Out with the Old: Ditching Clothes that Don’t Fit

GREAT tips for stress relief! Thanks to everyone who contributed. My tips?

1.    Ginger tea
2.    Deep breathing and twisting stretches
3.    A progressive relaxation

Back in days of yore, my therapist used to point out that I could easily blab talk for twenty minutes at a time without stopping once to take a breath. I credit her for teaching me to breathe deeply, and for teaching me how to do a progressive relaxation (or PMI). There are plenty of ways to do a PMI, but my simple version is to lie on my back and slowly relax each part of my body, starting with my toes and ending with my forehead. (It’s not at all unlike what one might experience in savasana.) You can do it anywhere (I do this in my office frequently), and take as much time as you’ve got. Try it!

Since we’re chatting about anxiety, let’s discuss a commonplace source of anxiety: ill fitting clothes. We’re all sensitive to clothes and how they fit: how could we not be? Clothes are an unmistakable reminder of our body’s dimensions. Sometimes, that reminder becomes a little burdensome. This, friends, is why I recommend being the keeper of a dynamic wardrobe-a wardrobe that changes with you.

Our bodies, like our characters and values and personalities, exist in a gentle state of flux. Dramatic shifts in weight usually signal trouble: they may indicate an illness, a hormonal imbalance, depression, or eating habits that are overly restrictive or excessive. But small ups and downs in weight—which can be caused by minor dietary changes, new fitness routines, hormonal cycles, or water retention and release—are par for the course for any healthy body as a year goes by.

For men or women who have struggled with eating disorders, meanwhile, weight gain—sometimes more than the small amount I’ve just described—is a crucial part of the path to wellness. You can’t be skin and bones and be healthy at the same time; accepting this is crucial for recovery. And part of this acceptance means not looking back with a wistful glance at your once too-thin form and the clothes you dressed it in.

Many of my readers are women who were once too thin. And many of them are tormented by articles of clothing that serve as reminders of their former ill health; double-zero pants seem to put their now healthy bodies to shame, while XS blouses taunt them from the recesses of their wardrobes. I’m never surprised when I receive emails from readers who describe an emotional battle with outgrown clothing–who among us could possibly not be sensitive to jeans that are too tight? What does surprise me is how many women simply keep these clothes around, trying them on now and again only to be reminded that they don’t fit, or wearing clothes that are too tight to be comfortable. If this sounds familiar, I have one word for you:

Ebay.

That’s right. Ebay, my friends. It may come as a surprise to you, but there is no reason on God’s earth why you should be clinging to clothes that no longer fit. Freedom is but a mouse click away. Now, it may feel wasteful: for those of us on a budget, getting rid of any garment, no matter what the reason, seems tantamount to sin. But what’s ultimately more important? Your maintenance of good health, or saving a dime? Get real. Ebay is there for a reason—it’s a way to make a buck off of clothing that isn’t wearable anymore. And clothes you wore when you were too thin don’t qualify as wearable.

There are other options. You can share clothing with a friend. You can give them to a thrift store or Salvation Army store. You can walk to virtually any church and find a donation acceptance box. When I was growing up, my Mom and I always gave anything I’d outgrown to my building super, who gave them to his daughter. There are plenty of options. The important thing is for you to stop loving the clothes that don’t love you.

This, I assure you, will be freeing. It’ll free you from the physical reminders of a dark past. It’ll serve as proof that you’ve moved past the desire to inhabit a body that isn’t healthy. It’ll make you feel brave, because it won’t be easy. And on a practical level, it’ll encourage you to devote time and money to finding clothing that makes you feel comfortable. Walking around in a pair of jeans that are  a size too small is not only psychologically precarious—it’s impractical and silly! Building a wardrobe that fits you is common sense.

This isn’t only advice for the formerly disordered. Even if your body has experienced a small, but healthy change (in other words, if you’ve gained a little weight that was unintentional, but is still perfectly healthy), it’s worth having a wardrobe that works with you, rather than against you. Obviously, I’m not suggesting that anyone has the money to overhaul her closet every single time her body goes up or down by a few pounds. But I do think it’s smart to have a wardrobe that accommodates your body’s dynamism, rather than using clothes to reinforce the idea that your body isn’t allowed to change.

As much as I like to encourage women to accept our bodies as stable entities (in the sense that I discourage constant pressure to shape up), I also think it’s important for all of us to remember that our bodies are not fixed. They develop with us. They accommodate puberty, childbearing, and menopause. They reflect growth. So give your body the freedom to evolve.

