It happens to me every year. The weather starts to get really nice outside and, quite suddenly and without warning, everything inside the house seems sort of dusty, overstuffed…claustrophobic. This past weekend, I stepped one foot inside my closet and felt it might suck me in and bury me alive if I didn’t clean it out right then. So, large box of garden trashbags in hand, I took my chances and parked myself in there. I could have easily been mistaken for a whirling dervish (I love that phrase – always wanted to use it in a sentence).

I was the only one home that day, so I stood there in nothing but my unmentionables (called that here, because this is a family-friendly blog and those items should remain unmentionable), so I could easily try things on as I went. They either were allowed to stay, went in a Good Will pile, a trash pile or a pile to take for alterations. It took me the better part of the day, but I went through every item, vacuumed way back behind everything (I’m always astounded by how dusty a closet can get – even when it’s shut off from the rest of the house), and when I was done, took a full, deep breath of satisfaction. It was no longer suffocating, but light and freeing.

Try as I might to keep a regular check on the “stuff” in my life, it can still accumulate to the point of becoming cloying. Shutting it off in an effort to conceal the mess does me no favors. I inevitably still find myself in need of a deep clean – stripping down to just my heart and laying open my mind to the Master Cleaner and Organizer who will sort through them both to see what is good and needs to stay, what is best thrown away or given over to someone better suited, and finally, what needs to be altered. His light shown into the darkest recesses obliterates the build up of dust and grime and allows me that deep, unencumbered breath of freedom.

Do our closets need to be cleaned today? More, do our hearts…our minds? I know Someone who will do it for free, because the price has already been paid.

Disclaimer: In case you are wondering (as a couple of you have, aloud), this is NOT a picture of my closet. Sigh. It is what my closet would look like in a Utopian society…or if some owner of a closet company called me to be their traveling spokesperson in exchange for a free closet design. You think I’m kidding? Try me!