Out of the closet

I've been putting it off for oh.....about a decade. The dreaded closet cleaning. I can't even begin to express to you what anxiety this causes me. For years, I've saved stuff just knowing that I'd:
1.  lose enough weight to wear it again
2.  wait long enough for it to come into style again (read...these are the very words my mother often repeated to me.)
3. wear it out and have to buy new

Sadly, only #3 has been the case. I have a closet stuffed to the studs and I still wear the same 5 pairs of pants, one or maybe two skirts, three pairs of jeans and about 20 tops. Mainly because #1 hasn't happened. I still have hope, but I'm not holding my breath.  Besides if it does happen, I'll need room for some new stuff.
This morning, I've found every excuse not to start this task, but I've run out of excuses, so today, the purge begins.
I have a feeling I'll find lots of stuff I didn't even remember I had. I will be sad to get rid of some really cute hats from the 90's--they remind me of good times at golf tournaments when I still knew the names of all the players. I hope some ecentric gardening lady will buy them at the Goodwill and wear them with joy while she's pruning her roses.
I'll be back when the deed is done and give a full report.................

Edit:  Well, that didn't go so well. I did get the hats and about 10 t-shirts and various other items in a garbage bag and into the back of my car, but that's about as far as I got. The whole task seemed overwhelming. Perhaps I should take it in small bites. Maybe only a rod at a time. Yeah, that's the ticket...take it slow. ;-)

Edit 3/31/11--It's done!! Actually, it's been done for a couple of weeks. It is a work of art. Color coded, organized, cleaned out, pared down. It's all in the back of my car.