Springing Back to Life
Our patio has gone through many iterations over the past 29 years. When we first moved in, we were poor. Our budget was tight so we had to be content with the grass and shadowbox fences with the neighbors. We knew we always wanted a patio and saved up for it. I want to say we paid $1200 for a paver patio. We picked out the huge 18"x18" slate look pavers from Lowe's and got a patio set that was an ambitious size. It was nice to have a space to relax outside and have a little flower bed where our pooch would happily walk up to smell the flowers. After a year or two of constantly having people catch our eye as they walked their dogs or themselves, we said it was time for a fence with a gate. I think it was around $700 back then. Damn those prices make me nostalgic! Over the years, we had various outdoor area rugs, curtains on the fences to cover gaps, tropical hibiscus trees during our Hawaii years to remind us of our second home. ...
I hear ya! I think I've spent more on clothing in the last year than I have in the last 10 years. I'm super cheap, and I was always getting hand me downs from a friend who had "the surgery." She was a total clothes whore, so I always had more clothes than I ever wore. It'll all even out in the end!
ReplyDeleteI've donated all of my big & baggy clothes with the exception of two LARGE bags which are currently taking up residence in my dining room. I'm only holding onto those for my mom - who is currently losing - to see if she wants any of it. I don't have ANYTHING in my closet that is representative of my "former self". I lost 120 lbs and I'm never going back, so I don't see the need to hang onto the 'material' past!
ReplyDeleteIt really depends on what the clothing item is.
ReplyDeletePJs/cheap t-shirts I keep for wearing when I work on my painting or do yard work (or sleeping). Same with a pair or two of jeans.
I do have one pair of my biggest jeans saved as my "before" pants (might just do a "fat pant" before pic with them).
For things I'll wear to work, I try to update as needed, a piece at a time. Kohl's is a great resource (love the "kohl's cash" scheme--if I buy $50 of stuff I get a $10 off coupon for my next trip).
But I never buy stuff that's super expensive, so replacing as I go isn't too much of a financial hardship (and I use new clothes as my rewards).
After the first "down size", I started shopping at a local thrift store for most of my clothes. I was lucky in that they had good stock. For other stuff, I shopped at JCPenney and Kohl's and bought as little as I could get by with. Donateing hundreds of items to Goodwill taught me the value of having less. (Not having a corporate job anymore means I also need less.)
ReplyDeleteI keep a few pieces that are one size up, but only a few. I think I have 2-3 shirts and a couple pairs of pants. Other than that, big clothes get donated.
I have to say I'm sort of looking forward to this problem, although I suspect my wallet doesn't. ;)
ReplyDeleteI donate my clothes as soon as they are too big. I just gave a bunch of nice sweaters to a friend who could use them. It's nice to be able to wear clothes from places like ON. I got some great deals there recently..a nice cardigan, a pair of jeans, a few tees, some socks, a pair of sweats and a sweater all for $90! It's weird because I can wear XL with some of their clothes, but certain things I need a 2x. The size 18 jeans I got there 6 weeks ago are very baggy, which is strange because I haven't lost that much weight since then, but have apparently somehow lost inches...
ReplyDeleteI tend to put them in a pile and then when I get a chance I donate a stack/bag at a time. I do most of my shopping at thrift stores anyway so replacing items isn't terribly expensive for me. I do kind of wish that thrift stores would give some kind of credit though. Like a used book store. If I donate 2 or 5 or however many items, I get to take one free.
ReplyDeleteMost definitely do NOT keep them for just in case...that is danger, Will Robinson, danger!
ReplyDeleteI will admit that I have a pretty hefty pile in the closet that is waiting for donation that I haven't gotten around to yet. But will be very soon. Hopefully by the new year.
But I usually let my Mom & Sister pick through what they might want and then donate the rest to Goodwill.
I tossed all my larger sizes out the last time I lost weight, then I gained it all back plus 30 and had to buy new. For some insane reason I didn't save the clothes on my journey back "up" the scale. (I think I was too depressed and just needed to get rid of the reminder of how bad it was getting.) I need to start tossing again, but I'm nervous because, like you said, it's EXPENSIVE! I just need to get it through my head that my last gain really was medical and now that I'm under a dr's care I shouldn't ever gain like that again.
ReplyDelete