The only thing I have kept is one pair of jeans - the biggest ones I ever had. Everything else has gone. I have a friend who is also losing, but bigger than me, and I gave her first refusal on anything she wanted - the rest went on freecycle.
My mother said I shoul keep them "just in case" but as I never intend to wear anything over a UK size 10 again, I decided not to.
There were a few suitably stretchy things I put in my maternity wear bag as it's not out of the question that there might be another baby in my future, but most of it went.
So I have a pile now in my room that includes anything 1X, XXL, size 18 and size 20. It is going to Goodwill tomorrow. Only XL and size 16 allowed from now until they are too big!
One of the things that happened after I lost weight is that clothes lost some of their mystique for me. They became less precious. Because my size was now common, they weren't so hard to find, and I wasn't so emotionally invested in them, considering them treasure that I had to look high & low to finally come upon. So, while I care about them a great deal, I consider them highly disposable. There's never going to be a shortage of them. They go in & out of style very quickly. There are so many places where you can buy women's clothing -- so many retail outlets -- I mean, it's one of the biggest areas of consumer spending -- that I no longer think of any one item as absolutely irreplaceable. (Unless it's vintage.) So I have gotten into the habit of pruning my closets every other month of stuff I got excited about & then didn't wear. It's so easy to wave goodbye & to clear space for the next thing.
While there are many ways to reward yourself for weight loss, new clothes, (or new 2nd hand stuff) are a great reward. But I have to get rid of an item to get a new one. (limited closet space). I don't really like shopping, but it is more fun when I'm downsizing and when I feel good in my new stuff.
( as opposed to, this is nice and big and helps me not look as fat as I am)
I am enjoying my new fall wardrobe, although its a bit hot for some of my nice stuff.
I kept one pair of fat pants as well.
The rest of my 26/28s went to Goodwill
I tend to pull clothes out of the closet ONLY when they are so big they look ridiculous on me lol.
But there is a new pile on my bedroom floor of 20/22/24s that is slowly growing and is going to have to go soon.
I like donating them because I remember I used to be so jealous of my skinny friends going into thrift stores and finding super cute clothes. It seems like the only plus sized clothes at thrift stores are frumpy looking or something.
It makes me happy to donate my nice, corporate friendly slacks and igigi dresses because i know some woman is going to be halfheartedly looking through the racks and then is going to be so excited when she finds them =0)
Everything with holes, stains, or just plain ugly got thrown away. All underwear got tossed. Everything nice I saved. I have 12 dress sizes (30's to 8's) stored in totes in my attic. I have lost weight lots of times, and every time I have given away all my fat clothes, and every time I have gained it all back plus more and had to spend money I didn't have on new clothes. So at one point I figured they would stay there forever until I died (or gained weight back) and my kids could donate them or burn them...
BUT, I actually have been using a few of them lately. I read this article about a woman who goes into a thrift shop everyday and buys an old dress and then "refurbishes" it with alterations to make them more modern. I though, wow, I have a nice sewing machine and can sew pretty well, I should give it a try. So far I have taken 3 different skirts and cut them apart and made new smaller, and more modern versions. If's it's a nice fabric, (like raw silk or wool,) I plan on at least trying to do something with them as a new winter hobby. I have got many compliments on the skirts I have remade. I made them all into wrap arounds, but I plan on getting more brave and making actual fitted skirts for winter.
I bought an entire new wardrobe this summer, because everything was either worn out or too small (or both!) Then I started this diet - my timing is, as always, impeccable, haha.
As I outgrow (outshrink?) these new clothes I am planning to donate them to my local battered women shelter. They have a program that helps these women escape domestic tyranny; they provide counseling, help them find jobs, housing, etc. and a working wardrobe is a necessary part of the package. There are plenty of 2x women out there, and the idea that my new, healthier lifestyle would help another women start a new, healthier life holds an immense appeal to me.
I've donated a fair amount and thrown away things with holes or stains. It was easy to throw away my largest sizes or the clothes that I had bought and kept for years. However, donating clothes that I've bought along this journey are more difficult...i hate getting rid of clothes that are just months old. But, frankly, storage space in my house is at a premium so keeping old clothes I can't wear isn't possible.
