Clothes line.

So, I've lost about 40lbs now, and that's great, but here's the gig:

I can't throw away my clothes. I just can't. They literally fall off of me, and they look terrible, not to mention that some of them are ancient. And still, I can't let go.

Also,I've been finding that I feel compelled to stay on track by wearing clothes that actually fit me. I bought a pair of size 24 guess jeans the other day and I feel an obligation to stay able to fit in them!

I think the bottom line might just be that I'm cheap.

Has anyone else had this problem? Oh, and don't get me started on the bras (you know ladies, it's torture!).

Have you thought about, instead of throwing them away, donating them to Goodwill/Salvation Army/another organization?

 

Mypersonal  problem with the Salvation Army is that they turn around and sell the clothing I give to them. I take mine to a local church who GIVES them away to people that are in need. I think they might offer a tax write-off of some sort if there are enough clothes donated, but to be honest I'm just against giving them something, maybe getting a $2.50 write-off for it, but them selling it for $8-$10..

sorry, yeah, I would never actually throw away anything (like I said, cheap). I donate almost everything.

I still have my clothes and I just haven't gotten around to getting rid of them.  I did finally take them out of my closet.  However I am still wearing some of the sweat pants, luckily they have drawstrings and I can tie them up. Like you I am CHEAP!  I was lucky enough to get a new wardrobe at yard sales for about $25, so I am good until I reach my goal.  I got one pair of jeans in a size 8, cause I know that is what size I should be when I reach my goal.

i may be TOTALLY off here..but is alteration an option?

I don't throw anything away until it HAS to be thrown away, and even then I hack it to pieces and make something new with it.  Occassionally when I have things I don't care about enough to try to keep around I'll donate them to local churches or have my mom give them away to someone in need, but for the most part, I alter the hell out of my clothes so I can still wear them.

At a size 8, I'm wearing my size 24 jeans and they're not fallin' off of me.  It was a pain in the ass to get them this small, but I did it.

If alteration is an option, by all means go for it.  If you've got a friend who likes to sew and want to have them make you a completely new thing out of something old, give it a try!  You can make some really cool stuff out of old shirts and skirts.

Get a cardboard box and when something is big enough to look awful on you, or to be annoying (straps that fall down, a neckline that gapes etc.) then put the clothes into the box so you won't wear them again. By the time the box is full, you'll have had plenty of time to get used to NOT having those things in your wardrobe and it won't feel so bad to give them away. There's no need to throw them away - give them to the thrift store and know that they're going to help somebody else out, because plus-sized clothes are very hard to come by and usually expensive, and lots of people can't afford to buy them new!

And then, instead of buying new clothes yourself that you won't want to get rid of, you can buy stuff at the thrift store for a fraction of the price, and look on it as a loan. From the thrift store it came, and to the thrift store it shall return...

why don't you sell them on somewhere like craigslist?

Original Post by 10bysummer:

So, I've lost about 40lbs now, and that's great, but here's the gig:

I can't throw away my clothes. I just can't. They literally fall off of me, and they look terrible, not to mention that some of them are ancient. And still, I can't let go.

Also,I've been finding that I feel compelled to stay on track by wearing clothes that actually fit me. I bought a pair of size 24 guess jeans the other day and I feel an obligation to stay able to fit in them!

I think the bottom line might just be that I'm cheap.

Has anyone else had this problem? Oh, and don't get me started on the bras (you know ladies, it's torture!).

hi!

i understand you completely - ecpecially the more nice, expensive or just favourite clothes!

i was very lucky in this as i just ended up giving the nicer ones to my mom and dad (i have bought many male jeans etc because i could not find any female ones at my size). they are very happy (marks and spencer is a luxury brand to them as they are very frugal, and they also love lands end where i shopped online - so they feel like they have some extra special clothing and it fits, talk about genetics, hehe). the uglier ones, the worn ones, or the pieces that would not fit i gave to charity, and some ended up as rags (the really bad ones of course... my family is very frugal:))

this helped me with emotional issues with most of my clothes, but i do keep some t-shirts etc (some i have not worn for years), which now slowly becomes a problem: i have a ton of bands/festival t-shirts i really like, also i bought most of them when i was quite poor so they were like a big investment. i do not wear band t-shirts anymore as i am in my thirties and do not feel like it, apart from wearing at home. i could wear them when gardening at my parents or cleaning BUt here is the problem: they are not that old, worn or torn, well most of them. i somehow cannot make myself wear a nice, favourite t-shirt when i might destroy it.

I'm fairly frugal as well but wearing clothes that are ill fitting or unattractive would hinder my new life style changes.

I have a friend who is losing weight and is right behind me when it comes to weight loss so giving her an entire wardrobe of business attire made me feel good.

As I'm losing more weight I buy knit tops which give me more time to wear them as the inches shrink and I minimally alter other garments. I donate everything else and try shop inexpensively until I arrive at my goal weight.

Just take a box or bag and put your clothes which dont fit you anymore in in and just go and donate it,Dont keep it in your house otherwise you will never be able to get rid of them.

There is nothing wrong in buying cheap clothes when you are loosing weight and you know that this wont be your size for long.

Original Post by parul:

 

There is nothing wrong in buying cheap clothes when you are loosing weight and you know that this wont be your size for long.

yep. just bought several t-shirts at tesco (very cheap, quite good any ma current size) a few days ago. i am not going to buy expensive ones when i know they are only to be worn for a few months, but i want clothes that are my size. it of course costs money (i was planning to buy an espresso machine but decided to postpone it - i can buy it in a year or two anyway, now i need clothes). i did buy shoes that were not so cheap but i will be using these longer, also two really nice scarves. as i look better i am more into clothes, lol, and also SO MUCH MORE is available in my size now

What about freecycle??  Freecycle are local yahoo groups where peeps give everything away for free. There are always people looking for clothes and they get picked up pretty fast.

  I go to garage sales every weekend and have found some awesome smaller clothes (Yippee!) which helps with my budget.  My bigger clothes I sold some at our garage sale, and the rest I freecycled.