One thing that I’ve always disliked about the house we’ve lived in for close to 35 years now (how can I be old enough to have lived in this house that long??) is its lack of walk-in closets.
My husband and I both tend to be packrats, with me being the worst offender, so the lack of closet space has always been a bit frustrating.
I’m sure the issue isn’t that we HAVE TOO MUCH STUFF…
Like most typical 21st century Americans, I have way too many clothes.
A blessing and a curse, right?
Because of our small closets, I end up having to change out my wardrobe twice each year as the seasons change from spring/summer to fall/winter and back again.
I have to drag in the containers full of the next season’s clothing, go through my closet and remove last season’s outfits; hang things up, fold things away; organize; drag the containers back to where they are stored.
It usually takes a few hours.
It’s a lot of work. (I know, I know… 1st world problems FOR SURE…)
Today is the last day of September, and the nights are starting to get cooler as fall moves in. I looooove the changing seasons of fall and spring, so this is a happy thing for me.
With fall here, and cooler weather coming, it’s time to start wearing sweaters and thicker textiles and boots and scarves.
Exciting, right??!
I was looking in my closet last night and realized that it still had all my summer clothes hanging there staring back at me, because I had been procrastinating switching out the summer clothes.
I smugly reminded myself that a walk-in closet would solve this problem because ALL MY CLOTHES WOULD BE IN ONE PLACE, amIright??
My choices for appropriate fall colors and long sleeves were pretty limited, based on what was in my closet.
Seriously, I had, like, TWO outfits that I could wear and feel fall-ish.
Also, last night, the 1st Presidential debate for the 2020 election was on. Political debates are difficult for me to watch in general because my anxiety starts to spike when people are mean and nasty to each other. I don’t mind disagreement; I mind disrespect and mean spiritedness. Welllll, I already knew that tonight’s debate would be like a perfect storm for high anxiety, and I quickly realized that I couldn’t just sit and watch it without becoming really stressed and anxious. I could turn it off, or I could do something while I watched it to ease the anxiety.
My curiosity, desire to be an active participant in an election year, and wanting to form my own conclusions led me to decide to watch.
So even though lazy-me suggested I curl up with a cat under a quilt and just sit there like a good girl and watch the TV, productive-me insisted that I get up.
This was the perfect time to change out my closet to a fall wardrobe.
I’d still get to listen and sort of watch the debate on the TV in our bedroom, but I’d also be moving around and using my hands to work out some of the stress, AND accomplish a task that needed doing.
What threatened to be a tense evening watching a political debate could instead be a positive motivation to get something done that needed doing.
Win, win, and win!
I’ve always dreaded switching out my wardrobe. It just always felt like a huge burden that reminded me we don’t have walk-in closets.
And I would feel very deprived and put-upon and a bit angry about it.
BUT – and here’s why I’m bothering to share this with you – last night I ended up making a different choice and was able to see the task in a positive light. I flipped my self-pity and dread of the task totally upside down and saw it in a positive way instead.
I’m not making that up.
As I sorted through the containers of my fall/winter clothing, it was sort of like seeing old friends, and sometimes it was like making NEW textile friends, because I’d forgotten I owned some of those things.
One advantage of being middle aged is you forget that you have things, and then when you come across them again, it’s like getting something brand new because you didn’t remember that you had that thing!
And by “you”, I mean “me”.
It’s sort of like being a fish. I hear they have very VERY short memories. Even shorter than mine.
If you put a mirror in a goldfish’s tank, every time they swim by it and see their reflection, it’s like they have a (another!) new friend, because they forget that they just saw that “other” fish, like, 3 seconds ago.
(And by the way, how do researchers know what fish think? Is there a secret language that researchers and fish share? Can you tell they are happy by the fish’s expression? Have we made the wrong assumption about fish all this time? I would like to know.)
But anyhow, that’s what changing out my seasonal clothing is like.
As I pulled out forgotten cozy sweaters and slacks and neatly packed away brightly colored spring/summer pieces, I felt surprisingly joyful and contented.
Excited about getting to wear these cozy fall things.
Accomplished because I’d completed a needed task.
Satisfied that my clothes have order to them again. (Sorted by color! Who even AM I??)
I also felt spoiled and materialistic.
I realized I have way too many clothes, many that I never even wear (but hold on to “just in case”) and decided that my next project will be to go through them and donate the things that I really don’t need or want anymore. My excess could be donated to someone who could get some real use and joy out of those things.
But mostly I felt really happy inside, and grateful to have a closet full of clothes that I was excited to wear as the weather gets cooler and rainier.
I realized that I don’t really need a walk-in closet.
Why am I sharing this with you?
Because changing out my closet reminded me how easy it is to forget how blessed we are, how much we have, and how we so often confuse our wants with needs and end up feeling discontented and cheated.
Can you relate?
Bottom line is, even when we don’t have all the things we think we want, or when the world doesn’t seem to be going our way, we have a choice in how we view pretty much everything.
Big or little.
I still wish we had some walk-in closets. I could fill those suckers up!
Maybe I could even make a War Room out of one.
But having a walk-in closet isn’t the key to happiness.
My attitude, perspective, and decision to appreciate what I DO have are the secrets to my joy and contentment.
We get to choose what we focus on and what attitude we will park on. Being mindful and purposeful in our choices and attitudes leads to a much less stressful life.
Having something active to do during a presidential debate is also helpful.
Peripheral Wisdom 