Overhaul...mind, body, closet.

March 12, 2012

So this weekend we tackled a project that I have wanted to accomplish since we moved into our house almost a year and a half ago. MY CLOSET! I kid you not when I say I had wardrobe boxes and 3 LARGE laundry baskets still filled with clothes from the move. I had NO clue what the heck I owned. My house (being old as dirt) has very small and limited closet space, one of the downfalls of loving antique homes. My closet was the exception though. There was plenty of space, since my room was an addition added on some time in the mid 80's. The problem was that it had been poorly laid out. There was just one l-o-n-g hanging rack and lots of dead space. To add to the problem the room has slanted ceilings on both sides, therefore large bureaus and wardrobes were out of the question. I had to hang literally every single article of clothing I owned...which of course I wouldn't do and most often I would just leave it folded in the laundry basket. This leads to wearing the same outfit at least 3 times a week, wrinkled, and not knowing what was at the bottom of the laundry basket EVER.

I would receive my IKEA catalogue about every 6 months and drool over the nicely organized closets. So this Saturday I dragged my dear husband and children all the way to Stoughton, a short 2 hour drive from New Hampshire, and picked out my brand spanking new closet system. That was the easy part, even the installation was easy compared to going through ALL MY CLOTHES. After I had them all out and piled on my bed and floor I actually felt tears burning in my eyes at the overwhelming task of sorting through all this crap!

I had clothes from three different eras and drastically different sizes.

A) Pre-pregnancy, size 7, fun, cute, sexy attire designed to get Mr. Jaffe to throw a ring on it.

B) Maternity clothes...nostalgia keeps me from getting rid of all of them and lets admit it ladies those elastic waist bands are pretty comfy! Guess A) worked out huh?! Also my husband loves those convenient nursing bras or as we lovingly refer to them "booby chaps".

C) Post baby frump attire. The size I won't disclose. But in my credit none of these frocks fit anymore because Mama is getting back in those era A clothes with a quickness! It was mostly yoga pants that have not once ever seen a day of yoga and Lane Bryant big girl britches.

It took me the entire day yesterday. From about 8am till 5pm with NO BREAK. I managed to trudge through the mountains of clothes and shoes...oh the shoes. I must really like to buy flip flops because LORDY there had to be 40 pairs. So by 4pm I had to make a trip to the clothes donation bin because I could not fit any more trash bags in my car. Now that is a mighty refreshing feeling. Letting go of all that extra bulk. As I drove away from that bin I felt about 100 pounds lighter. I know the car sure did.

So here it is, my pride and joy. I even got out the label maker. Now that is some Martha Stewart shit right there.