Cleaning Out the Closets and Starting Fresh

Yesterday I had a bee in my bonnet. I'm not sure what it was. Maybe it was the fact that for the past two weeks with all the new gifts with no place to go, or the fact that I've been stuck in the house under rooms of clutter, or the instinctive part of me that knows it's the end of the year, and it's time to de-clutter. I'm not sure. But, I had a been in my bonnet, and I felt the urge to clean. More precisely, de-junk - starting with my closet.

I've always been a clothes hound. I love clothes. All of them. I was the girl who shook my presents at Christmas - hoping they were new clothes - not the kid who threw them to the back of the stack to open later. I vividly remember one Christmas we stayed with my grandparents in Roy. I was put downstairs in the unfinished bedroom. The walls were unfinished, and there was a beam that ran the perimeter of the room. I used it as a rod. After Christmas I hung all my new clothes neatly on hangers and strung them around the room, so I could take inventory of my new prized possessions.

Yeah, I've always loved clothes.

Now is no different.

A few years ago I had to take inventory for a different reason. As my weight had grown, so had my clothing sizes. Rather than a size 4, I had a closet full of 10s, 12s, and 14s. I'd been every size, so I had clothing to fit every size. My own little department store right in my very small closet.

As the weight dropped, I really had no need to hold on to my outdated clothes anymore. At first I had a difficult time parting with things. Not because I particularly loved any of it. That wasn't the case. Much of it is what I refer to now as homely. My taste when I was larger was much different than it is now - mostly because I saw myself through different eyes. I didn't like myself at the time in any of the fashionable "cute" and "younger" clothes. So, I resorted to the "older lady" clothes. Stuff that helped hide my "junk" that I didn't want others to see. Of course, they still could, but it made me feel better about myself at the time.

But I had a hard time getting rid of it. What if I grew bigger again and needed my old clothes? Then what? At the time I was self-employed as an Advertising Executive for several magazines, but it was on the downside. People were being let go. Magazines were being shut down. My commission continued to be cut back. I could see the writing on the wall. It was only a matter of time. I knew that by giving my clothes away I wouldn't have the money right away to replace them if I needed to.

But there was this nagging part of me telling me to "let go". "You'll never need those clothes again." "By holding on to them, you are only holding on to an excuse to gain weight again." "You're allowing yourself the opportunity to be the very person you've worked so hard to leave behind." It was so true. I was secretly scared. The "what ifs" had me terrified. But, I knew I didn't want to be that person again. I was losing weight, and I felt great. I didn't want to have an excuse to fail. A permission slip to give up.

So, I bagged it up. All of it. Shirts, sweaters, dresses, skirts, pants, shorts, tees, you name it. I even packaged up some of my shoes. When I was heavier, my shoe size was bigger. They needed to go too.

And you know what?

It felt refreshing. It was like a burden was lifted. I was freed. I was letting go of the old me. I had already done so physically but I still had all the material possessions that were tied to the old me. By packing it all up, cleaning out my closet, and emptying my drawers, I was saying "goodbye" and "good riddens."

It was the best thing I did.

My closet was fairly bare at first. That was sad. A girl who was so used to cramming so much in to such a tight space now had more than ample room to put everything.

But slowly, over the months of that first year I filled it back up.

No longer having any desire to shop in the "older lady" department, I was now filling it up with my new favorites...Buckle, Gap, Big Star, tight, flattering, skinny, all of the styles I'd only dreamed of but never imagined on my "growing older" body.

...and this time?

They were sizes 2 and 4.

If I could encourage anyone to make one change it would be to empty out all the old baggage of the person you no longer want to be. Clothing, habits, snacks, hang-ups, whatever they might be. Make amends and move on. This is the time. Start new. Start fresh. Know now the person you want to become. Visualize your future self. It's a new year, and it's a perfect time to get back on track.

And there's no better way than starting with your closet and cleaning out the baggage.

Happy New Year!!

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Jenny Grothe

Jen-Fit, Inc.

www.jen-fit.com