Sex, Drugs and Rock 'n' Roll...

I host regular FREE FLEAS with friends and family. I open my closets and we walk through the house as I point to things I have not used in the last six plus months. They bag and box up the prizes they would use. It works like a charm. I love to see my stuff getting used and they love the spoils.

Sex, Drugs and Rock 'n' Roll...

Have you been there, done that, and most importantly - bought the t-shirt?  No matter what we were like when we were younger, our pasts usually include, shall we say, a somewhat "wilder" side of our current selves. And, we've all been sobered by building our adult lives, and most recently, by the state of the economy over the past several years.

 

 

So it's no wonder of we find ourselves hanging on to "remnants" of things past, sometimes in the quite literal sense. If you having trouble clearing away tired old clothing, maybe it's because it carries a memory of a happier time.

- T-shirts from concerts, vacation spots, your honeymoon getaway.

- That bathing suit coverup that made you feel like some exotic Brazilian actress sauntering up the beach.

- A hat or coat that evokes a feeling of the tragic Lara in Dr. Zhivago.

- The scarf you bought at a game where your team won big.

- Your dad's shirt that brings him back for you every time you put it on to paint.

- Your mom's floral scarf that instantly creates a happy picture of her in your mind.

- The tiny little t-shirt with an animal applique that has you laughing at memories of your baby's giggles.


All these touchstones to happy times, good memories, and connections to people no longer here are present in our wardrobes and in other things in our lives. So how can we reduce these things to "clutter" or "old rags" when that just doesn't feel right?

Honor those memories. Let the feeling emerge. Recognize the thread of emotion connected to each thing.

My mom lived through the Depression, and she forever after used things up, took them to their last moment of usefulness. A bath towel was used until it was well-worn and fraying at the edges. Next, it was used as a tub mat. Then it became a rag. Finally, it was cut into pieces for my dad to use in his various work around the house. It was used until there were just threads of it left.

Many of us have some form of these memories, even if they're second- or third-hand. You can honor them all, and still sort through your belongings and keep only the most precious, the most evocative, the most important of touchstones to your past.

And then you can send the rest out into the world for someone else to make use of. We can't know what these things will mean in another's life. But we can send them on with love, and imagine how delighted someone else will be to get them.

It's OK to let them go. You will always remember the people and times in your life that helped to make you the unique person you are now, filled with rich moments and love. The clothing is not who you are.

 

Photo Credit: Clothing

Sex, Drugs and Rock 'n' Roll...

 

Thanks so much for visiting!
Judy Klem

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