The Purge

No, not that horror movie that came out earlier this year.  I am talking about the efforts I have been making this summer.  It is the first time since I got married that I have had an extended amount of time to clean.  Perhaps a little background is in order.

I got married to my wonderful husband one short week after graduating from college.  Everything from my dorm room and childhood bedroom was hurriedly packed in boxes and bins while everyone scrambled with last minute wedding preparations.  After we were married, everything was crammed into our small, one bedroom apartment.  Right after we got back from our honeymoon, I started working full time at Barnes & Noble.  My schedule was not regular, and I would flip between working mornings and evenings.  Brian was still finishing up his senior year of college.  We unpacked most of the boxes, but many of them were just shoved in the closet or under the bed.  A few acted as nightstands.

After a year or so, we moved into our current house.  I continued to work and B&N full time until the day I started going back to school full time.  After I finished school (and one semester of student teaching), I immediately started working full time as a teacher.  That summer was spent traveling to various family functions and on a wonderful vacation.  We were never home for more than a week at a time.  Another year of teaching went by, and that brings us to this summer.

Up until now, my cleaning has been minimal.  The essentials get done, like bathrooms, kitchen counters, dining room table, vacuuming, etc.  But the "extra" stuff has been ignored.  Baseboards have not been cleaned, knick-knacks gather dust, windows have not been washed, mending has piled up...you get the picture.  The first week of my summer vacation was spent sleeping and visiting family.  By the time the second week rolled around, I was ready to tackle my Herculean task of cleaning four years worth of mess.  I began by attacking the kitchen.  The refrigerator was completely emptied and each shelf was washed in the sink.  The counters were completely emptied and then reorganized.  The cupboards and pantry were reorganized as well.

Then I attacked the dining room/living room.  Furniture was shifted around.  Piles of "stuff" were either thrown away or put away.  Fan blades were dusted.  The bathrooms were next.  The cupboards under the sinks were reorganized.  Counters were cleaned and re-organized to maximize space.  Finally, the time came for the task that I had been dreading: the bedroom.

Remember all of those boxes that hadn't been unpacked since college?  Yeah, some of those were sitting at the back of my closet.  For four years, if company was coming and I had stuff that needed to "disappear" without going in the trash, I would shove it under the bed or in the closet.  It was ridiculous.  After a week or so of just focusing on the bedroom/closet, I had plenty to show for my effort.  I threw away 6 garbage bags worth of stuff.  I gave 7 more bags to Goodwill.

The 7 bags of clothes (well, 1 had shoes in it)

I was flabbergasted by how much I had to get rid of.  It's not like I'm a hoarder or anything.  It's just that for years, I have had a system for throwing things away.  If it is obviously trash (old food, empty packaging, etc.), I throw it away.  If it is obviously not trash (something I use all the time), I put it away.  But then there is that weird middle ground...stuff that is slightly broken and could possibly be fixed, stuff that I don't use very often but might use someday, gifts from a loved one that I know I won't use, but don't want to chuck in the trash right after I get it.  These items are usually the ones that end up in the closet or under the bed, and as I throw them in there I promise myself that I will deal with them "later."  Well, later has come.  If clothes didn't fit anymore, I got rid of them.  If I hadn't worn them in the past year, I got rid of them.  Everything that just needed "minor repairs" but hadn't been touched in years, I threw away.  My closet and bureau were completely reorganized for ease of use.

I have to say, purging feels wonderful.  Don't get me wrong, I still love to have stuff.  I am still an American consumer, and Lord knows I love to shop.  But getting rid of junk and clutter is incredibly liberating.  I still have plenty of stuff to clean...the craft room, the computer room, the garage.  And I am definitely more of a "messy" person than a "neat" person.  But right now, my house is looking awesome and I am feeling even better.

An accurate depiction of how I am feeling