Clutter

I’m watching Jay Leno the other night and he mentions that as many as 2-million Americans suffer from an obsession with hoarding. We are a nation drowning in our own abundance. I peer into my cluttered bedroom closet and wince. I cringe as I picture the collected chaos in my office. I break into a sweat at the mere thought of opening my garage door - - and I know right then and there – that I might be a hoarder.

I’m one of those people who can’t seem to let go of anything. I still had 1990s business suits from The Rolonda Show still stuffed inside my exploding closet. Old stuff mushed up against new stuff - some with the tags still hanging on them. Ew. Nobody knew what was in that closet. I couldn’t find a thing. And everyday it got worse as I flung clothes to the floor because I didn’t want to go in there. Getting dressed took forever. I was frustrated every day because I couldn’t find anything.
I knew it was getting bad when even my friends started pointing at my closet mess as if it housed a whale that washed ashore. “Wow,” they’d muse, looking down. “I wonder how long it’s been there?” My closet was a complete mess and so was I, becoming more sick and tired of being sick and tired of the mounting clutter in my life. Something had to change, so I could get my positive, productive, fresh, new energy flowing. In the mess, there was a message.

The universe answered my silent prayers. I met Closet Colin.

Colin Megaro is a fashion stylist and expert with a keen proclivity toward neatness and organization. I adoringly call him Closet Colin. Donned in jeans, a crisp, striped button-down shirt, and an Hermes scarf, Colin literally stripped my closets, helping me say goodbye to things that no longer matter to me, don’t fit my life, style, or body anymore, or, are, in his words, “Just plain disgusting!”

How could I possibly have good things come into my life this New Year without clearing away all this old crap? I still to this day thank Colin for my “closet colonic.” And, I am so much better now about hanging up my clothes, which I learned takes just as long as throwing them on the floor.
Ok – I will admit it, I may have organized closets, but I have one messed up desk. Ah, Rome was not built in a day. But, you know, it’s our little steps that really count.

How are you handling the clutter in your life?

~Written by Rolonda Watts

Charity

There are some images I will never forget, like the young woman I saw in court, dressed only in her pajamas and holding a crying baby on her hip. She was there begging for a restraining order against some brut who had beaten her the night before. She still had to go back to work the next day. If she’s like most battered women, she might be looking for a job for the very first time in her life, so she can finally support herself and her children.

Every time I give away one of my old business suits, I think about that woman and so many others my donation might help have a fresh, new start. I have given away my business suits, shoes, bags, and blouses to my local battered women’s shelter year after year. Having covered so many domestic violence cases, and having lived through some myself, I well know how desperate and alone most women are who have fled their violent homes. I prayed that maybe one of my suits would help a battered woman feel supported by her community, her Sister, and feel better able to support herself.

I also find that “Out of the Closet” is another great place to give un-needed and unused items and clothes. A fun Hollywood thrift shop, proceeds from sales go to Aids Research and Awareness. The store offers free condoms and HIV tests.

If you are unloading big items, like furniture, I recommend The Salvation Army because they come pick up your stuff.

Already feeling like a brand new penny after my big closet purge, I only feel that much better, my heart much lighter, after donating my old clothes and furniture to charities.

It’s a win-win situation for everyone - - and a tax write off too!

So, join me. Clean out your closet for charity. Oh—and don’t forget your receipts!
What are some of your favorite charities? How does giving to them make you feel?