First Step - 41 bags of stuff

So I have decided that I want to live a more simple life.  Hubby and the kids are just going to have to tag along on this ride.  Of course, the kids are 17 and 19, they are pretty much adults anyway, but they do both still live at home, so they are going to have to come along if they are going to live around here.

The first step is to keep my daily life managable.  I need to keep the surfaces clear and get rid of all the stuff I do not, will not, and cannot use.  Last night I decided I would count the number of weeks left in the year and get rid of one box, bag, or larger item every week.  There are 41 weeks left in 2010, so I started on my first bag.

Getting rid of stuff was a lot harder than I imagined.  I figured the easiet place to start was my extra closet of clothes.  I have one closet of clothes that I never or rarely wear.  I started going through them and realized most of them I had not worn in nearly 20 years!!  I left corporate America in 1990, just before my oldest was born.  I still have all my nice wool suits, travel clothes, and office dresses in my closet.  Yes, I know I wore a few of them in the last 20 years, but not many.  More to the point, I am not that size anymore.  I could not get one thing on.  (And yes I did try, even though I knew I would never wear that type of clothing.)  So I folded and placed clothes in a bag until it was full.  I have more, but I just could not take it anymore.  I never thought it would be so hard and emotional.  It was like losing a part of me even though it had not been me for 20 years.

I cataloged my clothes and they are ready to go to the Discovery Shop. It is our American Cancer Society thrift store.  I will be driving right by there today and I will take my first step toward my 41 bags of stuff.  And really it is just stuff.  Those clothes have not been a part of my life for a long time and they could really be nice for someone else starting their way on the corporate ladder that I decided to jump off of and not pursue.

Watch out people, I'm learning to simplify.