My favorite shoe store is having its big fall sale.  I had $60 in rewards plus a 15 percent discount, so I decided to get to the store on the first day of the sale (Friday) while the pickings were good.  I found two pairs of shoes that I liked, but wasn’t sure which color I wanted for one pair.  The salesman knows me well, so he offered to hold the shoes for me and to work out the details of the colors, rewards, discount, and payment by phone the following day.  He even offered to ship the shoes to me so I wouldn’t have to make the 30-minute drive back to the store.  I went home to check which colors I have in that style shoe and called him back the next morning with my decision.

While I was checking my shoes, I realized that I have half a dozen pairs piled up where they don’t belong because there is no space in my shoe storage areas (I have about 100 pairs of shoes), and now I’d bought two more pairs.  It was time to clean out my shoe inventory.  I threw away 18 pairs of shoes that were worn out, out of style, or haven’t been worn in several years.

 

The next day, (Saturday) was cool and rainy, so I decided to take my summer tank top shirts upstairs to my off-season storage closet (formerly the boys’ closet) and to bring down some three-quarter sleeved shirts and some jeans.  While I was doing that, it made sense to me to go through the shirts and to get rid of the ones I get out and put away each season, but haven’t worn for years.  That project expanded to going through all of my shirts (summer and winter), and then it expanded again to include the other clothes hanging in the closets.

With the closets cleaned out, I thought I should do the same with my cedar chest, where I store sweaters.  I used to wear a lot of sweaters, but then fleece was invented and I like it better than sweaters.  I now have 13 fewer sweaters.

 

The only things left to clean out were my dresser drawers and my jewelry box, so I forged ahead.  I figured I might as well finish the purge.  Do I really need to keep four old pairs of glasses that don’t have the correct prescription?

 

And what about all those bags I get as gifts when I buy things at various stores?  I threw out 16 bags and I still have at least a dozen to use for travel, etc.

 

It’s definitely true that you have to be in a pitching mood to get rid of stuff you don’t use.  I did well.  The picture below shows the folded clothes ready to put into the Goodwill box, as well as the costume jewelry and shoes headed for the trash can.  It doesn’t include the bags, the glasses, or the well-worn clothes that are already gone.