Go Clean Your Room

Cleaning your room is definitely a form of therapy. And in addition there are added benefits, like finding things that have been missing.

My room had gotten to a mixed-up state of all seasons with not enough space for anything. I had begun to dread opening the closets to be reminded of the chaos. Now, don’t misunderstand – I am not one of those people who owns tons of clothes; I just don’t have the luxury of walk-in closets that can house my entire wardrobe.

I always dread this activity of changing seasons, where I go through everything, sorting and culling and putting off-season things in the basement. But today was the day.


I started with the middle closet, the one that has shoes, socks, underwear, yoga clothes, and lots of miscellaneous. I pulled it all out on the floor and began to carefully match up socks into pairs. Recently I had had trouble finding 2 of anything that matched. Lots of old worn-out hose that were weird colors or had runs or were totally stretched out to the trash pile. Two extra socks whose mates never turned up. But the real prize – the pair of mauve wool socks that I have been missing for weeks. It had gotten mixed in with a large pile of clothes. This alone made the entire cleanup worthwhile.


As I pulled out the pants from closet #2, some went into the “summer” pile, many got tried on. This is where it gets a little tricky. Do you keep the ones that might fit if you gained or lost a few pounds? I mostly said yes unless I was really sick of them. I mean, if I had saved every piece of clothing that hadn’t fit over the years, I wouldn’t have any space left. So the giveaway pile grew considerably.


Did you ever realize just how much room extra hangers take up? Every trip to the dry cleaners means one or two additions. I sorted out the yucky metal ones to be recycled to the dry cleaners.

One of the nicest things about cleaning closets is rediscovering things you forgot you had. Maybe this gets worse with age, but I found quite a few today. I will have a whole new look this week as the forgottens once again become part of my wardrobe.

This really wasn’t so bad. I don’t know why I dread it each time. Maybe it’s that need to make so many decisions. I can’t say that I regret ever parting with any piece of clothing. I’m just not that attached to what I wear.

The extra breathing room in my closets will make it easier to find whatever I am looking for now. It’s nice to have a sense of accomplishment about cleaning, since everywhere I look I’m reminded that I need to be doing more of it.

What are your thoughts on cleaning?