This past weekend we performed the seasonal exercise we do each spring and fall.

This involves packing away all the summer clothing in large plastic boxes and taking them to our storage unit, where we exchange them for all the coats, sweaters, etc. needed for fall and winter. Those are also in large plastic boxes.

We bring them home and begin the process of sorting — keep this one and freshen up in laundry or dry cleaner. Donate that one to charity. And so it goes. All the time we are also clearing our closets of unwanted or outgrown clothing. It is a never-ending job. I have several items I dearly love, but cannot wear anymore due to my weight gain. Maybe sometime in the future I will lose enough weight to get back into them again. They must stay.

The exciting part is when you discover an item you totally forgot you had, and you fall in love all over again. That happened to me this past week when I found a denim jacket/shirt I had forgotten I owned; but I do remember now how much I always loved it. Where has it been all this time? I found it in my husband’s closet.

I love denim shirts and jackets and at last count I decided I have at least eight of them, counting this one. Some are really old and outdated, but I cannot get rid of them. Who knows when the denim blazer with shoulders broadened by thick shoulder pads will come back in style? When it does, I will be ready.

Then there are the boots and shoes. Like every woman, I love shoes….. and boots….. both long and short. Several years ago my husband imposed the new Rule of Shoes. For every new pair I buy, I must dispose of one.

That is truly heartbreaking. I have several high-heeled dress shoes I can no longer wear, but I hang on to them for sentimental reasons. They may have been a pair I wore to the wedding of one of my children, and I have four children.

My whole point is this. We hold on to way too much stuff. Who is going to want all this when we are gone? Who cares? They can dispose of them any way they want. I will not be in a position to object.