This philosophy, like any other, can be taken to an extreme; if you are already at a robust and ideal body weight, then observing how clothes fit can be a practical way of knowing whether or not your body is staying in a healthy place. But if old clothing is holding you back from self-acceptance, then do yourself a favor and dive into some spring cleaning. This isn’t giving up, or giving in—it’s a way of embracing growth. And the best part is that you’ll emerge with a wardrobe that makes you feel your best–isn’t that what clothing is supposed to do?

What do you think? Do you like the idea of a dynamic wardrobe? Have you ever allowed a piece of clothing to trap you in the past?

On that note, it’s back to work I go. For any of you who loved raw Wednesdays last spring and summer, check out the revival of that tradition over at Whole Living Daily. I’m excited to be strumming up enthusiasm again!

xo

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    57 Comments
  1. Beautiful post, exactly what I needed. I have been holding on to clothes from my early twenties that I “may some day fit into” instead of embracing that I have matured and should be happy to be in the body that I am now, even if it means being ten pounds heavier and a size bigger.

  2. Hi thanks for this website. i am in the middle of a pile of clothes right now. not sure whether to give away, keep or sell. This is a problem because I need the space. I am trying to get organised and it is taking forever. Please help

  3. Thanks for this post Gena !
    It comes in the same time I’m dealing with an over-cluttered room.

    Due to depression and so lack of appettite, I’ve lost something like 24,2 pounds ( I’m rather used to say 11kg, since I’me french) in seven months.
    Maybe it’s was due in part to the fact that I kept bicycle every day 14km or for 30mn to go to school and when I felt better I started to eat even healthier than in my pre-depression days.

    It is the lowest weight since I was 15, so 10 years ago, when I starve myself with a low calorie diet.

    So since I’m moved back to my parents home for summer, I really realized that I have too many clothes and a lot that are too big.
    But I don’t really know if I should get rid off this or if I should wait to see if I gain weight…

    Now I’ve bought lot of dresses and skirts who could accomodate for a bigger me, with elasticated waist, but for the pants, I’m still keeping my old jeans. That’s a shame because I have something like 11 trousers/jeans that don’t fit me anymore!
    (ps : a lot were donated to me by my family, especially my mother, b/c she had gained a lot of weight with menopause and too much sugary things 😉 ! )

    Thanks again Gena, I will try to let my wardrobe more dynamic

  4. love this post Gena! I have def done this in the past and have tried my hardest to keep doing it! i normally won’t keep things longer than 8-12 months if i haven’t worn it; won’t even try it on to see if i keep it!

  5. Thanks for this post! Being in my early forties, things have shifted slightly. Even with consistent work outs and eating right, I have found my clothes have changed the way they fit. Clothes should fit us, we should not fit the clothes!! Thanks Gina for reminding me of this great lesson.

  6. Being in denial for a LONG while, I was holding on to some old size 00-0 pants. Lately I’ve been realizing, though, that a little curve on me is actually WAY more healthy for me, and now I’m okay with being more of a size 1-2 (while some 0’s do still fit, they are rareities). Thanks to this post, I am finally donating those old pants. 🙂

  7. I used to keep everything….esp. the tiny clothes that were impossible for me to fit into aside from starving myself. One day I finally decided to let go of those clothes and I felt so much better. Now I only keep the clothes that currently fit me.

  8. Wow. That’s a really inspiring post. I can’t count how many times I’ve let a pair of Levis determine my happiness for the day.

  9. Gena,

    Just a quick note to convey my sincere admiration for your body of work; what a tremendous gift you have provided and continue to do so with such zeal! Bravo, darling!

    (I follow regularly and obviously derive buckets of bliss from your musings!)…Quick question from a fellow nerdy wordsmith…is nooch neutch? 🙂

    TGH

  10. i definitely have a dynamic wardrobe… and in fact most of my clothes are currently on the biggish side for me since i’ve gone semi raw. but i still find it extremely difficult to “love my body” or anything like that. i’m wondering if this is a problem that only i have?… bleh.

    ps. thanks for the progressive muscle relaxation idea — i think i will try this out. i’ve been plagued with anxiety these days.

  11. What a fantastic post. Dynamic wardrobe. A great, genius idea. I guess we all have clothes that for some silly reason we think we will one day wear again.

