Clothes, Purging, Moving

I have more clothes than any one person reasonably needs. This is what today's packing adventure has demonstrated to me in no uncertain terms. I've amassed two huge hefty bags that will be donated, and I suspect that before the night is through I'll fill 1-2 more. Lest you think that I never get rid of anything, I donated a bunch of clothes last year. One of the things about not moving for 7 years, though, is that I've kept a lot of clothes for a lot longer than I should have done.

But you know what? I'm still keeping clothes I wear only infrequently. Example: I own five suits. I only wear these suits at MLA, and then, only if I'm presenting or if I'm on the market. It seems stupid to get rid of them because suits are expensive and the ones that I have are pretty boring and basic and have yet to go out of style. And they do all fit (well, ish. two are slightly smaller, three are slightly bigger, so depending on my weight at any given MLA, I always have two suits that fit that are appropriate for fall/winter/spring weather). But I don't wear them with any sort of regularity. I similarly have like 5 or 6 dresses that I only break out for special occasions, some of which don't actually fit, but I can't seem to bring myself to get rid of the ones that don't fit, even. And then there are the Clothes of Boyfriends Past, a collection that I started in the last century, and that I've had squirreled away in my closet for I'm not sure what reason. (I am tossing all of these this go-around... well, or mostly all. I don't know how I could bring myself to get rid of this one tie-dyed t-shirt or this other really warm sweatshirt....) And then I have this long-sleeved sort-of-sweatshirty thing that I got for my 15th birthday with which I can't bear to part.....

But I am making some headway in getting rid of a lot. Even though it hurts my feelings to let some of these things go. Like, for example, I've already put in the "donate" pile 4 pairs of jeans. I never get rid of jeans. I mean, they're jeans. But I keep buying more, and I stop wearing certain pairs when I do, so seriously, I should get rid of them, right? I think I'm going to limit myself to keeping 5 pairs total. If I do that, then I will need to purge like 8 more pairs of jeans, some of which date back to the early '90s and that I haven't worn since the late '90s. I'm also doing a major t-shirt purge. Because you know what? I have all of these t-shirts (some of them "nice" ones to wear with skirts or slacks, and others "scummy" ones that are reserved for working out or sleeping or lounging around the house). And you know, of those nice ones, there are ones I've not worn in years because when I bought them shirts were cut shorter, and now they look totally out of style and weird, even though they're in just fine condition. Same thing goes for a number of my ribbed turtlenecks. I don't wear them because they look stupid, but they're "still good" so I've hung on to them for long past their fashion expiration date.

I really wish that Stacy and Clinton would come to my house tonight and just throw everything in a big trash can and then give me $5K to spend on a whole new wardrobe. Because seriously? That would at least make the purging more fun.

And you know, I could take this moment to vow that I will never allow myself to get into this predicament again. But I won't. Because I think such a vow would set me up to feel like a big fat failure. Two ginormous walk-in-closets in my new house make it almost a certainty that I will, again, be in this position.

However. If I can just get rid of a ton before moving, I should have at least another 7 years before I'm in this predicament again, and who's to say that I might not improve? I mean, I'm getting rid of most of the Clothes of Boyfriends Past! That has to be a sign of a turning point! I mean, I've got t-shirts that I've hung on to for nearly 20 years! And I'm finally ready to be done with them! This is a good sign!

So. Tonight I shall finish with the bedroom. This is my goal. And then, tomorrow, I'll take some more stuff over to the house (more shoes, some more laundry baskets filled with blankets and towels and things, some closet organizer things, some things that might easily be broken by movers, etc. - and by the way, I love my tiny little hatch-back car with all of its spacious seat-folded-down goodness!) and then I will get everything out of the second bedroom that will be moved (book-shelves, crates of old journals, all of my research files, etc.) and transfer in all of the things that will be donated and then pack up all but the most essential things in the bathroom. That will then leave Monday for any remaining items in the living and dining room, and to begin on the kitchen, if possible. Then Tuesday I will finish the kitchen. (Sometime between Monday and Tuesday I will need to be over at the house so that the guy can come clean/stretch the carpet upstairs, so that is where things will depend in terms of when I embark on the kitchen in earnest and when I complete it). Assuming that all of that goes according to plan, Wednesday will be a "free" day where I can finish up packing odds and ends, finish cleaning stuff around the new place, etc. And then, Thursday morning I can continue doing odds and ends sorts of things, and then Thursday afternoon I move!!!!!!

While I am not at all excited about packing, I am very, very excited to be at the point at which I will have already moved into my house.