Crowded Closet Lessons

When we keep our hearts and souls uncluttered, we are open to all kinds of beauty on our journey.

I was taking a walk a few weeks ago and ran into a neighbor who I hadn’t talked to in a while. We were talking about our kids and our summer. I told her I had been refinishing furniture all summer. When she asked me where I got it from, I told her my parents had a barn full of stuff no one wanted and that we had a few pieces stashed in our own storage, that needed to be used.

She laughed and said that at least I hadn’t put it all in my closet. She went on to say that after her mother-in-law passed away that they didn’t know what to do with a lot of her things, so she just kept putting sticking things in her closet. She confided that her closet had already been a mess with things crammed everywhere, but all of the extra items actually collapsed her floor.

I thought she was joking at first, but she wasn’t. She had to get a contractor to come in and rebuild her floor. She laughed and said the entire incident was incredibly embarrassing, but that now her closet was so uncluttered and organized that we could probably eat dinner there if we wanted.

I thought about my neighbor’s closet long after our conversation ended. I couldn’t quite wrap my brain around having that much stuff in my closet, but as I looked around my own closet, there were things in there I hadn’t worn in years. Why was I holding on to that stuff?

I also thought about the things we keep piling into our hearts and souls that do nothing, but create clutter and weight. Things like old hurts that we refuse to let go of, anger at people or situations that have long since passed, all kinds of fear ranging from getting hurt to failing, or anxiety about circumstances that we just can’t change, can fill us up completely.

Like the old bride’s maid dresses hanging in my closet, those emotions probably were needed at some point. But now, at best, all of the heart and soul clutter causes unnecessary crowding that takes up space that should be for the good stuff, like hope, trust and love. At worst, it can get so heavy to carry around, it can collapse us completely, like my neighbor’s closet.

My neighbor’s story inspired me to go home and go through my own closet and weed out what I no longer need, items that once served a purpose, but don’t any longer. Her story also inspired me to do a heart and soul check and rid myself of unneeded baggage there as well.

I was reminded that there’s freedom that comes from traveling light. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