Clean Out a Closet

I spent most of this past Labor Day weekend, well, laboring on a series of home improvement projects: prepping a kitchen wall for tiles, hanging a few new light fixtures, replacing outdated light switches and so on. (Yes, I had help. I'm handy, but not that handy.) 

These minor improvements had been on my "To Do" list for a long time, took hours to accomplish and make a difference in the way the house looks and feels. So, of course, I'm happy they're done.

The "Takes-My-Breath-Away" Bathroom Cupboard

Yet, if you ask me to tell you honestly what gives me the most satisfaction from the long weekend of work, it's the two closets (well, one closet and a cupboard) I cleaned out before the home improvements began. Just thinking about how clean and organized they are makes me want to jump for joy and take a deep, contented breath.  

Front Hall Closet

I live in a small house with small closets. The front hall closet houses not only the usual coats, boots, gloves, hats and ski pants, but also handbags, tennis racquets, a guitar and boxes of family photos, all of which means I use it frequently. When it's organized, I feel good every time I open the door. Same with the bathroom cupboard, which I use several times a day.

My friend Beth, an herbalist and owner of Beth's Natural Way in Truxton, NY, says cleaning out a closet is the best way to jump start cleansing your body and become healthier and happier . 

"Cleaning out a closet stimulates the spleen to clean out the body" Beth says. "The spleen's job is to get rid of things we don't need. As we get rid of the old it gives us room for the new."

If you lack the drive to clean out your closets, Beth recommends eating foods to nourish the spleen: 1) mushrooms, 2) bitter greens such as kale, collards, arugula, dandelion and mustard greens, and 3) old-fashioned berries such as blackberries, gooseberries, elderberries and currants. You can eat them plain or in jam, jelly, pies, syrup ...

"You need to give your body the urge to clean out the closets," she says. 

My friend Charlie spent much of Labor Day weekend cleaning up clutter as part of a home makeover project. Though he's only just started, he can already feel the difference.

Linen/Utility Closet

"Even with my eyes closed, it's quieter, in almost a church-like sense," he says.

What all this means is that there's no getting away from the fact that I will feel so much better if I take a few minutes this coming weekend to clean out the top half of my can't-stay-organized-for-long, linen/utility closet. 

Pass the mushrooms, please.