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How to lose 20 pounds in a day

It was time for some spring cleaning. I went through the closet and the dresser drawers for the semi-annual purge.  First of all, I need to explain that while I am a person who compulsively craves order, I also seem to find it difficult to put my laundry away immediately after it's folded and done.  For some reason, getting the contents of the basket back into the dresser drawers or onto the shelves seems to require an act of Congress (or, really, the necessity of using of the laundry basket when it's time to do another load).  For some reason that I cannot explain with rational logic, I seem to have a similar problem putting clean clothes away immediately after I wear them.  It seems that while I don't mind cleaning and I certainly like organization, I find an intense amount of satisfaction from making something really, really messy and/or cluttered and THEN finally cleaning it all up.  Does anyone else have this problem or is it just me?

So I spent my Saturday morning emptying drawers and shelves in my dresser and closet onto the bedroom floor, sorting through the contents, throwing away things that no longer fit or were soiled beyond rescue from Oxi-Clean or were, quite honestly, just not necessary in my life anymore.  I tossed my nursing bras.  I threw out socks with holes in them.  I set aside sweaters I hadn't worn in years for the Goodwill pile.  I got rid of half my t-shirts.  I set aside 5 (yes, I know, FIVE!) pairs of overalls to give away.  I think at the age of 35, this is no longer a regular fashion option. 


Some of the giveaways (and trash)
before the final purge

In the end, I came away with one full bag of trash and three full shopping bags for Goodwill.  My shelves are now neat and tidy.  I can actually FIND that navy blue tee shirt that I wanted to wear last week.  I knew I had it somewhere but it was buried in a pile of 5 Virginia Blood Services t-shirts left over from years of past donations.  I also found one khaki skirt, two blouses, and a purple sweater, all of which I thought I had either already given away or had gone missing in the last year.  It's like going shopping without spending a dime!


The "after" pics.  I didn't take "before" pictures but suffice it to say that I couldn't even OPEN my t-shirt drawer and the shelves of my closet were piled to toppling.  It was pretty pitiful. 


Seriously. That drawer is full.
But I emptied 50% of its contents.
How is that possible? 

 

Now if you'll excuse me, I have some laundry to put away.   



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