Thursday, July 7, 2011

My closet shrinks my clothes.


      I've always loved clothes. I think it comes from childhood when I didn't have many clothes. Then came middle/high school where dressing like everyone else was so important and I couldn't afford to.

      And while I don't spend a lot of money on my clothes, I get attached to them. Am I the only one who does that? Unfortunately, I've also gained weight in the past 8 years, but I couldn't bring myself to get rid of my skinny clothes. I just knew I would eventually fit into them. 

      Hope springs eternal, right?

      Without scaring you telling you how big I am now, I will tell you that I had clothes that ranged through five sizes. Finally, a year ago, I faced reality and gave away the smaller two sizes to a friend. That left three sizes for me to try to fit into.
      Instead of losing weight this winter, I gained more. 

      Again, am I the only one who does that? Gain when you're trying to lose? aauugghhh

      When unpacking my spring/summer clothes, I finally accepted that I had too many clothes and took quite a few bags to Goodwill. I was also inspired by the blogs I've seen about remixing outfits and only wearing the same 30 items of clothing in 30 days. 


It was time to purge.


      This is the stack of clothes I was left with that wouldn't fit. I just couldn't bring myself to give them away.



Some of them still have tags on them. Do you know what that means? They were too small when I bought them. I think I was delusional. There are 17 items in that pile. I decided that every Sunday I would try them on to see if any of them fit.


Yay! This black skirt fits. I've actually worn it twice. 
Skirts are actually cooler than shorts for me.





Goodwill got three pairs of cropped pants - one that still had the tags.




      Then I tried everything on again. One pair of denim capris almost fit, but before you congratulate me, let me tell you they're the size I am currently wearing.
      Oh.

      I put the remaining clothes in 3 piles. 


      The first pile has three pairs that I might be able to wear after losing 5-7 pounds. 
So far I've lost 3 pounds and that's not enough.

      The second pile has two skirts and one pair of shorts that I would love to wear.
I need the blue pair if I'm going to wear red, white, and blue for the Fourth of July.
That didn't happen.

      Those combined six items are one size smaller than I wear now. But you know how sizes vary. It's only a number, right?


      The last pile has six more items, and I think we can call that the so not going to happen pile. I'm giving myself until August. If they don't fit by then, they're going to Goodwill. 

      I can't justify storing those clothes any longer when someone else could be wearing them.



      As I was putting the pile of now thirteen items back in my closet, I saw another pair of pants hanging up. They are the very smallest size I've ever worn. I guess I kept them for inspiration.
hahaha

How long do you keep clothes that don't fit? 








5 comments:

Ruffles and Relics said...

Too funny.. Why do us women do that? I too have all size range in my closet.. The only thing I haven't kept is maternity clothes:} Have a great evening..

Ruffles and Relics said...

Forgot to mention being the youngest of 3 sisters, lucky me got all the hand me downs.. and yes.. I even got some of my brother's hand me down jean's too,]

Jacqueline Lee said...

Yeah, I always just thought clothes shrink my closet ;)

I've gotten better at giving away my old clothes, but I still always worry that I'm going to miss what I give away- that there will be a new skirt in my life and then the only shirt meant for it is the one I stupidly left behind. It's a girl thing! Lol

Scarlett said...

You must have the same brand of closet as mine ;o) lol Ive got loads of different sizes but i cant seem to give any up! Scarlett x

Wendy@~Chez~La~De~da~ said...

With all the tornado victims here in east Tennessee...I finally purged my skinny clothes! Can you hear me sobbing? All newer cuz I had dropped a lot of weight one summer and was incredible and thin and in shape!!! Ummm not any more. One summer and then back to UGH! I would have held them for EVER had it not been for the victims of the tornados! (sad sad sad!)