Springtime has arrived.. finally. It was very slow to come this year. There were so many dreary days of cold and rain. It seemed as though warmer temperatures and sunshine would never return. But slowly, the trees began to bud, and the daffodils and tulips bloomed. Then, all of a sudden, it seemed, the buds on the trees turned into leaves. And there was green all around us. We could go outside and smell the freshness in the air. The arrival of spring began to feel real! And now, although there are still many cold, rainy days we have enough warm, sunny days to make us believe that it is actually spring. We can see signs that summer is not far away. I had trouble getting through those long dreary days of grey and cold. I couldn’t get motivated to do much of anything. I didn’t feel like myself. I felt grey and cold. But somehow, as springtime and warmth actually seemed like it might become a reality again, my mood began to change. Slowly.. yes, slowly. And somehow, I began to recognize myself again.. the person who is normally optimistic. It felt really good to feel that way.

Suddenly, I began projects that I hadn’t been able to motivate myself to begin before! Cleaning and organizing closets is one project I always hate. Somehow, I was able to actually begin this dreaded activity. I approached it quite slowly with my own clothes closet. I’d grab a number of things that I knew were really old and throw them in a bag. I don’t have the largest closet in the world, so I’d begun running out of room and I knew that I needed to eliminate some things. I actually hate getting rid of things. Even though I haven’t worn a shirt for five years, I will still look at it and think I might need it some time. What seemed to work is that I decided that if items were in good condition but hadn’t been worn in awhile, they would be great items to give to someone else who might need them. And that worked for awhile.. until the space in the closet became manageable. I must be honest in admitting that I still have a number of pairs of black pants that will most likely never be worn again by me. And some people may feel that this is a very sad commentary. But those black pants are there if I need them. I also recycle many of my old favorite items. I really do love certain older shirts that I own and have worn for years. What difference does it make if they’re still in style and in good shape? I like to use what I have! I must say that, however unpleasant this experience was for me, I was able to organize and sift through those items that weren’t very important to me.. But I’m not a top-notch closet-cleaner!

I am much the same way with things for my home as well. I’ve gotten rid of many things over the years as we’ve moved from one house to another. I’ve also saved many things, however, because I liked them and I always figured that I might use them again! And in many cases, I do! I always try to incorporate certain old accessory items in my decorating. Many of them work well, and I always feel good about using older pieces. They come alive again and sometimes add something fresh to the new decor. I love using things that have memories attached to them! Sometimes I’ll rummage through the basement and search for something I’ve put away on a shelf there because I know it will fit very nicely in a certain empty spot on a wall or a shelf. Sometimes that plan doesn’t work as well as I originally thought it might, but other times it works quite well! I enjoy trying to recycle items, however, because I feel that certain items have lasting value. If we love something and value it, I see little reason in getting rid of it. Sometimes we can dust something off or give it a fresh coat of paint and it feels new again. We can use it in a new, fun way. I like that. I like reusing things of value. I feel it’s good to eliminate many things, but it’s also good to save those things that are important to us.
This may be why closet cleaning is not my field of expertise.. I don’t get A’s in that department! I’m happy, however, with my spring experience of cleaning up my act and recognizing myself again. Perhaps the closet cleaning helped in bringing me back. Perhaps the exercise of sifting through some things helped turn me around. Whatever it was.. I am most grateful. I believe I do know this.. perhaps I didn’t get rid of enough of those pairs of black pants that are hanging in my closet, but I cleaned the dust off of them and they’re ready to be used when I’m ready to use them! And I feel pretty confident that I was able to take myself off the shelf.. and dust myself off again. Yes.. A spring cleaning of sorts. I didn’t give myself a fresh coat of paint, but I’m feeling pretty shiny and new! I feel like myself again. And I’m ready to use myself again for the good things that are important to me.

~ Carole Carter – words and photograph