I recently picked up the book The Happiness Project (thanks to Maureen for the great suggestion) and became inspired to face the habit of clutter in my life . Time to begin the great PURGE!
Whew!
As daunting as the task may be I decided to start right at the heart of my clutter addiction... my closet!
Time to bid farewell to clothes that no longer fit, clothes past their prime, clothes I have nothing to wear with, clothes I hang onto for someday and clothes that are merely there for sentimental reasons.
Time to be ruthless!
Time to be ruthless!
Before (Yikes!)
This big of a purge had the potential to have me second guessing my ability to let go of clothes I still liked... so I decided to pour myself a glass of wine, call my soul sister out west for a chat and go for it. It worked! While talking I was distracted enough that each piece I picked up it was just a gut feeling I had to follow... yay or nay? Soon I had full garbage bags, a lighter feeling and a cleansed closet!
After (*sigh* of relief)
Then I decided to invite all my wonderful and wild girlfriends for one of our annual clothing swaps. Usually once per season, one of the women in our community hosts a clothing swap. A gathering where we all bring bags of our no longer needed clothes ~ we dump them in a huge pile in the center of the room and we DIVE IN!
It is always a blast ~ full of laughter, throwing off clothes to try on new ones, stories of the journeys our clothes being shared have taken, a potluck feast and most of all a real sense of community. The women leave blessed with new pieces for their wardrobe, a full heart and a reminder of the womanly love that surrounds them.
Swaps are a great way to recycle your clothes, freshen up your wardrobe or just plain have an excuse to have a gathering with your girlfriends!
Here's to less is really more and the sweet sisterhood of swapping.
~ Shanti ~
love it! what a fun way to declutter :)
ReplyDeleteI love the clothing swap idea! I'm going to set one of those up with my friends soon!!
ReplyDeleteThat is really funny. I just finished The Happiness Project two nights ago and have also been inspired to de-clutter. I took 5 huge garbage bags full of clothing to the local charity shop and just spent the entire weekend going through every room in our house - from top to bottom. I have another huge pile of items to donate. It feels wonderful!
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of a clothing swap and have been involved in them before. Great job!
Tricia :)
I so love passing on clothes and other things no longer fitting or needed. In our homeschool group people randomly bring what ever they have to pass along, I so enjoy seeing a shirt that was a hand me down used by my daughter then my son then one of the children in the group and then another...a lovely way to lighten our foot print on this our lovely earth!
ReplyDeletewarmly,
Christina
good on ya girl!!
ReplyDeleteWhat fun pictures!! Love the before and after and everyone having fun at the swap.
ReplyDeleteWe just moved to a much smaller house, and spent weeks de-cluttering. WEEKS! We sold, gave, and recycled an amazing amount of stuff.
We feel much lighter now. :)
Doesn't de-cluttering feel wonderful!
ReplyDeleteI've been slowly de-cluttering each of our rooms. I'm finding it frustrating. Why did I ever buy all this stuff? I've worked out a system: A bag for things I think a friend or family member may like, a bag for things to sell, a bag for things to donate to charity, and a bag of stuff to give away at a freecycle garage sale we are planning.
Your swap party looks like fun.
what a fantastic idea and a great way to pass on clothes that no longer fit! well done you for being so ruthless. i have been trying to take this aproach recently with my whole house lol!!
ReplyDeletePipx
Love this!!!!
ReplyDeleteOh boy. I always find the need to declutter such a daunting task, but this actually a really clever, fun and not to mention inspiring way to declutter. Something i might actually try i myself. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDelete