Purging My Closet

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Hanfordrose
Hanfordrose Posts: 688 Member
in Motivation and Support
After losing 43 pounds and dropping down 3 to 4 sizes, it was becoming obvious that most of my clothes did not fit me anymore. After a shopping trip for some new blouses at Lane Bryant and a couple of online orders from Blair and Roaman's, I knew it was time to clean out my closet. My hubbie Ed said that all of my over sized clothes were to be donated to the Closet of Hope at Pastor Estella's church in Dinuba. I knew that was the right thing to do.

This is how things looked last week, with my 4 new blouses hanging on the left side of my crowded walk-in closet.

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With some help from Ed, I got all those 4X blouses (size 30-32), tank tops, turtle necks, nightgowns and even some Christmas tops out of this overflowing space.

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Piled on my bed, I could tell that these clothes would be filling up several large bags.

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Half way through my packing, I remember that a friend on MyFitnessPal had said to save 'one big blouse' for comparison later.

That black and white top was the last thing I bought, when I weighed in at over 280 pounds in 2011. So, it went to the back of my closet with some old tee shirts which I am keeping for work shirts in the future.

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I filled up this box with more than 50 hangers, as I bagged up all those clothes for their trip to Dinuba.

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I put some of the hangers back into my closet to receive those new blouses that are due to arrive on Monday or Tuesday. I will be donating the rest of the hangers along with my 'fat clothes' to the Closet of Hope.

There is that very large, black and white blouse in the back.

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This was about the 'healthiest thing' that I have done in years. Many of those clothes were over 20 years old. I won't say that I didn't linger over of few of those blouses and try to justify keeping them, because they were 'old favorites'...or 'cost a lot of money'...at some time in the past.

However...this is TODAY, and I am not wearing a size 4X anymore. It was time to move on and make room for my future.

By the way, that was only half of my closet. When my new pants arrive this week, I will know for sure my size in pants. I ordered a couple of sizes, because I am just guessing at the moment. Once I know my real size, I will order more pants; and the other side of my closet will also get a serious purging.
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  • mygrl4meee
    mygrl4meee Posts: 943 Member
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    Very good. It reminds me that I have a bag full of clothes to donate to the goodwill.
  • HollisGrant
    HollisGrant Posts: 2,022 Member
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    That's wonderful! You're beginning a new life. Congrats on the weight loss!
  • srdmomof3
    srdmomof3 Posts: 5 Member
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    That is So Wonderful! Congrats! Isn't it fun shopping for smaller sizes!!!
  • maryannelk
    maryannelk Posts: 707 Member
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    Don't you feel like you lost 10lbs just doing that? Let go....wheee! Enjoy shopping!
  • IndigoFlowers
    IndigoFlowers Posts: 221 Member
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    great work! When I had to purge all my old clothes it was such a great feeling, but then I stood in shock at the fact I had a nearly empty closet

    I happily gave all my old clothes to a friend's granddaughter, they were cute clothes and fit her perfectly... so it made me feel even better to be giving them to someone who needed them.
  • Hanfordrose
    Hanfordrose Posts: 688 Member
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    I am getting excited to try on all those new clothes that are coming this week.
  • jezama77
    jezama77 Posts: 138 Member
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    I really love the photo story type of pictures that you took. Way cool. And congrats on your weight loss. You might find yourself doing this again sometime if you are going forward in your weight loss journey. I know that I did! I might be getting ready to get rid of a few more things! :)
  • Hanfordrose
    Hanfordrose Posts: 688 Member
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    I really love the photo story type of pictures that you took. Way cool. And congrats on your weight loss. You might find yourself doing this again sometime if you are going forward in your weight loss journey. I know that I did! I might be getting ready to get rid of a few more things! :)

    Actually, I am still a long way from my final goal. At 70 pounds loss, I will qualify for double knee replacement surgery. Once I have my new knee, I want a Grannie Tricycle. Then, I can go biking with my hubbie.

    My ticker only shows the goal that my surgeon set for me. Once I have reach Onederland, I will reset my goal for about 170; and I may go even lower.

