Meg Evans

Around this time last year, I wanted to buy spring and summer clothes to refresh my closet, which was full of old stuff and felt bogged down in stagnant energy. I couldn’t find anything I liked in the catalogs, though, and never got around to shopping in the stores. So I ended up wearing old things and feeling annoyed about it, as I described here. When I realized that was a big part of the problem, I got rid of the worst offenders, but still didn’t have anything new and fresh to wear.

Later I noticed that although I’d disposed of some clutter, my closet still lacked space to put new clothes. Maybe that was part of the problem, too? I folded up some old sweatshirts (shown in this post) and put them neatly on an upper shelf, out of the way. My closet looked bare for a while; but when the spring catalogs arrived this year, they were full of lovely things I wanted to buy. Here’s a photo of three pretty, colorful blouses I ordered recently, with just a glimpse of the old sweatshirts on the upper shelf.
 

My husband mentioned that the colors and patterns looked kind of retro, like something I might have worn in the early ’80s when we met. I hadn’t really thought about it when I ordered them, but he is right about that. Maybe there’s something else going on here subconsciously, like giving myself permission to go back to a simpler time when life felt more spontaneous and fun?

* Good Things is a weekly series featuring the many unexpected joyful things that show up when clutter and stagnation have been cleared away. It’s meant as a reminder that life is always full of happy little surprises, when there’s enough space for them!

After I gave my sock drawer a spring cleaning recently, there was plenty of inviting space for something new. And I had bought two pairs of shoes in cheerful spring colors, as shown in last week’s post. So, what would go well with the new shoes? I went into Kohl’s for a few minutes and found just the thing—a pack of socks in assorted pastel shades, to brighten up both the drawer and my feet.
 

With a coupon, the socks cost four dollars. At first I wasn’t sure they were worth mentioning in a blog post—after all, a pack of socks is certainly no big deal in today’s consumer world. But then I realized it was the perfect example of cultivating appreciation for simple little things.

Yes, I could easily have bought socks at any time; but until I cleaned out the drawer and made space for them, I couldn’t get past the subconscious feeling that I was stuck with heaps of old socks I didn’t really want anymore. That’s very silly of course, and it looks even more ridiculous written down in a blog post—but clutter often makes our minds play tricks on us.

* Good Things is a weekly series featuring the many unexpected joyful things that show up when clutter and stagnation have been cleared away. It’s meant as a reminder that life is always full of happy little surprises, when there’s enough space for them!

After nearly two years of posting Clutter Comedy entries every Sunday about getting rid of useless stuff in and around my house, most of it is gone, and I’ve decided that my blog needs some fresh new energy. So I am starting another weekly series instead—Good Things, featuring the many unexpected joyful things that show up when clutter and stagnation have been cleared away.

I recently ordered new running shoes online when I noticed that my old pair was getting worn out. The new shoes came in pretty spring colors—purple, with a bit of green around the ankles, and with laces in a lighter shade of purple.
 

They felt comfortable when I jogged around the block in my neighborhood a few times. I realized they weren’t what I needed, though, when I ran five miles in the park and my feet ached afterwards. The new shoes didn’t have quite the right amount of arch support for me. I bought another pair of running shoes—hot pink, this time—in another brand I’d worn before, which felt much better.
 

In past years, if I had bought running shoes that weren’t right for me, I’d have felt irritated about it. And if I had decided to keep them for walking, they would’ve been just another not-really-wanted thing with annoying memories and negative energy. But this year, after I had liberated my house from old shoe clutter (as seen in this post), I felt cheerful about keeping the purple shoes for walking. They brightened up the closet and looked good when I wore them with spring clothes. Besides, there’s certainly no reason why I can’t have two pairs of new and pretty athletic shoes at the same time!