[MileHighMama]

Hi everyone. I hate to keep bringing up this subject but it is still a difficult one for me. I posted in the support forum a month or two ago about when to get rid of fat clothes and most everyone recommended getting rid of them (donating, tossing, etc.) as soon as they no longer fit. I really believe in my heart that this is the right thing to do and I have gotten rid of a ton of stuff, such as jeans and tops that were almost worn out, out of date suits and dresses, etc. I have gradually replaced a lot of stuff and have a wardrobe that I absolutely love. Clothes have been a number one motivator for me to lose weight and I think being able to fit into my new stuff will help keep me on track in a big way. I love, love, love my new size 6 jeans (I have 4 pairs!) and dress slacks and pretty t-shirts and tops. I also have a number of blouses that I have never been able to wear before because my chest was so big that I couldn't find blouses in regular sizes to fit me. (I probably should have gone to plus sizes, but...).

Anyway, I really want to clean my closet out completely but I am having an awful time getting rid of some of my nicer, newer stuff, such as Liz Claiborne jackets and slacks, Eddie Bauer T-shirts, Levi jean shorts in size 14, an nice leather jacket, yada yada. I don't have anything designer that cost a lot, but they seem nice to me, and I still remember paying for them only a year or two ago! I've called several consignment shops in my area and most only want top of the line stuff from designers, like Ralph Lauren. One shop is interested in seeing my leather jacket but aren't interested in anything else. My sister in law wants my old stretchy pants, but nothing else.
Help me, please. How have you all dealt with your old clothes once you reached your goal weight? There's a part of me that is afraid to let go of the nicer (to me) stuff because I've lost and regained before. I really feel like this time will be different and I am absolutely dedicated to maintenance. I have NO PLANS to gain weight. But I also am terrified that there will come a day when I lose my motivation and the scale starts climbing again.

Thanks so much!
Pam

[alinnell]

I have held onto a few pieces that I thought I'd still be able to wear, and I look absolutely hideous in them now! I thought that a loose sweater over a more fitted top would be fine regardless of my weight. But some of my sweaters and sweater sets look like they belong to someone else. They simply do not fit.

My advice--try the clothes on and have someone take some photos of you from different angles (and from the back). Look at the photos closely and really pay attention to them. Do they really look good on you? Then keep them. But if it looks like you're swimming in them, then get rid of them. Sure it is difficult to get rid of a favorite or something that was quite expensive or something relatively new, but if it doesn't fit there is really no reason to keep it. Give it up. Let someone less fortunate "find" the treasure in a thrift shop.

[SlimLindy]

I know this is probably contrary to other people's advice but....

I have lost and regained 30 to 50 pounds SEVERAL times. This is a pretty dramatic shift in size (I've been down to a size 2 and up to a size 16/18). I, too, am ALL ABOUT the clothes, so every time I am going down in weight I gladly get rid of the big stuff and eagerly embrace smaller sizes. However, life is uncertain and at times more stressful than we might have bargained for. I have gone through two fall/winters in a row of regain and both times I had to go through the agony of buying some larger things to get by until my size goes back down. I hope to never go through this again, but...

Anyway, why don't you box everything up that doesn't fit you right now and store it somewhere where you can't regularly see it (attic, guest room closet, a friend's basement, etc). Put a date on it, say, one year from today. At that point, you will get rid of it (after all, things will start going out of style). Until then, you will forget about it and not think of it as an insurance policy! If you do think of it, consider it a motivation, The Box of Size ___ That I NEVER Want to Go Back To!

[mandalinn82]

If you really love a piece, pay to get it altered to fit your slimmer body. If you don't really love it, let it go - no matter how much you paid for it or how recently.

[lilybelle]

I gave most of my stuff that was too big to my Aunt. She is losing weight now and it's too big for her. Yippee. She took the stuff to goodwill. I threw away some of the stuff that wasn't very good. Sold a lot of it in my yard sale. When I was at my heaviest, I didn't spend much on nice clothes. So, it wasn't too much of a problem for me to feel good about getting rid of it. I do have 3 pr. of size 7 jeans that are too big in the waist and I am going to have my MIL put darts in them. I think if the clothes are only a size or two too big, they can be altered. But, your size 14's would be very difficult to resize to a 6.

[707Goddess]

This may sound crazy but it's what i did a while ago when i lost big time
You see there are alot of ladies that cant afford plus size clothes they are alot more expensive then regular so ladies buy alot of cheap strech pants
so i was doing WW and i asked the leader if it would be ok to bring some of my bigger clothes down to a meeting and she thought it was a great idea so she told everyone about this and alot of ladies that had lost brought in they're clothes as well, it was great seeing the smiles on some of these ladies face's since everyone hates to go shopping , i always get depressed
so even if your not on WW maybe find a local meeting or run an ad in the paper to give them away free to women who need them ?
just my 2 cents
Michelle

[mandalinn82]

CLothes can be resized quite a bit, more than just a few sizes. I know, because I officially shrunk out of my wedding dress a while back, and they told me they can alter it up to 8 whole numbers (which is 4 standard dress sizes...) for example, from a 18 to a 10.

[cagirlygirl]

Hi there,

I'm not a maintainer yet, but I thought I'd jump in anyway.

I vote for getting rid of too-big stuff, as well. My girlfriends and I organized a "clothing swap" last summer. We all went through our closets and found stuff that was too big or too small, or just plain didn't work out the way we wanted it to. Then, we all converged on one girl's house. We piled the clothes according to size, then everyone picked through stuff trying it on (we made sure the drapes were closed!) and seeing what fit.

It was loads of fun, and nice to have my oversized clothes go to good homes. And, I ended up with a bunch of stuff that looked good, but that I never would have tried on, because one of my friends suggested that it might work. At the end of the party, we bagged up all the leftovers and trotted them over to goodwill.

Just a thought... congratulations on your success!!! In the grand scheme of things, this is sort of a nice problem to have, no?

cheers!
paula

[Glory87]

I had a beautiful pair of lined, wool, Liz Clairborne pants that I had paid a ton of money for about 10 years ago, they were size 10. When I was heavy, I just kept lugging them around with me, they must have moved 4 times, I could never stand to get rid of them, they were so pretty and when I had felt so pretty and stylish when I was thin enough to wear them in the early 90s.

A funny thing happened when I lost weight this time, I kept waiting for my gorgeous pants to fit but when they did - styles had changed. They were much higher waisted than current fashion (and what I've grown comfortable wearing). I tried to consign them but the owner wouldn't take them since they were out of date. I donated them to Goodwill.

Long story - but the lesson I learned was go ahead and get rid of it, chances are, if your weight fluctuates, it might not be in style anyway.

[MileHighMama]

Thanks so much for the responses, ladies. I love the idea of having a clothing swap, but I want to deal with all of this stuff TODAY. I'm snowed in here in Dever, and I have the time, I'm in the right frame of mind, I'm having my daugher clean out her closet too, etc.
So here's my plan: I found a box (one large box) to put all of my favorite fat stuff into, i.e., things that are of high quality, relatively new and pretty. I'm going to allow myself to save no more than the box will hold. The rest is going to Goodwill. Sp far I have held out a few turtlenecks that my mother-in-law will wear and put a few items in a pile for possible consignment. I'm about half done and my closet is practically empty! But the things in it I love and will wear. This is such a good feeling. Still, I feel bad about the stuff in the box. I'm worried that this is giving me permission to gain back the weight. I think I'll do what SlimLindy suggests and put a date on it and stash it in the basement where I can't see it. Maybe after a few months of maintenance I will have more confidence in my abilities to keep the weight off and will be able to let it go. I wish I could let it go now but I just can't. I feel better because this is letting me move forward and revamp my closet and get my fat stuff out of sight, but not forcing me to do something I'm not ready to do.
Glory: I love your story about the brown pants. A few months ago I unpacked a box of skinny clothes that I had packed up about 15 years ago. Lots of nice highwaisted jeans in nonstretch denim. I could wear them now but no way do I want to. I LOVE the lower waisted stretch jeans and slacks!
Thanks everyone. I'm off to finish the job. Wish me luck!
Pam

[Cheercoach]

One word.....e-bay.....lol....hey, you'll make more money than having a garage sale!

[baffled111]

Hi everyone,

Sorry for resurrecting an older thread, but I want to second Cheercoach--sell your nicer fat clothes on Ebay. I went from a size 14 to a 6 a couple of years ago and couldn't afford to buy a whole new wardrobe, so I put all my old stuff (lots of mall-brand labels, like Banana Republic and J Crew, which helps stuff to sell) on Ebay. I made $600 with my old clothes and I was able to take that right out to the mall to buy all new stuff! And actually, buying clothes on Ebay is an excellent way of building a new, thin wardrobe (as this can be expensive) as well.

I put on about 12 pounds over the winter, and the fact that I would have to go and buy new fat clothes if I didn't get back on track with my weight and exercise really impelled me to make the changes I need to make. Getting rid of fat clothes really signals to yourself that you WILL NOT GET FAT AGAIN. Buying new thin clothes is fun; buying new fat clothes is most definitely not.

[Angihas2]

You can always donate them to a local womens shelter. Most of those women AND kids leave with what's on their backs. Alot of the shelters try and get them clothes for work and school but they dont really have the funding. Even my small town of 2700 people has a womens shelter, that's where I've been sending all of my outgrown clothes. When I see someone wearing something of mine, I feel great not so much about the lost weight, although, let's face it, thats great but also because I truly helped someone make their life better. Good luck!

[sportmom]

A REALLY REALLY good place to send your nicer clothes is to one of those women's organizations that support the first time job seeking women, the Welfare to Work programs, etc. There are many out there with nice names, like Working Wardrobe, etc, that specialize in getting interviewing clothes and first job clothes to economically disadvantaged entering the workforce for the first time.

Also, I remember during Katrina, they were specifically desperate for plus sized clothing. They were getting lots of donations from stores, but unfortunately, most people living in poverty and in need of assistance during disaster, tend to be overweight. So if there are no women's work entry programs, save everything up and send it off to the Red Cross the next time there's a natural disaster somewhere in the US.

I've done ebay too, and you can get lucky, but it seems now that just as much you have non-paying bidders, people who give you a hard time when they get what they ordered, and alot of crap that it's not always worth dealing with except if you have designer wear. Plus shipping's really getting expensive these days.............