8 hours over yesterday and today sorting my clothes, and that time included four trips to the Goodwill store to make donations. I didn’t weigh the clothes I gave away, but I’m sure they approached 600 pounds. They were all “clean,” but I discovered that clothes do get dirty if they merely hang in a closet for, say, ten or twelve years. One of the things I got rid of was a tuxudo that I hadn’t worn since 1992, and I unearthed a Polo shirt from the Nokeia Sugar Bowl game in 1993. I had forgotten I owned either of those garments. When I was teaching, I wore a necktie every day, and I got rid of about 100 of those things, too. That’s especially significant when you consider I haven’t been a classroom teacher for almost 13 years.
I feel very righteous, and Beth warned me not to get all OCD on her. Ironically, tonight I went to put on a sweater I hadn’t seen for several years before today, and it didn’t fit me the way I like sweaters to fit. So, on the very day I did my grand clean sweep, I started a new pile of clothes to get rid of.
ED
