If you can let go

If the clothes make the man, what do they do for the woman?

I'm not much of a hoarder. My momma is worried about passing certain family things to me because I will clean out every now and then and get rid of things that she might consider too sentimental to lose.

However, when it comes to clothes, I'm a terrible hoarder.

I have skirts and blouses from 10 years ago. Classic pieces that were budget breakers at the time. I have jeans in size 10 to 16. I have dresses that haven't been worn in 8 years. I have high heels that have never ever been worn but were a good sale on a 9 1/2 AAAA, so I bought them to have when I needed them.

I keep these things, stuffing my closet, afraid to get rid of any of it. You never know when I might need it again.

This past week, I purged. Three garbage bags full of clothes were taken to Goodwill. Not only don't I need them, it was just way time to clean out and start fresh.

I don't work in an office anymore. I don't have to give grant presentations. I don't have to be interviewed on TV. I don't have to convince people to part with their money for a good cause. And I am quite sure I will never be back in the White House again, accepting an award from the First Lady (although it was quite cool at the time).

I don't need clothes for any of that, and I don't need to keep the ones I had just because they cost me a lot of money at the time.

My first marriage was all about how I needed to hold onto what I had because I didn't know if I would be able to replace it.

And that is the point. Without carrying on and beating around the literary bush, that is the point.

It was freeing, taking those clothes to Goodwill, knowing that I don't have to hold onto to them. Knowing that sometimes, when you let go of the only thing you think you have, it just makes room for something better.


P.S. I got rid of the size 16 jeans and kept the 10's. I was feeling rather positive that day. We'll see if I regret that decision later!