I have several pretty skirts that are size 8. They are in great condition and still stylish even though I purchased them nearly 10 years ago. They are fall season skirts (i.e. you wear them with knee high boots).

I've been holding on to them with the hope of fitting into them again some day. Currently, I can't even get the skirts past my butt if I attempt to put them on from the bottom. If I attempt to put them on from above my head, then they can't even get to waist because they get stuck about 3 inches past my breast !

I sometimes think it might be psychologically bad to hold on to these pretty skirts that I wore in my early 20s. Should I give them away? I've also been holding on to some old jeans I use to be able to fit into when I was in my early to mid 20s. Any thoughts?

I think that's a personal decision only you can make. I can tell you that throughout my journey, I actually had a dress that I wanted to wear hanging up in my room right where I could see it every day when I woke up and every night before I went to sleep. Personally, I find that to be great motivation and it doesn't cost anything. I think sometimes people actually buy smaller things to motivate them, so the fact that you already have it seems like a great thing!

Are you planning to get down into them again? If so, you might want to keep them just to have clothes to wear until you can buy them.

If you're never planning on wearing them again, why keep them?

Smaller clothes from middle school that I happened to keep came in handy for me when I was losing. They saved me money in the summer when I happened to get to that same size—especially since it was the end of the summer and I didn't really want to buy things I would only be able to wear for a few weeks!

I don't think it's a bad idea, IF you don't find it too daunting when you try them on. I would just worry about, when you're having a particularly difficult time, trying them on and thinking "what's the use, I'll never fit into this...."

I'm with Luckymommy, only you know if it's really helping you or not. If you do keep them, I would suggest not trying them on very often at all- make sure you will see a very noticeable difference each time. If they're that far from fitting, you don't want to try them on even once a month, IMO.

But if they're part of what inspired you, you may so love when you can fit them again that it's worth it. I have the same dilemma with buying smaller. I kind of wanted to buy a size 10, cos that's my goal, and try them on periodically. But on the other hand, I don't want to buy anything till I really CAN wear them, because I think for me that's a little more motivating.

I donated all of my very smallest clothes (size 4's) to our church's ministry. They all went to clothe a young mother who had lost everything. I saved everything size 6 and up (at the time of the donation I was a size 16).

I am so very glad I saved the clothes, because I had clothes to wear as I shrunk (didn't have to go shopping every few weeks) AND I am now wearing the size 6's again. Some of them were quite dated and I gave them to charity, but most of them are timeless styles and I am able to wear them and still look fashionable.

Still, I have saved all of my nicer "fat" clothes. I did this because the last two times I lost weight it cost a fortune to buy new clothes when I gained the weight back. This time I plan to keep them for a year and WHEN I make it a whole year without gaining it back, at the end of the first year I will get rid of the top three sizes (16,14,12). WHEN I make it to the end of the second year without gaining it back, I will get rid of the 10's & 8's.

For six years I held onto size 6 clothing that I could no longer fit into. Finally, though, I gave up on the idea of ever getting back into a size 6, and even though this past June, I started losing weight again, I still didn't believe I would get into a size 6, so I gave those clothes away. How I regret that now! I would have had an entire closet full of cool clothes.

So, it depends on how much room you have to store the clothes and whether your goal is to fit back into those clothes.

Its up to you , personally I have kept a pair of my "skinny jeans" to motivate me xx

It might be seen differently by different people. It could be a good thing or a bad thing....to me, I guess I feel indifferent about it.
When I started gaining weight a few years ago (I think because I went off a medication), the change was so rapid that I went through clothes so fast it would've been a major waste to get rid of them. I gained.....60 pounds in less than 6 months. It was bad.
So I've got a few boxes of clothing in the basement that are waiting for me. I don't keep them around or hanging in my closet as "motivation." I don't think it would work that way for me....they're already in the back of my mind, and it doesn't bring me anything but shame instead of motivation. I hope I keep losing weight because....damn.....I'm going to have a lot more clothes to wear than I do now, and for free!

It's totally your call. Just remember sometimes your weight sits differently when you get older, so don't beat yourself up!

I've been holding onto a skirt for 19 years. I can finally wear it and it fits me better than it ever has as it was tight when I got it, and I will wear it this weekend. I knew I should be able to wear it again. I loved it and it was classic, so I kept it. I kept a bunch of other things too and guess what? They are now too big. It felt great to realize that these things I had been holding onto until now (about 6 pieces in all) actually weren't as small as they seemed when I started out.

So why get rid of them? Unless they are from a time and weight that is truly unrealistic for you to get to again?

And I don't agree that as you get older your body changes so much that you can't wear classic pieces. My body, a fit 42 looks as good in clothes, if not better, than when I was the same weight as an unfit 22. Now... Hoochie mama clothes arr an entirely different thing. But classic is classic.

I just donate it because I don't have the space. The only old thing I want to hold on to is a dress for my daughter. The rest? If it doesn't fit me NOW, I want it out of here.

There is a real pleasure in knowing I can fit ANYTHING in the closet.

A.

Thanks for your 2 cents worth ladies! I will fold them up, put them in boxes, and out of sight for awhile. They are hanging right up in front and center in my closet right now. Perhaps if I had only a couple of dress sizes to lose, then looking at them would motivate me. For now, I'll keep them out of sight and out of mind. Thanks again!

I have size 8 jeans I have had for 13 years and there is no way I am letting them go. I am not sure if I will every wear them beyond my house but I WILL see the day I will fit my butt back into them. Then perhaps at THAT point, I may decide to donate them but until the day I can slide into them, they will stay comfortably packed away in my closet.

this worked for me well. it kept me motivated through out my weight loss program n now i fit into most of those clothes....
still there are few jeans which i hope i can wear someday. also these clothes come in handy when u lost and ur previous clothes seems too loose to fit in..

so dnt give up...
cheers

I saved boxes of my "skinny" clothing, went to reclaim some of it from the basement storage recently, and found that most were all too big for me now. I did alterations on some of them and donated some others. Overall, I was glad to have saved them.