DeclutteringAnother day, another challenge! Today we’re going to be sorting through the clothes we currently have hanging in our closets.
Truth be told, I don’t have a lot of hanging clothes. We have a large, kind of awkwardly narrow walk-in-closet that I rarely go into. My clothes are kept in my dresser in our bedroom and, if I’m being honest, on the floor of either my bedroom, bathroom, or laundry room. It’s not an ideal way to store clothes, that’s for sure!
I do, however, have things hanging in my closet that I rarely, if ever, wear, and this is mainly due to weight gain. I’ve mentioned before that my profile picture is a wee bit outdated now. When I started this blog, it was the closest thing I had to a head shot and I thought I’d update the picture when I lost more weight because it would only be a matter of months, right? Wrong! I’ve been blogging for almost three years now, and I’m at my highest non-pregnancy weight ever. It’s so depressing.
Last year I did lose 35 pounds, but I gained it all back not long after so I have a wardrobe that spans many sizes. I hope all of it will be too big in the not-so-distant future, but I’m scared to part with much of it because I don’t want to waste more money in the future on clothing I don’t love. Writing that feels silly though because if I don’t love it, why do I have it in my house?
Honestly, I don’t think I’ll love any clothing that would fit me at this size, but I can at least choose to keep things that I feel decent in and get rid of stuff I haven’t worn in a long, long time. My husband’s about to get a ton of extra space in our closet!
What kind of clothes are in your closet? Do you have a wardrobe that spans many sizes too? Are you holding on to any pieces you don’t love, and if so, why?
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karen
atYep! I too have many sizes from 8 (dress I wore to my bridal shower) 30 years ago to 26 a size I wore just 2 short years ago…. I do weed thru them often and get rid of the ones I do not love but….. I am guilty of holding on to those special few…. I guess its time to throw them all out and make room…. go back to the old way bring one piece of clothing in and get rid of one piece…..
Emily
atYeah, I finally just kind of told myself that even if I did lose weight and get to my ideal size I’d probably want to buy new clothes to celebrate anyway. It was hard to part with so much of my pre-pregnancy pieces, but I haven’t worn them in almost seven years so… it was time. 🙁
FuzzyJammies
atI have clothes in my closet that I’ve had for over 10 years, in the hope that I will lose the weight and get back into them. I don’t really like them, I just know how hard it is to find things where I live — we’re in a rural area and there’s nowhere decent to shop — so I hang onto them. Might be time to pry a few off the hangers.
Emily
atGood luck! I know it’s not easy.
Kate
atI’ve been AWOL a few days on the decluttering due to being away with work, but am back again with a vengeance! I had decluttered my wardrobe about 6-8 months ago but looking at it this morning, there was not much evidence of a recent declutter. I had still held on to dresses and clothes I have not worn in over 10 years. Because of an event I was at wearing a particular dress or outfit sparked a memory, (hen weekend, concerts, parties, wedding receptions, etc) or it was too big/too small/may fit into it again/style may come into fashion again, etc.
Today was different. I cleared it all out and placed the clothes on my bed, in separate piles: Tops, bottoms, dresses, work, formal. I then took all the shoes out of the bottom of the wardrobe and split them into heels, casual, work, summer. Then did a sort of Konmari method and picked up everything in turn, thought about it briefly, then put it down. If I loved it and wore it often or would definitely wear it again, it went in the “I love it” pile, if I didn’t love it, or if it was damaged/old/never to be worn by me again, it went into the “I don’t love it” pile.
I then sorted the “I don’t love it” pile into charity shop and anything damaged or torn etc, into a throw away pile. Most of it was charity shop worthy and about 40% of the entire wardrobe contents! Shocking.
The “I love it” pile was then checked more thoroughly. I tried everything on and if it didn’t fit or the cut wasn’t right for me etc, it went into the charity shop pile. About a further 20% was removed! The only thing I did keep which I am not planning to wear again is my wedding dress. That’s far too sentimental and will never be considered as clutter. (I have been known to vacuum the entire house while wearing it, but that’s another story!)
My wardrobe is now 60% clearer than it was this morning. You can actually see parts of the BACK of the wardrobe as there are gaps!
I am not even spurred on to fill it! I just love that all my clothes no longer need ironing because they are crushed together while waiting to be worn, and everything in there will be used and will see the light of day (or sparkle of night) when I wear them.
A good day!
Emily
atThat’s a GREAT day!! I desperately need to sort through my clothes. I’m still kind of in denial that I’ve gained weight and may of the things in my closet no longer fit… and haven’t for a long time. I’m going to have a lot to donate when I finally get around to doing it. Keep up the great work, Kate!