I couldn’t think of a better way to start this year than by cleaning my closet. There was nothing to get rid of, just organize (after all, I just moved here to Basel almost four months. Before flying here, I unloaded most of my belongings and took all my essentials with me).
The act of sorting things out so you know where to find them when you need them (and not go through every single drawer or turn the whole space inside out) is very empowering. It’s the kind of discipline that I want to practice this year so I can use my time and energy wisely (and not spend over an hour searching for the bottom of my bikini).
As I folded tops and bottoms and carefully assigned spots for different clothing pieces, I was reminded of the day that I missed New Year’s Mass (or was it Christmas? It could even have been Easter) when I was six or seven years old, all because I misplaced a pair of shoes.
My six older sisters and my parents were ready to leave for Church, but I was not ready because I couldn’t find my red canvass shoes (I didn’t want to wear any other pair because those shoes matched my pink tights perfectly). After much toe-tapping and heavy sighing, my family went ahead without me, and I still hadn’t found the shoes.
About forty five minutes later I found them in a brown boxy bag which I transformed into my maleta the day before, when my older sister Pinky and I were playing “worldly travelers.” I totally forgot that I packed some clothes and those bright canvass Mary Janes in my pretend luggage until I overturned all my belongings, by which time my family arrived from Church.
I know my closet is bound to fall in to disarray again in the future (and by now you know that I’m not just talking about closet space), but life’s like that. Certain clothing pieces inch their way out of designated spaces, some tasks in our to-do list don’t get done until the last minute, and things don’t always go as planned, but at some point the smoke clears, the tumbling stops, and we manage to get things done.
So here’s to getting things done, putting things in order, letting go of things you don’t need, and cherishing what you have. Happy new year!!!
First my closet, next my desktop! (Falling/running photo by Francisco Guerrero)
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