New Year’s Tradition (3/365)

January 3, 2015 – Kirk and I were at a shop yesterday and the clerk asked if we had any New Year’s traditions…ummm..nope!

Today I realized that wasn’t exactly true.

I have one thing that I pretty much am compelled to do at the beginning of each year. I get twitchy if I don’t start the New Year with a full scale clean out of “stuff” we don’t need.

Truth be told I purge on a fairly regular basis. Having lived in under 800 square feet for the past 20+ years means that I am pretty hard-core about organization and have a one-in-one-out policy for many things (shoes aren’t included in that policy…for the record!)

I must get a certain “look” when I am feeling in the mood to get rid of excess, because Kirk usually takes one look at me and says something along the lines of “stay away from my side of the closet!”

Having moved only a year and a bit ago though, we’ve cleared out a LOT of things. Even though we moved into a larger space, storage is at a premium and we really don’t have a lot more than we used to. We just have more living space and the books are finally out in the open and all in one place 🙂

But to complete my New Year’s inner peace, I felt compelled to take every single item out of my closet and try everything on.

Does it still fit nicely?

Do I like the way it makes me feel?

Do I still like the feel of the fabric?

Do I still like the colour/cut/style?

Etc….

If an item fails in any category, out it goes. Better that it be in someone else’s closet than taking up space in mine if I don’t think I’ll wear it again.

(Note: Field gear would be the exception to this purge)

And at the same time, those items that are well loved but in need of a bit of TLC to repair or a minor alteration to improve get their ministrations.

A big bag of clothing, a few odds and ends, and a chair all went to the Salvation Army today.

I feel better already 🙂