    I am planning to get new smaller clothes after I lose another 30 or 40 pounds lost.
  • michelle7673
    michelle7673 Posts: 370 Member
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    That's fantastic!!!!
  • BikerGirlElaine
    BikerGirlElaine Posts: 1,631 Member
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    You know what? This is probably the most awesome thread that I have read today! Thanks for taking the time to post!
  • nucgirl13
    nucgirl13 Posts: 56 Member
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    I did the same thing a few weeks ago. For some reason it is very hard for me to let go of old clothes, however it did seem like I was finally putting my footdown and saying that I will never need those clothes again. I think I'll be excited when I get to purge my closet of all my size 12s.

    Congratulations on the weight loss! Trying on new clothes is one of the best rewards!
  • bethlaf
    bethlaf Posts: 954 Member
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    AWESOME!!!!! i am "paying" myself 3.00 a pound so that i can do the same thing... such a great victory for you!
    its hard to get rid of the emotional memories of clothes sometimes..
  • sunnyhlw77
    sunnyhlw77 Posts: 204 Member
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    Awesome! I purged my closet a few weeks ago, so far they are all in our spare room, I only put clothes that fit into my closet and its empty looking like yours! You're doing such a fantastic job, isn't it amazing how strong we are when we've got the right motivation. I also want to thank you for your tip about the radishes, I made sure I got somet at the grocery store yesterday, what a nice snack, I'd completely forgot about them, I hadn't had them in years! Again, great job! and way to keep motivated! :flowerforyou:
  • Robin_Bin
    Robin_Bin Posts: 1,046 Member
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    Excellent! Looks like your closet has lost a lot of unnecessary weight too!
  • pinkgrandmaof8
    pinkgrandmaof8 Posts: 70 Member
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    Rosie, I did the same thing today! I have been hanging on to my fat clothes for years. Why, because I didn't really trust myself to have made a permanent change, so I kept my backup fat clothes. NO MORE!!! This time my heart, mind, and spirit are all in agreement and I know, that I know, that I know, I have made a permanent change. There are many things on the way out to donate, some things that fit me now, and a few that I can UN- grow into.
    I can't believe how much work it is! I have to try everything on before I know what to do with it. I'm still not done and my arthritc back is killing me, but it will be so good to get done and really know what I have.
    Congratulations Rosie, to you and to me for the courage to give up our fall-back plan!:bigsmile:
  • Hanfordrose
    Hanfordrose Posts: 688 Member
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    Rosie, I did the same thing today! I have been hanging on to my fat clothes for years. Why, because I didn't really trust myself to have made a permanent change, so I kept my backup fat clothes. NO MORE!!!...

    ...Congratulations Rosie, to you and to me for the courage to give up our fall-back plan!:bigsmile:

    That's just the point. By holding on to all those old clothes, I am giving myself the excuse to fall back...to give me a 'safety net' of FAT CLOTHES to fit a FAT BODY.

    It has got to stop! Many of those clothes stopped looking good on me years ago. I avoided shopping for new things, because I had a closet full of clothes...BUT...they don't fit me anymore.

    That empty side of the closet will soon contain some beautiful, new clothes in MY CURRENT SIZE. Yes, it will be fun to wear new clothes. It will also be fun to get rid of them, when I am another 30 to 40 pounds smaller.

    I am tired of waiting for my future. My future is now. I just spent about $400 for my new clothes, because I deserve it. I will happily spent another $400 in a few months, when these clothes are too big. Those clothes will also be given to a church charity closet, and I WON'T look back and say, "Maybe, I should keep them. They cost me so much money."

    I'm not waiting around to reach my final goal weight to look good in my clothes. I am not going justify a closet full of over sized clothes, because they cost money. I am not going to buy one blouse every 3 or 4 monthes either.

    NOW is the day to do something right and healthy for me.
  • Smile72
    Smile72 Posts: 104 Member
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    Way to go! Thanks for sharing.. I think that's awesome.
  • endoftheside
    endoftheside Posts: 568 Member
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    I did something similar a couple of weeks ago (not quite as dramatic, I would freak if I only had 4 shirts in my closet!), but a lot of the big tees got moved to sleepwear, several large bags for Goodwill, and everything left is on a backwards hanger so that if I don't wear it (and turn around the hanger) by the end of summer it's outta here. Feels NICE not to have so many different and unwearable sizes cluttering up the place.
  • jycrew
    jycrew Posts: 11 Member
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    Way to go Rosie, I cant wait to do the same.
  • sjeannot
    sjeannot Posts: 143
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    A true success story. Lov eit! Very nice. Thanks for sharign and congratulations. You are killing it. Now, don't stop and keep moving forward. You are so awesome. God bless!

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