Spring Has Sprung

Spring has sprung outside and, finally, inside my apartment. I’ve taken advantage of this blast of warm weather to fling open the windows, roll up my sleeves, and tackle some much needed spring cleaning.

Since remodeling my kitchen and bathroom least year I’ve been conscientious about keeping these rooms clean and orderly. But the rest of my apartment is as cluttered as is always has been. There are boxes with old appliances and tableware stuffed underneath the settee in my living room. There’s a pile of leftover construction materials in my entryway. And there is, tragically, a canvas tote at the foot of my bed with my Christmas tree, lights and ornaments inside.

I thought I could find room for some of these things in my hall closet so I began there. I reorganized my shoes, packing up my boots and lace-ups and putting them on the higher shelves. I moved my sandals down onto lower shelves and unpacked the ones I would wear most frequently. I filled a bag with old, unused pairs to take to the Salvation Army. And I found space on the highest shelf for my Christmas decorations.

Then I started sorting through my shirts and dresses, trying to pull out ones that I no longer wear. There are so many packed in there now that the aluminum pole is sagging dangerously. Somehow, this was a much more taxing and emotional task for me than sorting through my shoes.

I’m deeply attached to my clothes and have a hard time getting rid of them, even if they’re entirely unfashionable and don’t fit properly. A lot of my shirts and dresses are ones that I made myself, or ones that I feel I could make adjustments to and wear more frequently.   There’s a seersucker jacket that needs new buttons, shirts that need to be taken in at the sides, and a white blouse that has lost its brightness but could be dyed a darker color.  The truth is that I’m never going to wear many of these things again, but just can’t let go of them.

As a sort of compromise, I arranged all the garments on hangers facing left and sorted them by the colors of the rainbow, from red to violet. So now my closet has a more orderly appearance, although it remains just as crowded as before. Nonetheless I feel that it was a good start and hope to revisit the closet this weekend. Wish me luck, and give me strength!