Downsizing

Despite losing quite a bit of weight since my pregnancy I am nowhere near fitting into the majority of my pre-pregnancy clothes. I decided I could either dwell upon this fact or move on from it. I dumped all of the clothes from my closet and dresser out onto my bed and started digging through it.

Rather than taking my typical approach to purging I decided to create two piles. The first was everything that I love to wear. These items are not necessarily the most stylish or beautiful. This pile included my go-to clothes. The ones I find myself pulling out of my closet on a regular basis. This included clothes that I feel good in, that make me look good or are unbelievably comfortable. The second pile contained a bunch of clothes that I rarely or almost never wear.

I tried on each of the items in my pile of ‘every day’ clothes and weeded out anything that didn’t fit or was too ratty and worn. If an item didn’t fit I asked myself whether I still loved it or whether I would be willing to part with it. If I didn’t think I could live without it I folded it up and placed it in a very small cardboard box. When all was said and done I placed less than ten items in this box, sealed it up and placed it in the bottom of my closet. Hopefully I’ll lose those last ten pounds in the next few months. If I do the box will be opened. If I don’t the contents will eventually be donated.

As I searched through the second pile of clothing. I was most surprised by just how many articles of clothing I own but almost never wear. I had a few shirts that never fit as well as they should have. A bunch of dresses and skirts I bought on deep discount for special occasions, blouses I purchased for work and a pile of clothes I received as gifts. The last category included a random assortment of t-shirts from places other people visited or blouses from family members that didn’t fit when I received them.

As I weeded through this pile I asked myself why I never seem to wear these items and whether or not I saw that changing at any point in the near future. In the end I decided to donate all but a couple of shirts and dresses.

After bundling up the unwanted clothes and placing them in bags bound for the donation center I was quite amazed by just how little clothing remained. When all was said and done I managed to downsize from a twelve drawer dresser like this one

 to a three drawer dresser which is pretty similar in size to the one below.

I also managed to get rid of at least one-third of the clothes in my closet.

That extra weight gain provided me with the incentive to clear out my clothes. I still have a couple of items remaining that fit, but aren’t necessarily loved. If I lose those ten to fifteen pounds I’ll get rid of a few more of those.

If only it were as easy to purge this unwanted weight as it is to get rid of my unwanted clothing. Sigh.