PURGING

No. I’m not bulimic. Though at times I totally think it’s an optimal way to keep my weight in check. Instead, as I’ve mentioned before, I’m in the throes of purging a zillion household items.

It all began about two months ago, knowing my 70th birthday was just around the corner. For some reason, THIS birthday, more than any other, has affected me far more than I’d have ever imagined. I mean seriously… it hit me that when you hit 70, you have totally entered into old age. When you hit 80, you’re CERtainly looking towards the other side of the grass. Anyway…

The major reaction to my birthday this year is to completely rid myself of 50% of everything in my house. I have SO many things I no longer need nor use. From my beautiful fancy china, to jewelry, to lingerie, to crystal wine glasses, to vases, to books, to DVDs, to linens, to almost any and every thing. I’ve got so much stunning crap, you’d never believe it. But stunning or not... the time has come to purge with a vengeance.

I started with my closet. And… I'm not even close to emptying it. There are 3 pretty decent sized closets in my house, my personal walk in closet definitely being the largest. Which actually is why I fell in love with house in the first place. I’ve also got 2 smaller closets and another 2 even smaller. In the meantime, I’ve already carted off 6 huge bags of stuff I’m  finally ready to part with and as we speak… I have 4 more bags sitting on my bedroom floor ready to head on out next week. I’m way far off from completing this task, too, considering the 10 bags I’ve filled is only from ONE side of my closet. Eeks.

Plus… I haven’t even tackled my drawers, the linen closet nor the other two closets of clothes, either. I’m telling you… this is a project that could take me well into my 71st birthday! But that’s okay because I truly have to say… it’s a fanTAStic feeling to be cleansing myself of all this beautiful, adored shit. You’d almost think I’d be so sad to rid myself of so many things I’ve enjoyed for so many years but actually… its like lifting so much weight off my shoulders. Talk about conspicous consumption!

Oh yeah… and I’ve got to eventually get to the garage, too. THAT will be like 4 projects rolled into one. It’s just that the time has come for all my crap to find a new home. To I hope, a really nice home. Actually, my kid should be really happy I’m doing all this because 1.) he probably doesn’t want any of these treasures, valuable or not and 2.) whatever I don’t get rid of now… he’ll have to do when I kick the bucket! Oh… get this… I even seriously considered getting rid of my house and downsizing! Then of course, I came to my senses. Although I did check out several condos, but I’m so not ready for that YET.

It’s just too bad I’m so lazy for were I to have a garage sale, I could rake in plenty! But even that is too overwhelming for me to even think about. Just tagging the items could take me weeks. Remember: I’m old now.

I’m basically way into the less is more mode right now and as I said… I’m pretty happy about it. My goal is to make my house look much like it did a week after I moved into it. Something here. Something there. Minimal accessories. Whoever said purging isn't healthy needs to think again. For me... it's cleansing as hell.