Friday, March 25, 2016

50 Things to Trash Before I'm 50.

It's just a blue dress right?

Then why is it so hard to throw it away?

I think it's partly because it means something to me, no matter how trite it might appear to someone else. But I'm determined to clean out the clutter in my house while I continue to clean out the clutter in my soul and work on my life values.

Last week I was in Nashville for another photo shoot and for one of the sessions, the photographer put me in a completely white space.  Nothing on the walls or floors.  No windows, furniture, nothing. I felt so free and creative in that moment that it made me want to follow through with something I've wanted to do for a long time: clear out the clutter in my house.

I've been removing clutter from my soul and my schedule and now it's time to take another step. My house...my living space....my studio. There is something about cleaning out clutter in the natural world that helps me clean out the clutter in the spiritual world.

I also want to get more focused about creating music. I want to create in spaces that make no suggestions to me. (I'm not sure I'm explaining myself well, but perhaps you might identify.) If not, just let me ramble. It helps me figure things out.  : )

I'm still figuring all of this out as I go.



I'll soon be turning 50 and as a way to prepare, I've decided to get rid of 50 things from now until my birthday.

I have 33 days.

I'm parting with "old things" to make space for a "new me".

Every week, I'll take a picture of things I've parted with and share them here in the blog as a salute to those "things".

I'll also share why it was hard to let go. (After all, it helps me sort through my feelings.)

As I'm getting rid of stuff, I'll make note of what it meant to me and then move on.


The blues dress in this photo is now in the trash can and will be burned this afternoon.

There, I did it.

Item # 1.

Gone.

In the above picture, we had attended a wedding and though I can't remember who was getting married, I remember how I felt in that dress.

I LOVE that dress because:
  • when I wear it I feel pretty
  • it makes my blue eyes pop
  • it's lined with it's own fancy lining
  • it's very slimming
But yesterday I tried it on (with Easter Sunday in mind) and the shoulder pads made me look like a football player. (I may try many new things when I turn 50, but football will not be one of them.)

No matter how much I love the dress, it's time to part with it. I'm not a fashion guru, but I'm pretty sure jumbo-size shoulder pads are not in style.

So there it is.  I took a deep breath and said goodbye to the blue dress. I celebrate the times I got to wear it and now I will enjoy one less dress in my closet.

How about you?

Want to celebrate my birthday with me and take on the "50 things to trash before I'm 50" challenge?  

8 comments:

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    1. Thanks for joining me Cherie! It's an amazing feeling.

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  2. I'm not sure about the challenge, but I'm ready to get rid of things.

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    1. You can do it gradually. Or just start with simple things like hair pins or something small.

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  3. Great idea! I'm sure I have 50 pieces of paper around somewhere... :) About 1 1/2 years ago, Sarah and Michael ordered a dumpster to help us get rid of things. No joking...this thing almost covered half our front yard!! Of course, lots of old furniture and sets and props from 8 years of drama performances went in it first. Then they forced me to tackle the dreaded back room. We filled that dumpster to the brim! Way more than 50 items! Looking back, however, several items still cause me to ache in the area of my heart...a box of photo-based items Faith made when starting her photography business (something I didn't know they tossed)...a set of super-heavy, super-old trivia games my father picked up for us in our early homeschool years (ok, so it did say East and West Germany)...and my grandmother's organ, the one she was going to will to me, but gave it to me when Holly was young and loved to play it (sure, some of us played it...well, played around with it...but I TRULY did plan to do so...someday...). All this to seriously say - if you have doubts about any items, choose something else that time and let that item sit on your counter...or the floor, if too large...somewhere you'll see it often. Then determine whether you're sure you can part with it or if you should repurpose it. Have fun!

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    1. I love it Cathy!!!!! I can just picture your family doing this and making you do it. Ha!

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