Aspiring minimalist--what to do with "skinny clothes"? « Back to Group Discussions

[Lazurii]

Hi!  I'm new here but The Hubby and I would love to pare down our possessions.  I've been mentally looking at my wardrobe and I've come across a conundrum.  I've put on quite a bit of weight the last year due to depression and I've gone up a few clothes sizes.  However, things are looking up for me and I'm hoping to start eating better and slim down again.  I understand the advice of getting rid of whatever doesn't fit and then buying it again when I achieve my goal, but my budget is not big enough to entirely replace everything if/when I lose weight.

We have a garage with good storage space, so I was thinking of packing up all the skinny stuff and putting it in there.  If I don't get down to or approach that size in 6 months then I'll donate it.  Does this sound like a good plan to you guys?  What would you do in this situation?

Edited for typos.

[DoubleDouble]

I'd keep them. In 6 months you can get rid of most, but I would still keep a few outfits. In the last few years, I was sick a few times and lost weight. It was a good thing that I had some skinny clothes available - I had no health or energy to shop for new ones. It wasn't minimalist to store them, but it was minimalist to not spend time on going to stores, trying on things, finding the few that fit (always hard to do), spending money and energy on new stuff.

I didn't even plan on being skinnier, but it happened. If you anticipate losing weight, it makes sense to keep some clothes for that.

Edited by DoubleDouble - 4/9/12 at 2:16pm

[Kylanie]

I've had this problem. I have a 6 month old and determining what to keep versus what to donate has been a huge struggle. I decided to keep my nicer clothing items and store them in rubbermaid bins and then donate the things that I had over-worn or wouldn't miss. I didn't want to hang on to a HUGE skinny wardrobe that I might never fit into, but at the same time, I wanted to hang on to things that I'd be proud to wear again. I ended up getting rid of a lot of old t-shirts and mainly keeping the dresses, pants, skirts that I love. I haven't decided how long I'll keep them since I was able to pair it down.

So if it were me, I'd look at it and see what I would be okay with replacing and then store the others. Good luck on your weightloss journey. It's not easy.

[heyitskalista]

I think your plan is a great idea.  I certainly wouldn't suggest getting rid of it all if you are taking steps towards getting back into them again!

I kept a lot of my skinny clothes too and they were great motivation for me! 

[Paigekitten]

I have a similar dilemma with my pre-pregnancy clothes.  What I am currently doing is keeping my very favorite items.  I store them in my suitcase.  Once I fit them again the suitcase will be empty again, and I'll fill out what I kept with a few new items.

[Lazurii]

All great ideas.  I like advice to just keep my most favorite (definitely my baby pink Bermuda shorts ) and ditching the rest.  Maybe once my wardrobe is down to bare bones it will be incentive to finally sit down and sew something nice for myself.  One can hope...

[valleymomma]

I've taken my old clothing I wouldn't fit back into (mostly jeans and slacks) and made new skirts out of them. If you like the patchwork style, old clothing you used to enjoy are perfect.

[TracyGladRags]

Personally, it kind of bums me out to have a closet full of "skinny clothes." I'd rather have a few things that fit me well, and that I feel good wearing, than a whole pile of clothes I'll only fit into someday....

Can you donate the clothes, keeping only your very favorites? Most of the items can be replaced when you lose some of the weight, so just hold on to the really special or unique pieces. In the meantime, there are sure to be women in your community who are in need of the clothes that are just taking up space for you.

I volunteer for Dress for Success in Oregon, but they have nationwide chapters, and always need donations of clothing. My chapter takes non-professional clothing as well.

[crunchy mom qi]

I think your idea sounds great.  I am also trying to lose weight and I have kept my skinny clothes.  Just my favorites, but that's true of all of my clothing.

I found it to be more minimalist to not buy any more clothes for my current size, since I don't plan on continuing to wear them.  I only have one dressy dress, 2 everyday decent outfits, and some junky athletic clothes to help me exercise more.

I hate shopping & I don't have money, so I'm going to make this work for me. 

[Mommel]

Originally Posted by TracyGladRags 

Personally, it kind of bums me out to have a closet full of "skinny clothes." I'd rather have a few things that fit me well, and that I feel good wearing, than a whole pile of clothes I'll only fit into someday....

Me too! I get no motivation to exercise (or do anything) when I open the closet and think "everything in there is too small... what's the point of even trying to look nice?" and then I cry. No fun.

On the other minimalist wardrobe thread, I just reported that I'm going to all wrap dresses... the nice thing about these is that unless I lose a HUGE amount of weight, they'll still fit if I gain or lose... in fact, I have wrap dresses in sizes from 12-2X and they all fit great. Not everyone likes or looks good in wrap dresses, but it works for me!

[carlye828]

I constantly fluctuate weight.  I have always kept a small wardrobe though, and it works for me.  I wear clothes until they are dirty.  A kitchen apron helps.  I have 3 pair of jeans, in 3 graduating sizes.  If I need to wear jeans and my fitting size is dirty, it's not that big of a deal to wear the size up. (or down if I'm at the top.  Suck it in, sister!)  I have a couple elastic waist skirts and house pants, and a few pairs of nice capris and shorts sized like my jeans.  All of that crap fits in the 3 drawer dresser that I share with my husband. I probably have around 15 shirts hanging in my closet. 

I personally would never use storage space for skinny clothes.  That would be a guarantee that I would gain 10 pounds!