I had the most productive lunch break ever. I stopped at Half Price Books and Goodwill in Westerville to make a second contribution to each. This time, I only had one box of books for HPB for which I received $10. But I had a car full of things for Goodwill.

I brought the remainder of the clothing items that I had pulled from my closets. This included linens and a few duvets that I had never used. I also had a couple plastic totes of random household items that I thought someone else could use.

The gentleman at the Goodwill donation center brought a cart out to assist me. As I struggled with pulling the first large bag of clothing out, he said, “Wow, your trunk is bigger than it looks.” He definitely did not realize how much I had with me to donate.

After I pulled the last of the items out of my car, I watched the man push the cart back into the building, and I had such a sense or relief. I was happy. And I no longer felt overwhelmed.

When I had initially started the purge, I thought it would be easy. I knew there was a lot I didn’t need any more; however, I didn’t know how much. My second bedroom was already a mess, but it became infinitely worse. The disorder had spread into my dining room, and it gave me tremendous anxiety.

I had to remind myself that I could only take one step at a time. I didn’t accumulate all this stuff in an instant, and I couldn’t expect to all be gone in an instant. I was looking at the last 14+ years of my life.

I think this part of the process was necessary. It was therapeutic and a lesson learned. Like with everything else I’ve experienced, I can say, “Been there. Done that,” and I know how to do it differently next time.