My mother-in-law's little second-hand shop

My mother-in-law has a small second-hand clothing store at home. During the pandemic, I got rid of most of my clothes, including some that had been with me since my teenage years. Of course, I felt attached to them; they held memories and experiences for me. However, due to the lockdown, we didn't leave the house, so I wasn't wearing those clothes.

Dust, insects, and lack of use were the enemies of clothes and shoes at that time, so it didn't make sense to keep those things if I wasn't going to use them and they would probably get damaged anyway. So, with a slightly uncomfortable feeling in my chest, I tried to be conscious and practical and got rid of almost everything, except for a couple of changes of clothes just in case.

That decision turned out to be a good one, because I also gained weight during the pandemic, so those clothes wouldn't have fit me anyway, so I would have definitely lost them anyway. While our objects and possessions also tell stories, that experience taught me that letting go of things that don't make sense for us to have is not linked to losing our most valuable possessions, such as our experiences or our good times when these things were present.

I must say that even when I look at photos, I remember several of those clothes I donated, I see how much I liked them, how much I wore them and enjoyed them, and I can only think and hope that someone else has made more use of them and that they have also accompanied them in good times. I also feel that this experience was fundamental in teaching me that material things can disappear at any moment, and that is when qualities and values such as adaptability, resilience, and also knowing how to let go come into play.

All the clothes I donated, despite the fact that we were in the middle of a pandemic, were taken away little by little, and although it was difficult at first, as time went by I felt a little lighter, relieved in a way because it had been a very good decision. If I hadn't made it, two things could have happened: either I would still have a lot of clothes to carry around, or worse, I would have had to throw them away without being able to donate or reuse them because they would no longer be useful.

In the end, being able to live free from attachment to objects or material things that can disappear out of nowhere doesn't make much sense. It's like leaving our emotional stability in something as ephemeral as something that can be consumed by termites or any other insect. After all, what is truly important is what cannot be touched, what we feel, what we learn, and how we grow, and that is what will remain with us until the day we are gone.

After that experience, we got into the habit of donating clothes we no longer wore, that no longer fit us, or even those we usually keep around for another time when they might fit us again. My husband and I do this from time to time, and it has helped us both in a positive way. My mother-in-law continues to run a small second-hand clothing store at home, and I have noticed that many people benefit from it. It is very satisfying to give good use to something you were no longer using.