Seven hours later…with a brief break for lunch…

First,  I took everything off the shelves and out of the closet (except for the filing cabinet).

Then it was time for more coffee because the hard part was about to begin.

I had to confront my personal defects and the reality of my future:  was I the kind of quilter who would use leftover quilt blocks and pieces for making a thrifty hodgepodge quilt?

No.

Was I going to use the gold duvet cover with the matching pillowcases and dust ruffle again?

No.

Would I ever finish this sewing project?  Write this book?  Teach this class again?

No.

It went on like that all day.  I had a huge black garbage bag—the bigger the bag, the more you throw away!–and I filled it (and more).

I had boxes and bags for the stuff to donate.  I filled them.

And much to my embarrassment I found a huge box of notes from my two high school boyfriends.  Oh, the angst!  It all smelled like mold, but I had to open a few and relive the pain of first love and rejection.

It was still a little bit awful, I will admit.  (I don’t know what that says about my mental health).

Why did I keep this stuff?  And where has it been????

I found yellow ribbons and a dried flower in an envelope marked, “Barbara’s wedding”.  She will get a kick out of that.  I also found a blue velvet remnant from my bridesmaid dress (we sewed our own–they were lovely, with bell sleeves and ivory lace trim).

The filing cabinet cleaning was actually fun.  I separated the piles into “toss”, “keep” and “burn” (due to private info).

I found one large bin, opened it to see “treasures” I knew I’d never part with.  They were tucked safely in the bin for a reason.  So because I wasn’t “death cleaning”, I put the lid back on and found a home for it back in the closet.

My biggest mistake is having no tequila and ginger ale in the house.  I could use a celebratory alcoholic beverage right now.

Along with a bath.