  12. I have amassed clothes in so many different sizes over the past two years as a result of constantly losing/gaining weight due to crohn’s disease, and have a hard time parting with anything as I’m never quite sure what size I’m going to be two months from now (size 24? Will I be on prednisone again and balloon to a 27?).
    I was just thinking about that the other day, so this is a timely post for me. I ended up giving the clothes I decided I could do without to a friend who shopped them around to consignment shops to make money for a trip she’s going on.

  13. Great post – the emotional attachment to our clothes is very real. Recently I set out with a goal to fill a mere 3 paper sacks with castoffs for charity. I ended up filling NINETEEN garbage bags full of clothes that no longer fit or flatter. It wasn’t easy. So many items were associated with good memories. Others were items I made myself. But having a closet with a dozen outfits that truly fit and flatter is SOOOOO much more freeing than a closet jam packed with clothes that don’t make me feel or look good!

  14. half of the clothes in my wardrobe are too small for me! i’ve been torturing myself for months with tiny clothes that no longer fit, so this post really spoke to me. last summer, i was wearing size 0-2 shorts, and now i wear a size 6. (my BMI went from 19-22, so both are in the “healthy” range). most of my shirts fit well enough, but none of my bottoms (besides workout shorts) fit. the issue is that i’m not sure how much of that is healthy weight and how much is from too much chocolate and not enough exercise (due to running injuries). so i’ve been buying minimal amounts of cheap clothing that actually fits (thank god for target!), but i don’t want to buy a whole new wardrobe when i might shed 10 lbs after i finally am able get back into my workout routine.

    i have been feeling so ashamed having to waste money on new clothes when have i already have a wardrobe that i love, but this post made me feel better about it. “stop loving clothes that don’t love you” <– so well said. thank you.

  15. Hi Gena,
    thanks for your great post. I just threw out 11 pairs of size zero jeans pairs (I fit in 3 years ago), some skirts and shirts I will never fit in again and wich always look at me when I´m standing at my closet. I photographed them and they will be up on *beeep* tonight! 🙂 Their time is up. Although I must admit I still have some more clothes like that in my closet. Hmmm… maybe I need another great-feeling moment like I had just now in some weeks or so 😉

  16. So funny that you wrote this! Just over the weekend I got rid of bags and bags of clothes (all going to Goodwill – Canadian version of Salvation Army) and even inspired my mom to do the same. In both of our cases we have gained weight…too much indulgence of yummy vegan food…but we are both on a fitness path now and even though we may have kept a few special items ‘just in case’ we get back to our thinner-selves, the rest has gone out the door and it feels really good. I’m a long-time reader and love your blog. Thanks so much Gena! 🙂

    P.S. I even featured one of your recipes in the Toronto Vegetarian Association newsletter when I was named volunteer of the month. Hopefully I got you some more followers!

  17. I actually love getting rid of clothes that I no longer wear on a regular basis or that don’t fit me well. I don’t like having things around that are not useful, especially clothes! But I did hang on to a pair of jeans for quite awhile that I wore when I was going through an ED. I wasn’t hoping to fit into them again, but for some reason I just wanted that physical evidence, I guess. They’re gone now. 🙂

  18. Gena, this was such a wonderful post that I can definitely relate to. I still have clothing from high school that is sooo tiny since I was pretty much pre-pubescent until college. I always go home to my parents and see many old favorite jeans and know they must be thrown away. I am going to to do a clean out tomorrow since I am moving in with my boyfriend, which means it is perfect timing (or an excuse). Thanks again for sharing with us ways of trying to be more healthy individuals, by both body and mind.

  19. LOVE this post! Last year I lost a bit of weight due to illness. I had to buy a new pair of shorts and a new pair of jeans to accommodate the weight loss. While I not only felt too thin and certainly received unwelcome comments about looking too thin, lo and behold when the weight started to come back on, the tightness of those temporary clothes produced feelings of failure. I knew if I kept them around the temptation to constantly try them on would get the best of me. So, into the donation pile they went.

    In addition to the body image issues that ill-fitting clothes produce, the physical clutter of unnecessary excess always screws with my head space. If my closet and drawers are a mess, other areas of my life start to become a bit messy as well. A simple, sparse apartment results in a lot more room for my creative pursuits. Sounds strange but it has always been a direct correlation for me.

  20. You’ve got to be psychic. I’m a recovering anorexic (and that’s the first time I’ve written that down), and just cleaned my closet of all my size zeros. They still fit, but barely. I’m getting rid of them now because keeping them is giving myself permission to remain that thin, and that’s unacceptable. If they’re not there, then I have to get new clothes, and that means bigger clothes, and with that comes a healthier me… I hope! It’s one day at a time.

