I'm a big proponent of getting rid of your "fat clothes" as you size down out of them. I've always felt that hanging on to them kind of gives you that excuse to not see your goal through or have clothes to fall back on if your commitment wanes. This way, gaining weight will cost you some money and that might be just enough incentive for some. We have probably donated well over 10-12 bags of clothes over our weight loss up to this point. But what about those other clothes? The ones we call the "almost there" clothes in our parts.
These are clothes that, in our cases, fit well up top but are snug and/or short on the bottom but another 10-20 lbs off could make all the difference in how they fit. That's great but here's the problem, especially when dealing with a shirt that is too short...unless your torso shortens, it's never going to fit! I know your gut can go down and not push the shirt out as far but we're talking shirts that by the time it fits well on the bottom, the top is going to likely look ridiculous. We both have been hanging on to those clothes for about 2 years now. I would pull out certain tops I really liked to see if they fit yet and the top would be even more baggy than the last time but the bottom still hit in the same bad place. You know that place. The one that cuts just high enough on your gut that the wrong move will expose your muffin top (or the Spanx suckin' in your muffin top) or the top you'll spend all day self conscious about and pulling down. Yeah. It's time to get rid of those. We did.
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| My donate piles. Clothes I'll miss, clothes that were too big and ones that might've been bought under the influence of cough medicine with codeine. |
We both went through our closets and tried on every shirt. Some were obvious to donate but others (maybe out of wishful thinking) we would ask the others opinion to see if they were too big. Unfortunately some of our favorite shirts got the heave ho. But I guess it's time for others to enjoy them now. I even found a few 26/28's and a couple of 4x tees in the back! (I'm an 18/20 now and wear XL's in most stores) Between us, there was a whole garbage bag full of clothes to say aloha to. Of course I had to make sure a few of them got replaced so we went to Old Navy and picked up a few basic long sleeved shirts for me that I could add some scarves to and dress up and grabbed a few shirts for him elsewhere so I think we're both set for the winter. We made sure as we shopped that we chose shirts that were long enough and made sure to stay away from cotton so they didn't do what many of our old shirts did, which was shrink upward...never to be worn again.
Do you keep those clothes that "almost fit" even though you know the likelihood of them being a flattering fit is low?
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I have a "hope pile" - as in "I hope I can wear these again". I do try to get rid of the stuff that will never fit properly, but I have a lot of work clothes that I really liked once that I can't wear. I have such a hard time finding skirts that I like that I usually hang onto those the longest.
ReplyDeleteI have all kinds of piles...arghh....i need to get rid of some at least
ReplyDeleteI had a huge bin of "hope to" clothes, and finally got rid of them. My problem is, I'm really short and wide, so when I lose weight they're too long... you know, shirts turn into tunics, that's sort of thing, and I will never look good in the whole leggings/tunic combo, ugh! I thought I'd have them altered or whatever, but it's less expensive to shop at Old Navy, lol!
ReplyDeleteI did this, just this past weekend. I got rid of a PILE of clothing, trying on everything in my closet. Some things I REALLY liked too and I was sad to see them go, but it just gives me more reasons to shop! WOO!
ReplyDeleteI retire t-shirts to my pajama drawer. I don't care if my pjs are super baggy/sloppy. I have retired all my too large jeans to painting pants. I'm bad for wiping my bushes on the top of my thigh when I'm painting (oil painting, not room painting).
ReplyDeleteJust yesterday I finally let go of three shirts that I never really liked. I tried to convince myself I liked them but I just didn't (for various reasons). I was actually happy to give them away because they're still nice (since I rarely wore them!).
I'm pretty bad ... not "she should be featured on an episode of hoarders" bad, but I do like to hang onto things. But even if clothes DO fit again, often your tastes and styles change through the years anyway. Hubby is the opposite though, he just tosses things out willy-nilly!
ReplyDeleteLast fall I got rid of a ton of too big clothes. I bought some new things and my weight has held steady until I injured my knee this summer. Now my weight has been creeping back up-so much that I tried on a pair of my jeans and couldn't squeeze into them. Yikes! My knee is doing better (after some physical therapy) and that is a huge incentive for me to get my a** back on the treadmill. I WILL NOT buy a size bigger pants. I'm left with 2 pairs of jeans that fit. I tell myself, get moving girl!!
ReplyDeleteWe're almost up to 30 bags donated this year alone. I finally had to say bye-bye to some gorgeous sweaters that I've never worn, but know that they will be too short when the time comes for them to fit elsewhere. Too many of my tops/sweaters were at a 26" hem, and that's just to short for me. I'm still in a 4x/5x, and I've run into the same problem you have with the cotton tops...horizontal shrinking. I NEVER buy 100% cotton anymore or even some combed cotton (don't like the feel/weight of it after washing). I have to have a blend or else the tops lose their shape and shrink. I have those "almost clothes", but I'm no closer to fitting in them. By the way, tonight was Day 29 or Day 30!!! Tomorrow is the big night for hitting that 1st 30 day goal. And can I just say I'm royally honked off that not one inch or pound has been lost?? And yet I sweat buckets..... I could spit nails it makes me so frustrated!!!
ReplyDeleteI do periodically go through my clothes, usually when the season changes. But I never thought about something that I can't wear now not fitting right after I can wear it, and I have a top that's a perfect example. It was a second, as most of my clothes are, and the sleeves just aren't cut right. I can't move my arms forward, and by the time the sleeves will be loose enough, the rest of the top, which fits nicely now, will probably look like a tent. I'm heading to my closet to get that thing and put it on the pile of long skirts that I won't ever wear again even if I do get to fit in them--come on, if I haven't worn them in 20 years (yikes!), I'm not likely to. Still hanging on to some classic sweaters that will look good if I can ever get rid of the muffin-top again...I don't have the 'too-short' problem. :)
ReplyDelete