Yes, I used garbage bags. No, I did not put them in a landfill. (Photo by Adrian Miles, Flickr)
By Amy L. Hatch
Some things just can’t be thrown or given away.
That truth hit me this week when I cleaned out my closet and came across the shoes I wore on my wedding day.
They’re not expensive shoes by any means — I wore a pair of satin 1.5-inch heels, dyed a robin’s egg blue. It rained on our wedding day, and by rain I really mean “monsoon,” and my footwear took a beating. But when I found them stuffed in the back of my closet, I just couldn’t throw them out.
I put them in the Goodwill bag a handful of times, but I kept taking them out again. To compensate I was ruthless with my handbags, even getting rid of the fancy-pants diaper bag I got at my daughter’s baby shower.
I also found several items of clothing belonging to my late father, sweaters I swiped just after he passed away in 2004. Those I kept, too, because as anxious as I am to create a spare living space, I knew that I’d regret giving them away.
But never fear! After a few tears shed, I silenced my sentimental side and made quick work of what used to be a Ginormous Pile O’ Crap™. So what did I get rid of? Plenty. And I heeded the gentle scolding of last week’s commentor Christa, who rightly pointed out that I seemed to be adding to landfills a lot:
Item No. 1
What: One half of an old pair of shoes.
Why: It was, um, one shoe without a mate and even I am not that fashion-forward.
What I did with it: Tossed it.
Item No. 2
What: Kate Spade diaper bag in brown and pink
Why: I no longer use a diaper bag
What I did with it: Consigned it at Bella Bambini
Item No. 3
What: Tote of maternity clothes
Why: I am no longer pregnant. *knocks wood*
What I did with it: Consigned it at Bella Bambini
Item No. 4
What: Girls’ clothing, sizes 12 months and 4T
Why: Kid grew.
What I did with it: Gave it to Laura
Item No. 5
What: Bag of miscellaneous women’s clothing, shoes and handbags.
Why: Hadn’t been worn or used in over a year.
What I did with it: Donated to Goodwill.
What did you get rid of this week — and what did you decide to keep?
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I love how I’m your biggest charity case.
I no longer struggle with the “should I keep my wedding shoes” quandry–I long ago donated them to Goodwill. But I still have my wedding dress. Now, it’s not one of those very fancy, long train, lace-and-beading things that OF COURSE you keep. It’s a very nice “street dress”, appropriate for older brides in small ceremonies. It’s made of a soft, drapey, peach-and-teal floral print rayon that was perfectly stylish when I wore it to be married 21 years ago (it even has normal-human-size shoulder pads, notwithstanding that it was purchased in the 80s). Where I grew up, this would be considered a “garden party” dress.
For years, when I couldn’t bring myself to donate the dress, even though it hadn’t seen the light of day since a warm afternoon in March 1989, I told myself I was saving it for my daughter. So now she’s an older teen and I realize this was all just a fantasy. Even if my daughter would ever be caught dead in a dress that looks like it came from the prop storehouse for the movie “Hannah and Her Sisters” she can’t and won’t ever be able to wear it. It’s a size 4. She’s not been a size 4 since she was 13. I won’t say when the last time I was a size 4, but not recently.
Yet, I still can’t part with it. Every time I “purge” the family closets of clothes too small, or so out of favor they’ll never be worn, I lay that dress on my bed, and every time it goes back into the closet. Maybe a granddaughter . . . .?
Sounds like you REALLY have room for the bassinet now…I’ll trade you some 12 month-size clothes for it!
We have a super giant pile o’ crap that I bet could rival yours. We’ve been amassing it in a corner of our basement since last spring. While it feels good to mentally part with something, I’m ready to have it officially out of my house. I’m just not sure how.
We were going to do the News-Gazette garage sale, but we only get 3 hours to set up the night before and there is no way we can fit everything in even our two vehicles.
This leaves
A.) Wait until warmer weather for our own sale and contend with the pile ’til then, and likely still take some to Goodwill
B.) Sort into various categories to do some Ebaying, Craigslisting and donating. But that seems like a lot of work.
Thanks for heeding my advice on the landfill space reduction and for the props. Sounds like you are on the right track to clean living! Clutter-free living is healthy living in a myriad of ways, physically, mentally, and spiritually. Kudos!