    • Molly,

      Congrats to you for writing it down. You should be SO proud of yourself. We all applaud and support you!

      Gena

  21. As usual, I truly appreciate this post. I have a section of a drawer of jeans that once fit me, only for a short time. I can honestly say that I am healthier now than I have ever been even though I’m no longer that size. Will being that size make me “healthier”? It depends. Will it make me happier? I used to think so, not so much anymore. I’m working on accepting myself “as is” and I think donating those jeans will be a huge step for me! Thank you for the inspiration. 🙂

  22. This is a very timely post for me–just a few weeks ago, I bought a few pairs of shorts in a larger size to accommodate my newly acquired derriere. At first it was a little disappointing, but then I realized that it was a sign of improved health rather than weight gain. Now I just need to get rid of the too-tiny clothes!

  23. I really love this post. It’s interesting to read all the comments because this is an issue I struggle with, but it never occurred to me that others did, too. It’s seems so “Duh” now, but really, I thought it was just me who clung onto clothes too small… (I have also clung onto clothes too large, but that’s mostly because I have a realllly hard time getting rid of things!)

    Last year I went through my closet & donated a TON of clothes (I’m talking a decade’s worth, with many sizes represented!). Yet I kept one pair of jeans from my very skinny days when I was dealing with my bout of disordered eating. They were my most expensive jeans, but I know that isn’t the reason I kept them. I kept them because they were also the smallest size I ever bought. Deciding to keep them wasn’t even a conscious thought, really, and I definitely don’t hope to fit into them again. I just know that I can’t, and I shouldn’t. But even still, I felt like I wanted to keep them. I’ve only tried them on once, “just to see” how far from that old body I am now… And even though I don’t have a desire to go back to that teeny size, I felt bad that I couldn’t even get them over my thighs. You’ve inspired me to get those jeans out of my life & never try them on again! Who needs ’em?

  24. Gena,

    Thank you SO much for this post! It was really eye-opening and inspiring me at this point in my recovery. This is the first season of clothing that I have had to face with my healthier body and it was really upsetting and discouraging at first. This post made me realize that there is no reason to feel bad anymore by hanging on to the clothing articles of that time of my life.

    I will making a nice ebay account soon for some gently used items from unhealthy days past: teeny-tiny girls can have ’em!

  25. Just stopping over to say…

    I love your blog.

    I don’t often comment because I read from my iPhone, but I love that your posts make me think.

    xo.

  26. Thank you for this. I really needed to hear this today. It is always a struggle when the seasons change to see if you fit into the clothes you wore last season. My favorite skirts are the most adaptable and least rigid. I am sticking to them right now.

  27. Oh gosh I am that girl…keeps clothes to only try them on once and while to make sure I am “in check” Actually I have one pair of jeans in particular that I keep trying to fit it, but my body just does not want to fit. I will work up the strength to get rid of these pants, it is hard because I do not want to feel like a failure….that I could not lose the little bit of weight I want to so I can wear them once again. Crazy, I know.

    But I will work on going through my old clothes that no longer work with me.

    Great Post Gena!! As always thanks for the inspiration!

  28. I love this post i think it is so insightful. You say that to get better from disordered eating that you have to accept that you cannot be healthy and be skin and bones. This is logically true to me but you are extreemly skinny.

    Where does one draw the line on what weight is healthy and what is not?

    • Hi Julie,

      That’s not an unfair observation (I’m thin). It’s obviously hard to say what a healthy weight is, and a topic for another day. BMI is a decent place to start. While it’s true that you can have a high or low BMI and still be healthy, I’d say that the upper and lower limits have validity for most people. So the fact that I fall within the normal BMI range is, to me, a signal of health. There are other ways I could define my health — mental freedom, emotional peace, physical robustness, noting that my weight is a stable average within the context of my own body — but BMI would be an objective way.

      G

  29. I’M SO GLAD YOU ACTUALLY WROTE THIS POST!!!!!! When you told me about it I was so excited for it to go up, and you made it just as awesome as I expected! Thanks!!

    xox

  30. Hey there! I love your blog and enjoy your thoughtfulness and extended knowledge that goes into each and every post you write 🙂 You inspire me Gina!

