Clean sweep

Hello from Tallahassee. I'm finally moved in, settled in, know my schedule, and know my roommates schedules so that I can plan accordingly. Sorry for the long hiatus, things got rocky and then I left Pensacola, so I've been in the midst of a flurry of changes, cardboard boxes, and waiting in line for textbooks.

Back to what you want to hear about: clothes. Packing for college came with an additional challenge when my sister announced that she wanted to move into my bedroom. Fine by me, I have no plans to move home in the foreseeable future, but this did present a problem: my entire room needed to be packed up and moved out of her way.  Thankfully my sister, who values literature far less than I, agreed that my bookshelves could remain the way they are. However, i was to surrender all my dresser space (I have two dressers, about 11 drawers) and half the closet. No problem, you say?
Wrong.
I own a lot of clothes, alright?
I am also attached to my clothes for stupid reasons. For example:
"But I wore this skirt when we went to the mountains, remember? I had a blue slushie and it was delicious!"
or
"No, I haven't worn that tank top since I was 12. But it matches my purple heels perfectly. I might need it one day!"
etc. etc. etc.
So I immediately decided I would have to approach this with as little emotion as possible. I waited until about one in the morning. I am easily distracted by my family's daily activities, whatever is on Animal Planet, and who is winning in my brother's Words With Friends tournament, so I do my best cleaning in the dead of night, like a vampire. This practice involves obscene amounts of coffee consumption starting at about 6pm, full seasons of How I Met Your Mother and The Big Bang Theory [I used to watch Sex and The City when I cleaned but it made it even more difficult to throw out any clothes due to my constant philosophy of "What Would Carrie Do"], and a locked door. I then turned to my drawers with as little emotion as possible. I pretended I was a robot. "Clothes?" I scoffed. "Who needs 'em?"
And with that I began to sort through the piles of old denim, Girl Scout T-Shirts, and various accessories from the early 21st century that I had clung to for dear life. It was was surprising ease that I relinquished my ties to ponchos and gaucho pants. I laughed at the sequin purse as I tossed it into the black trash bag of "things for charity." (I would never throw away clothes unless they are stained or ripped. Just because I don't wear them doesn't mean that plenty of other people won't be grateful to get them. I'm a huge fan of Goodwill and Waterfront Rescue Mission.) Eventually my drawers were all empty. I had one small box of things I was keeping...and 8 economy size garbage bags of things I was giving away! How did I ever acquire so much stuff?
Now my closet at college is better than ever. I have room for the things I love, and room to add more stuff as I get settled in.
I highly recommend a sweep of your closet, even if you're not just starting a new chapter in your life. It's like therapy: you get rid of all the emotional baggage you've been stuffing away for years, and then you have room for new experiences, or, in the case of my closet, new black boots and denim vests!
xoxo Kat