What My Closet Reminded Me of Today
I’m up an hour before my usual waking time, in part spurred by too good of a rest day yesterday. A necessary one, induced by truly enthusiastic allergy symptoms and a heroic amount of Nyquil and vitamin C. I feel a bit better now in case you are curious.
Better enough to have already cleaned my home, organized the fridge, and scheduled my workout appointments for the week. My laundry still waits for me, yelling from the corners of my closet with a gentle warning about the fate of my garments if she continues to be ignored. I drown out her yells as I place a vinyl on the record player and make myself a cup of coffee. In the joy of these early rituals, my attention is pulled toward a different task in my closet. It is the beginning of a new month, December, and time to turn over the things I have not used in a while.
As my fingers trail over the pieces I am considering replacing, I am reminded of how each one found its way to me. The blue corduroy shirt I picked up at the Zara on the Champs Élysées during a trip to Paris. The floral blazer I bought during my first fall in the city, imagining it would become part of my med school “I have my life together” wardrobe. The leather skirt that carried me through many, and I mean many, college hangouts. The pair of pants I was convinced would make me a hipster. I laugh at the innocence of these memories and pause, reconsidering my plan. Maybe I can hold on to these a little longer. But another glance at the calendar reminds me why I do this ritual every month.
In the United States, the last Thursday of November is celebrated as Thanksgiving, which quickly gives way to Black Friday, holiday prep, and then December. Somewhere in that shift, another day sits quietly. World AIDS Day.
How does cleaning out a closet connect to World AIDS Day, you ask. Honestly, I also would have been confused, so fair question.
About eight years ago, I lost a loved one to AIDS. In the months after, I found myself searching for organizations that actually supported people living with HIV. At the time, I had just moved to Washington DC, and through a few late-night internet clicks, I came across Housing Works.
Housing Works was born out of the AIDS crisis in New York City. It is a nonprofit that provides housing, healthcare, job training, advocacy, and real community support for people affected by HIV and AIDS. Most people know them through their thrift shops and the Bookstore Café, but their work goes so much deeper. Those spaces fund life-saving services and move the mission forward. Learning about them felt like I had finally found a grounded way to honor my relative’s memory. Something that was tangible and meaningful.
And today is December 1, World AIDS Day, which makes this little closet ritual land differently. Every time I stand here deciding what stays and what gets a new life, I think about how these pieces of my past can become something useful for someone else. Donating to Housing Works has turned a simple seasonal reset into a quiet act of remembrance and care- not necessarily an easy one though (tbh).
If you feel moved to join me in giving back, you can find places to volunteer, donate, or even shop and thrift through Housing Works. All their locations are listed here: https://www.housingworks.org/locationsPics of what i’m donating this month :)
