Chuck: Janet, where are the two-pound weights?
Me: In the crock under the ottoman.
Chuck: Why are they there?
Me: It’s part of my purging and organizing agenda for the new year.
Chuck: Ok.
. . .
Chuck: Where are the insulated glasses?
Me: On the other side of the cabinet.
Chuck: Ok.
Me: Don’t you appreciate how I’ve been organizing and purging?
Chuck: I will … eventually, as soon as I figure out where my things are that you’ve organized.
* * *
It all started the day after New Year’s. While Chuck ran errands, I got in the mood to take down the Christmas décor and start cleaning and organizing the closets, cabinets, and drawers. I was a woman on a mission.
Do we really need that many mugs? I admit I still have too many, but I’m only keeping my favorites.
Dish towel drawer – purged.
Baking dish drawer – reorganized.
Outdated spices – tossed.
Bedroom chest of drawers. Oh, my goodness, how many pairs of socks were in there?
And the medicine cabinet? Mercy Sakes. No longer take. No longer needed. No longer (probably) effective. I must have had a cough before 2020 because that’s when the cough medicine expired. Toss! Toss! Toss!
I don’t know why I’ve found myself so energetic and determined, but it feels good. In fact, I found it all to be … Delightful! Remember, my word of the year is Delight.
There’s a lot to be said for having less clutter and “stuff.”
As I purged and decluttered, I began to ponder how I had done the same thing last year … mentally. I let go of allowing others’ opinions to fill my mind. I let go of constantly trying to please people and make them like me. I finally figured out that saying “No” did not make me a bad person.
I’m determined to organize and purge, but I’m not stressing about how long it will take. One drawer. One closet. One cabinet. Sometimes it’s only one a day. I will get it all done … eventually.
I keep walking into my closet and smiling. Fewer choices create mental freedom.
But here’s another thing. Stuff in your closets, drawers, and cabinets can weigh you down mentally, but so can stuff you carry that you weren’t meant to carry. The opinions of others. The regrets of past decisions. The worries of tomorrow. If only. I should have. I need to. I wish I hadn’t. I really need to. Many of us could finish those sentences and find ourselves carrying the weight of those thoughts. Please stop it.
Let go of the weight of those thoughts. You can’t fix everything. You can’t change the past. You can’t be anyone’s savior. You can’t be everything to everyone. How do I know this? I’ve tried. Be gentle with yourself. And guess what? You can even rest without guilt. A mental purge is a beautiful thing.
What’s in your closet that you are hanging onto … just in case?
Photo provided by Janet Hart Leonard
Do you open a drawer and think, “I really need to organize this”? Procrastination is not your friend.
Is your medicine cabinet making you sick? Ok, maybe that’s an exaggeration, but does it stress you out looking at all those pill bottles you haven’t needed in years?
Are you allowing someone to pour guilt over you to get you to do something you know you don’t want (or need) to be doing?
Are the opinions of others holding you hostage?
There is something energizing about purging, organizing, and letting go of things, both mentally and physically.
So, Chuck came home from choir practice and saw me sitting on the living room floor in my pajamas, organizing the bags with handles – gift bags, carryout bags, you know, the bags.
“Janet, do you need all those bags?” I assured him that eventually I would need them. “You know, Janet, when my mother passed, we found stacks of new paper towels she was collecting. I don’t think Emily and Angie will find the bags of any value.”
Chuck may not appreciate all my organizing, but he does like the look of the closet, cabinets, and drawers. And each day, he gets to go on a treasure hunt to find his stuff, which I organized. Sometimes organizing and appreciating it are slow processes.
Janet Hart Leonard can be contacted at janethartleonard@gmail.com or followed on Facebook or Instagram (@janethartleonard). She is the recipient of the Reporter’s Spring 2025 Ink-Stained Wretch award. Visit janethartleonard.com.