    I finally got rid of a pair of jeans a few months back that were an unhealthy reminder of a weight that was way too hard to maintain for me. I would always try them on and no joke if I was 1 to two pounds heavier they would not fit! And muffin top and not to mention camel toe are not attractive either! So thank you for reminding readers to dress appropriately because none of us want to see that either!!! lol

  31. I’m at a point in my life where I don’t want anything extra/not being used, etc hanging around. If it’s not being used/worn or whatever, out it goes. Definitely could benefit someone else. I will admit my closet is a bit bare but it’s also freeing not having all this stuff to look at that you don’t/can’t wear. Great post Gena!

  32. This is SUCH a great post. Thanks for constantly addressing issues that other sites don’t. Issues that women might berate themselves for becuase they don’t realise so many of us are afflicted.

    And thanks for keeping it real!

  33. Getting rid of old things is a challenge for me. My mom really struggles with letting anything go and the consequent clutter (understatement). I’ve been getting better- I love the feeling after clearing things out. I have given away 90% of my anorexic clothing… I think there might be one dress and one pair of jeans at my parents’ home, but it’s nothing I keep around to wear. Clothing has been such a struggle for me because since age 14 I have been overweight, normal, anorexic, very overweight, high-normal, overweight, lower normal, and higher normal, it roughly that order. I never fit into any piece of clothing for more than about a year. In the past few years it’s been more stable but still enough flux that I have jeans for the past two-ish years that are too tight and jeans that are too big. In college (the overweight stage) I consistently wore clothing that was too tight because I somehow thought that I could prevent further weight gain by the constant reminder that my clothes were too small. It’s pretty embarrassing to look back on, and was pretty unflattering as well. I’m pretty good about wearing things that fit now. My current rule is to keep anything one size too big or one size too small, because it’s fairly likely I will need them again. Anything else I hope to not need again.
    I do love clothes that fit fairly well at a range of sizes- I have several loose long skirts that work well in this way. Stretchy athletic shorts and tops are also useful.

  34. Great post Gena. It’s true- most people’s bodies will flux a little. I think you should live and treat your bodies the way you want to and then buy clothes that adapt to that…not the other way around!

    I have a dynamic wardrobe with pants ranging in different sizes to casual dresses. Because it’s hard to not fit in a dress 🙂

  35. I love this post and definitely own a dynamic wardrobe for the majority. This is partly because the bloating that comes with my IBS makes this essential 🙂 I’m 100% with you, a dynamic wardrobe is the only wardrobe one should have! x

  36. Great post, but I don’t know about selling on eBay being a mouse click away. 😛 It’s been awhile since I’ve sold clothes on eBay, but it was a lengthy process of picture taking and carefully worded descriptions that somehow still had buyers emailing me redundant questions. I quit when eBay updated their policy giving buyers the advantage and I got caught in a nightmare of a dispute with a buyer trying to scam me out of money by abusing the feedback system, I had no feedback leverage to counter with and eBay was less than helpful in sorting out the mess. Anyway, I’m done my eBay rant – Craigslist is great too. 🙂

    Agreed that ill-fitting clothes need to go away, they can have a negative impact on my mood, not a good thing to constantly deal with throughout the day. I’ve struggled with body acceptance while recovering from an ED and sometimes still do that feeling bad about clothes does not help.

    • Christine,

      I think eBay is a pain in the tuckus at first, but it gets much easier to use if you get a handle on the item descriptions 🙂

      G

  37. One of the best way to make sure clothes that fits perfectly is to befriend a good tailor! I think that having clothes that fits and in which we feel beautiful are a part of a good self-esteem process. However, my very green personality makes me frown a bit when I see people throwing away clothes that are still in good condition because of fashion as example. To my point of view, it’s always better to chosse good quality clothes that fits perfectly and keep them longer than stocking on many items just to suit our feeling of the moment. We sometimes minimize all that’s behind the industry clothing, from the fiber growing to our wardrobe, and all the products and labor that it has implied. So often clothes are used as “ready-to-wear/ready-to-throw-away”. It’s very important that when we have to get rid of some our clothes, we do it with awareness. Selling them of offering them to charity is a good thing, but this shouldn’t support overconsumption.

    • This is a great comment, Victoria! Though I’d say that it’s rather unrelated to my main point, which is that there’s no use in keeping clothes that have a negative impact upon one’s psyche — the cost/benefit analysis in human terms simply isn’t worth it. I wasn’t so much discussing the careless shopping/spending habits of most people as I was pointing out that even conscientious shoppers sometimes need to let go of items that have lost wearability.

