Getting rid of the old
Over the last several weeks a lot has been going on, with this stirring in my spirit to get things more organized in this small apartment in which we live. Rich and I wanted to live a life of romantic travel initially and still do. However, since we don’t travel abroad much, we choose instead to live in a historic apartment in downtown Birmingham in the garden district. Thus, somehow in our brains we have convinced ourselves that we are living abroad living the dreams of those on House Hunters International on HGTV.
In saying that, it will be easy to let you know that we literally have hardly any storage space. The remodel is up to date as much as possible, but it did not include building out a closet. Thus, I set task to finding the best trunks off of Facebook market, getting them for a song. Each one was placed in different rooms, in order to pack things away neatly, so it would not look as though we had clutter all around.
I am very grateful for our apartment and especially our front porch that is fairly large, where Rich and I usually have coffee and sit with my youngest son, Matthew, dubbing the spot “The Writer’s Cafe.” As we sit musing over our writings, we enjoy watching the runners and bikers in the morning, or if at night, hear the music pouring in from across the street at the local hot spot. Tantalizing sounds and a great ambiance make for a fantastical environment, a bed of soil for our pondering and thoughts.
The one thing about the space that is not romantic is the closet. Our closet is mainly open to our bedroom and can be an eyesore when looking at it. All of our storage space is very tiny and we have to be creative in where we put everything. We discount the smallness of space by saying it is cozy or it the place has character.
Prior to my decision to reorganize the closet area, I had some clothes packed up in a cardboard box, that looked like it was on its final leg, and needed something sturdier in which I could pack our clothes away neatly. Therefore I got an old trunk with ancient carvings, which was pretty massive and more than able to hold the clothes that were not on hangers.
As I was emptying out the clothes from the cardboard box, it was apparent that some of them would never be worn again and it would be best to give them away. Walking into the kitchen I got a bag inside of the cupboard under the sink, and brought it back to my room to stash away the pile of clothes that would be given to charity.
Let me also add that at the time I was cleaning my closet area of our bedroom I was sick, with the onset of the crud, but felt this possession of my body with an extraordinary strength to go get the beautiful trunk that was so cheap I felt like I was stealing it. All I knew is that things had to be organized in that small closet area before it drove me crazy; we had tolerated it long enough.
While doing my cleaning, although feeling physically ill, my body was operating on auto pilot by another source, which I knew had to be God. Slowly I felt a veil being lifted off of my face, seeing things clearly, hearing God say, “Robin it is necessary to get rid of the old.” Getting rid of the old was what was helping me get things organized.
Moreover, on further introspection I could see how the old things in our mind keep us from getting organized with life, holding us back from doing our dreams, because of the fears and torments of past failures, which paralyze us from walking into the new.
Like my closet in its prior condition, it seemed like a formidable foe, overwhelming with the thought of defeat, stirring up stressful emotions, causing me to believe that things would not get better, that is how our mind is. Our past thoughts and emotions can become the formidable foe in our present, making us overwhelmed time and time again, where we reel in emotions of despondency, depression, anxiety or stress.
But this is the thing…… THEY ARE ONLY THOUGHTS!
Those old thoughts are prior images/memories that have been attached to words and thoughts, which have provided an emotional experience, holding us in a cardboard box of disorganization. Thus, when we try and fight our way out of the old and move into the new, our brain resists the change and fights to keep the old mindsets, which would be similar to me choosing to hold onto old clothes I will NEVER wear. The season for wearing them is over.
Likewise, as you move out of the old from prior years and move into the new in 2020, it is necessary for you to clean out the closet in your mind, ridding yourself once and for all of thoughts and words that serve no purpose in benefiting you.
Make it a priority to change your mindset, because only then will you change your life. In this year of 2020 I am motivating others to do as I have and clean one room at a time each month, beginning with your closet. Take this month to look at things which you have been hanging onto and no longer need. Store the old things that you are getting rid of in a bag, and determine to take it to a donations or a charity spot.
It is time to get rid of the old and get into the new!
Robin Kirby-Gatto