🧹 What’s Hiding in Your Closet (Besides the Guilt)?

“She came to clean her closet. She ended up cleaning out guilt, people-pleasing, and a whole lot of ‘it’s my fault.’”

Closets are funny things.

We throw in things we don’t want to deal with, shut the door, and promise we’ll come back to it later. And sometimes, we do. But more often than not, that door stays closed… until something finally falls out and hits us in the face.

Guilt works the same way.

So many of us—especially women who’ve spent decades caring for others—are walking around with emotional closets full of unspoken guilt, unhealed hurt, and stories we never gave ourselves permission to outgrow.

🧠 What’s Actually in That Closet?

Here’s what I found when I opened mine:

- That time I said “yes” when I meant “no,” just to keep the peace

- That belief that if I don’t do it, no one will

- That pressure to hold everyone together while I was quietly falling apart

- The lingering weight of being the strong one—even when I was barely standing

Sound familiar?

✨ It’s Time to Declutter with Grace and a Little Sass

Just like cleaning out a real closet, this isn’t about shame—it’s about choice. And let’s be honest: some of those emotional skeletons have been collecting dust for decades. Honey, if you wouldn’t keep shoulder pads from 1986, why are you still holding onto guilt from a conversation that happened three Thanksgivings ago?

It's time to ask yourself:

- Do I still need to carry this?

- Is this belief even true—or just loud?

- What would it feel like to let this go and breathe a little deeper?

You don’t need a full life overhaul. Start with one shelf, one box, one moment of self-honesty. Pray over it. Journal through it. Cry if you need to. Then release it—and replace it with truth.

Because let’s be real: we’ve all carried stuff we should’ve dropped off at the emotional Goodwill years ago. It’s time to make space for peace, purpose, and maybe even a little joy while you're at it.

🛠️ Try This Reflection Exercise: “When Being the Glue Breaks You”

I lived in fear most of my life that if I wasn’t holding everything together, it would all fall apart. So I said yes when I was exhausted. I overcompensated when others dropped the ball. I played the strong one, the reliable one, the fixer.

But here’s what no one tells you: when you spend your life holding everyone else up, you end up on the ground.

Ultimately, it wasn’t them who fell apart—it was me.

So here’s your invitation to reflect:

1. Who (or what) have I felt responsible for that has drained me?

2. What fear comes up when I imagine letting go of that responsibility?

3. What would trusting God to hold it all look like for me right now?

4. What small boundary could I set this week that says, “I matter too”?

Take a deep breath.

You were never meant to be everyone’s safety net. That’s God’s job. Yours is to live free.

“I am not the glue. I am a woman growing in grace, grounded in God’s peace.”

🧹 Want to Go Deeper?

This post is part of a larger journey I’m sharing in my upcoming course, Finding Freedom: A Faith-Based Journey from Guilt to Peace. Because emotional decluttering isn’t a one-time event—it’s a lifestyle shift, rooted in faith.

From one recovering over-responsible girl to another,

Roxanne