title: how to restart a git repository
body: <p>I just realized that changes to the .gitignore do not process against the repo “retroactively” – rather affect future ‘git add *’ commands and the like. Once the files are in the repo – they must be manually removed.</p>
  <p>At this point – I would like just kill this repo entirely – and start over (saving my config, etc.).</p>
  <p>Is this easily possible or would it cause major problems? Can I backup – then delete the .git folder – and start fresh?</p>