Ok... See I am a nut... I kept all the sizes going up (the clothing I loved anyway) so now going down I find someone who's at the size I was, whom I know CAN'T spend the money I did and I make them try things on to see what works... If I still have some left then I find someone else... and again play Fashion Show... Sort of letting them shop for free... I seem to know enough people in that position that I can do it.
Trust me... The smile makes it worth it... and I stopped buying more than 3 pairs of pants per size about 2 years ago.
I am actually looking forward to 1-2 more sizes down because I have some killer dress pants on those sizes. Just no jeans...
And above all else I have to say that giving things away because they are too big feels like less of a waste than putting them in a closet because they are now too small.