Downsize my wardrobe

with a lot of things in storage, your wardrobe becomes huger as you don’t like making trips back to storage unit.

I also inherited a lot of clothes from my friend who is losing lots of weight. I’m going through all that and made lots of donations to my favorite thrift stores since there were quite a few things I didn’t think I’d ever wear. I’ve made mass donations recently, but my closet still needs to be sorted along with my storage unit. I will just have to buck up one of these days and reserve a day to do it.

I made lots more progress on this tonight. I got rid of at least ten pairs of shoes I wasn’t wearing, and packed up five or six bags of clothes to go to donation. Sorted through all my sweaters and tossed the ratty ones. Yay.

I sorted out my summer stuff and stashed all the things that didn’t fit. Tossed a fair amount of old stuff that there wasn’t any reason to hang onto. And I made a goal of getting RID of the “toss pile”, since it is just hanging out on the windowsill. Out of sight is out of mind, but I’d like to get rid of it for good. Whoo!

A friend and I are recently about the same size. We’ve decided we’re both going to do a clean-out of the closet and toss junk we don’t wear in bags or boxes … then trade them. If she likes any of my stuff, she can have it, and vice versa … and neither of us will feel guilty about just donating the rest to the thrift store! It’ll be nice to take the pressure off myself to sell my things – I feel like I should at least TRY to get a little money for them, but I know that trips to Saginaw are not really in the cards for the next couple months.

It took a few weeks, but I have successfully donated and given away four trash bags worth of clothes, shoes, and purses. It’s like a bug has bitten me—I can’t give away enough! I came home the other night and still saw so much excess! I want to give away more. Now, the challenge is to make sure I don’t replace what I already got rid of. The goal was DOWNSIZE not REPLACE.

It feels good, though.

I have 3 kids, all of us have huge wardrobes. It makes laundry seem neve-ending! I could donate so much to a charity! I should clean out closets and dressers and just keep enough to make do. We don’t need so much. Living simply sounds like a good goal.

I have an idea- I am going to put up all the clothes that I am wishy washy about getting rid of. You know, I don’t love them, but they were either a. very expensive, b. something I kind of like, or c. too tight, but I might lose weight so I should keep them. Soooo, I’m going to fold everything up nicely and put it in a plastic storage box and put the box in the basement. I’ll see then if I go retrieve anything out of the box over the next few months. I think this will help me decide what goes and what stays.

I am going to get rid of every pair of shoes that hurt my feet AND every outfit that doesn’t make me feel good about myself, or is at the very least comfortable, no matter what I paid for it. I have been able to sell some of my clothes on ebay, and I have dontated a lot, too. I just cannot let myself feel guilty about the money that I spent on the stuff that I am purging from my life. I want to have lots of empty space in my closet and only outfits and shoes that are fabulous.

I have determined the best way not to let my wardrobe grow is to follow this rule: If I buy 2 new shirts, I must choose 2 shirts from my current wardrobe to give away. This way, I won’t get way too many clothes again! I have now managed to get my wardrobe down to an amount that will fit in my bedroom closet- no more keeping my out of season stuff on the garment rack in the basement and switching them out- Everything I have is in one closet- and honestly, it’s still way more than any one person needs. I read on FLYLady’s website the other night that she currently has only 4 pairs of pants that fit her, but that’s okay, she says, as long as she keeps her laundry caught up. What a concept! Imagine having only 4 pairs of pants!

I am officially freeing myself from the constraints of Stacy and Clinton’s rules as to What Not to Wear. I am no longer going to keep and/or purchase things because they fit the rules set up by someone else. I am 37 years old and I am going to wear what I damn well please, thank you very much. I am going to be comfortable. I absolutely HATE wearing jeans! So why do I buy them? Because they are what other people have deemed acceptable casual wear. No more. I want to wear sweat pants! Not nasty, holey, yukky sweatpants- nice, well-fitting boot-cut atheletic pants. Who cares if I never exercise? That’s what I feel most comfortable in, so that’s what my wardrobe will consist of, dammit! Yay Me!