The Debate Over A Pair Of Curtains

Lunch was over and the kitchen was tidy. The sun was shining brightly and instead of heading to the office to work, I decided it would be a good time to take a short nap.

I laid down on the sofa and stared out the window, admiring the dance of the leaves in the breeze.

My gaze shifted from outside the window to the window itself and settled on the curtains. White linen curtains hanging lifeless. Those drapes were never purchased for this house but rather the apartment prior, so I jumped up and took them down. I had another pair of curtains in the storage room that would look marvelous in the parlor anyways.

I plopped the linen curtains in the washer and grabbed a spare set all the while giddy with excitement!

A few minutes later, I was marveling at the beauty, very pleased with myself. Then my gaze shifted again. But this time to the curtains in the sitting room.

The champagne beauties with their pinch pleat detail and cream liner. Complete with a ripped hem thanks to poor measuring on my part before hanging them. Five years ago.

I went from proud of myself to rather disappointed in a few moments. I knew in a moment that these curtains must too be replaced with my last spare in the storage room.

I busied myself with taking them down and folding them ever so neatly to prepare them for donation.

I hung the spare curtains marveling at the highwater length and not caring a single lick about design rules. No more bugs hiding in the curtains and no more air vent blockage. It was a beautiful afternoon of making small changes to upgrade our home.

But the challenge came when it was time to haul the cast offs to the car and motor them down to the Salvation Army.

I was paralyzed! I couldn’t make myself do it! Raymond shot me a look of concern. I had to process the thoughts and work through them.

“I didn’t want to donate the champagne curtains with their pinch pleats because I bought them for a steal ($6.99/panel at a local Goodwill) and they would cost a fortune to replace.”

Whoo boy.

The organizer. Me. Unable to cart off the cast offs?

I knew I wouldn’t use them anytime soon.

I knew I didn’t want to store them because I didn’t like them that much. Yet I struggled with deciding to let them go.

I kept repeating over and over “the decision is the hard part, the decision is the hard part.” I know that once something leaves the home, it is rarely thought about or missed a few short days later. Yet the pain in my chest from making this decision was holding me back.

Waffling back and forth for several minutes trying to push through the resistance because they were such a good deal and would be so expensive to replace.

I talked myself into and out of keeping them. It was a long hard decision on some dusty old drapes with a ripped up hem.

For you who is struggling to let go, I see you.

I honor you.

I feel you.

Deeply and truly. Even the organizer gets caught in the web of complicated.

As you work through simplifying your home and your calendar, repeat that mantra over and over to yourself.

The decision is the hard part.

Once the decision is made (keep or not) then the pain evaporates.

The space and freedom is always worth it!