Sheila Sims Iding
Cleaning closets. We all have to do it at some point. I have decided that sorting through things in life is a lot like cleaning closets. We all have to do that too. It seems an odd comparison but it does make sense when you think about it. Some of us need more “closet cleaning” than others. Some of us get things in order and keep it that way. Some of us keep most of it in order and have to do a quick straightening up. And some of us…every now and again…have messed things up so badly we need a complete overhaul. A complete “sort through it all”. That is when all the piles in your life are just a mess and you dump it all on the floor and sort through it.
That is how sorting through things in life can be like cleaning a closet. Some people need to adjust the turtleneck pile. Some people need to rearrange the summer/winter clothes. Some people need to line up their shoes. Some people need to do it all. And like the closet cleaning…the life cleaning can sneak up on you. You think you have it all in order and then slowly the blouses get mixed up with the dresses, the sweaters fall off the hangers and the jeans don’t fit right anymore. You need to step back and take a look at the things in your closet and the things in your life. You need to make a careful examination of each article of clothing and each life situation and decide what to keep, what to fix, what to give away and what to get rid of.
1. Careful examination: When cleaning a closet you go through each article of clothing. You exam it carefully and decide which pile it should go it. Keep…fix…give away…throw away. Sometimes that is the hardest decision of the process. We should do the same with life issues. Carefully examine which pile they go into. And…like closet cleaning…that decision can be the toughest part.
2. The Keep Pile: Which things are your favorite? Which ones do you wear everyday? Which ones make your life easier? Which ones bring comfort? It could be said about clothes or about people in your life or about life situations. Keep the things that matter most. Put those in the forefront and make good use of them. Really good use.
3. The Fix Pile: There are some things that you keep around that need fixing. Some need a button. Some need a hem. Some need patching. Some just need a good stitch on the seam to make it stronger. What things in life need fixing? What things need to be altered to be stronger? What relationship or situation can use one more patch or buttons to bring it back together?
4. The Give Away Pile: These things are the extras that you don’t need. Maybe you have too many black turtlenecks. Maybe you only need 3 warm sweaters…and not 6. Maybe all those shoes are just taking up space and you can give some away. What do you have in life that other people can use physically and emotionally? What should you give away to organize your life and help someone else’s life be better? What is on your plate of life that is too much? What can you give away or give back that will make your closet…and your plate of life…less full?
5. The Throw Away Pile: This is the hardest…for closets and for life. It means it’s no good anymore. It means it’s no good to anyone. Not even someone in need. So it goes in the trash. It means it is beyond repair. It means it has no worth. Sometimes that is the hardest conclusion to come to when sorting through things. That favorite sweatshirt you’ve had since college with so many holes you can’t patch it again…do you save it or throw it away? Same for some of life’s issues. You have held on to them for so long but they may be beyond repair. Save it? Or let it go?
Cleaning and reorganizing is not always easy but sometimes it is a necessity. Sometimes things are such a mess you need to take the plunge and get it all in order. Sometimes you just have to straighten a stack that is messy and sometimes you have to dump it all before you and take a good look. Nobody can really do it for you. You are kind of on your own. There is a physical cost to this work. It takes time and labor to get it reorganized. There is also an emotional fee to pay. It’s not easy to own the mess. Not easy to give away what you don’t need anymore. It’s not easy to throw away what is now worthless…because you first have to admit it is worthless. It's a process for sure.
I’m not talking about closets now…I am talking about life and sorting through things and making sense of things. But once you invest the time and effort and prayer to do that; you look at the piles of reorganization; you look at the “less is more” inventory; and you see an order and you realize a sense of things that wasn’t’ there before. With each thing carefully...so carefully... folded and put in its place...With things secure on a hanger so you don't have to pick up the pieces again...With things ordered and prioritized once again...you step back and realize it not only looks better…it feels better too. That’s true of both cleaning closets….and life.