The day I’ve dreaded since the temperature dropped  has arrived.  I’ve sorted through a jumbled up closet full of light and heavy clothes for a couple of weeks,  because I live in a century old house with no walk in closets.   It was built in the day when people had smaller wardrobes.  Consequently, they rotated what few clothes they owned from side to side in the same small space.  But now, weeding out the closet at the end of each season is a chore.

As I yank clothes from drawers and closets, I curse myself for succumbing to so many summer sales.  I have culottes, shorts, blouses, tops, pants and dresses  that I’d forgotten I even owned.  I start by making  3 piles.

1.  Goodwill bound:  This is the toughest one of all.  How can I part with my Mexican outfits, and T shirts from all the places I’ve visited in the last few years?  And that lovely jacket from Italy?  They’re all faded, and even though t I hate to admit it,  too tight.  Other clothes that I loved and paid too much for have gone out of style.  Maybe they won’t even sell at the Goodwill store.  No excuses here!   The pile grows.

2.: T-shirts.  I live in them all summer, often changing a couple of times a day.  Many are stained and faded.  And yet, I keep them for years on end for something to “wear around the house.”  These cannot be given to a recycling store.  No one would want them, except maybe for rags.  T shirt rags are great for washing windows, so that will be their destiny.  And then, one day, my husband will observe that our broom closet is overflowing with rags.

3.: Summer clothes:  Which ones go to the Goodwill and what shall I keep?  I fold many of them to put in storage boxes.  The rest I put on hangers.

Luckily, this old house has a basement, with shelves and closets for storage.  I load my arms with summer clothes and head downstairs, replacing them with heavier winter clothes to be hauled upstairs.

The bedroom is littered with empty hangers.  Where will I put them all?

Okay, I’m almost finished.  But next Spring, I’ll have to do this all over again, in reverse. Now, if I can just resist those end of season sales!