Spring Cleaning this Winter

I missed posting here yesterday. Not bad as my first miss all month! I didn't get a chance to post here, but I did blog about my Thanksgiving over at Stroke of Grace if you feel blog-deprived. ;)

Today's  #NHBPM prompt is to, "Clean out your fridge or closet in written form. What’s in there? How does it reflect your personality?"

I hope to be cleaning out my real clothes closet early next year. First I want to finish re-organizing the kitchen to make it more user friendly with my new limitations (thanks Kathy and Mom!), then I want to sort through and get rid of about half of my Christmas stuff (was already a planned goal for last fall, pre-stroke - maybe I will have to bump that goal off to next year again?), then I have a two-car garage stacked full of boxes (things that were packed away while I was in the hospital) to tackle and sort as I gain the mobility to be out there more often. Oh, and very first, I need to sort through and organize my bathroom since I still can't find many of the things I'm looking for in there. Maybe by the time I ever get to my closet, I will have lost another clothing size or two and actually be able to fit into more of the clothes hanging in there!

OK, so thinking just about my closet. If you look in, the primary impression you would first get is a variation of shades of the color pink, shades of blue, green and turquoise close behind, with a few purples and a yellow or two scattered here and there. No, I'm not trying to host a baby shower in there, these just happen to be my predominant colors of preference.

Next, you would discover quite a range in sizes, from my big clothes to sentimental ones that were hopelessly (even pre-stroke) too small to ever dream of ever wearing again. You would find a few formals that were hand-sewn in the 1930-1950s and worn by my grandmother (I have re-worn most of them, to special occasions) and a few cotton dresses and blouses, hand-embroidered, and worn by my own mother in her teens and 20s, a couple from her high school years in Spain. You would find a couple outfits from our honeymoon years and LOTS of great thrift store and yard sale (many with designer labels) or Khol's/ Walmart / Target finds, purchased by me for pennies on the dollar. And you would find my hat collection, ranging from vintage, internet orders to modern day pricier gifts that have been given to me.

And you would find about 20 pair of shoes, only one pair I can really wear now and a couple of others I could possibly wear with great caution. I have a feeling this will be my most emotional cleaning project as I admit my limitations and say a permanent farewell to styles I will likely never safely wear again.

My side of the closet is also home to gifts we are collecting to give at Christmas and birthdays. So with this growing pile, I know I can't get in there and do a decent sorting until well into next year anyway.

The things I'm most ready to get rid of are the dozen undershirts I had to wear the first several months home from the hospital, when I could not properly dress myself. I will be thrilled to see those gone and never need to look at them again!

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Today I am thankful for both abundance and simplicity! "Stuff" is overwhelming. The number of things I plan to get rid of as I sort through what I really need and can care for or use, I am embarrassed to think that my trash would be another's treasure. Many people, around the world, don't even own the types or amount of things I hope to get rid of as my "extras." I am blessed, indeed.

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First Published Book: Hannah's Hope : Seeking God's Heart in the Midst of Infertility, Miscarriage, and Adoption Loss

Book-in-progress on drawing on the fruit of the Spirit in times of trial: Harvesting Hope from Heartache

Next book-in-progress: 6 strokes at age 39, Stroke of Grace

Future manuscript in the plans: Given Me a Thorn, the apostle Paul's story as applicable to living with chronic illness