      • I completely agree that once the clothes are bought, the cost benefit in human terms doesn’t help. It was more towards the buying of new clothes than the other way around. In fact, maybe I expressed myself wrong. My point was simply stressing the importance of choosing a wardrobe that will last, by choosing sustainable clothes and of course clothes that also accomodates our body dymanics, not only for our psyche, but for the planet as well.

        Veronica

  38. Gena,

    I’ve been reading for quite a while but I’ve never commented. I want to thank you for your thoughtful, inspirational writing. Like many women, I struggle to accept myself, always wanting to be better–more athletic, curvier, thinner…the list goes on and changes from day to day.

    We need to accept and love ourselves as we ARE! Eat good food, enjoy moving our bodies, and let ourselves be whatever size our body is healthiest and happiest at. And that WILL be different for each person, and for each phase of life. I agree wholeheartedly that our wardrobe should fit and be flexible. We should feel good wearing it–who cares what “size” it is. Because honestly, what does a number mean? If I feel healthy and happy, I’ll call that size 1,000!

    Thanks again for this great post! I’m off to eat a delicious lunch while wearing my favorite jeans 🙂

  39. I tend to be pretty good at getting rid of old clothes. But Jessica Lee’s tip of getting rid of other stuff too is pretty smart, and I think I’ll adopt that too. I am a born clutterer!

  40. i could not agree more with you, gena!

    i recently lost a lot of weight so the majority of my clothes do not fit like they used to. i donated all the clothes that no longer fit whatsoever (hello extra closet space!!) and bought new ones to replace them. however, i did keep certain pants that somewhat fit. they’re much, much looser then they used to be but i still wear them. i have pants ranging from size five to size nine! and shirts from size large to size small. it’s nice to have a flexible closet!

    and i do the same thing averie does — if i have not worn it in forever and a day, into the donation box it goes. yes, i have a box in my room full of clothes i throw in there from time to time. i usually purge my closet every couple of months. it’s nice and it gets easier with time, promise :)!

  41. I have a rule around my house…if I havent worn it or used it in 6 mos (and defin a year!) then off it goes to be donated. This means that every frying pan and old sweater and kids toy and old shoe GOES OUT the door! It also means that the 10 moves Ive done in the past 10 yrs are clutter free, material-possession light as possible, and that the crap and clutter and unwanted stuff by me is rehomed to someone who can use it.

    It’s hard to part with the $89 Bebe shirt I bought 5 yrs ago but you know what, I am probably not going to go out to a venue right now where I need it and what I can’t sell at recycled clothing shops, on ebay or craigslist (i.e. my old tvs and cloth diapers and pots and pans) I donate to the Goodwill, Salv Army, etc.

    In fact, about 18 mos ago I got really seriously about donating things that were cluttering my life in all sense, and purged about 80% of our material possessions and it’s SUCH a freeing feeling! Not to mention if you can make some $ on it AND help others out, it’s a beautiful thing!

    • Averie and Gena and others,
      Where do I get the courage to let them go? They represent where I was then, happy or not. Do I keep the ones I would love to wear if I were that size again and give the others away? If I give them away, am I getting rid of MYSELF? This is an enormous plague. The recent book, “Does This Clutter Make My Butt Look Fat?” got me to not only thinking about unloading, but how to get the self-courage to do so? Since I moved to this city, I have gained 55 pounds and am physically frozen – yoga is hard. Please comment on this here or privately. Thanks in advance; I’m so ready to pop.

  42. I love this post, Gena. I admit that I still cling on to my 25 inch skinny jeans (probably because they’re Silver), even if I’ve already come to terms with the fact that I’m never ever going to fit in those babies, ever again. I love your solution, too — I thought of Ebay too, but unfortunately haven’t looked into the processes of setting up an account yet! Any size-25ers out there? Take my jeans!

    Thanks again for a really insightful and engaging look. Warming up to the idea of a dynamic wardrobe…

    xo aletheia

  43. I used to be a size 0 but then I got pregnant I was so sad to no longer fit in my clothes. Luckily after I had my daughter I fit back into my regular clothes within a week, but the things that were a size 0? Not so much. I had trouble getting rid of them because I felt like I was giving up on my size 0, but I realized a size 2 or 4 isn’t the worst thing in the world! It took me a while to accept it but I did. And now I have no problem giving away things that don’t fit me anymore.

  44. I throw away/donate/sell anything and everything that I haven’t worn in 6 months. I need the space and there’s no reason to “hold on” to anything that is just collecting dush. this goes for “things” too, not just clothes – old electronics, purses, free make-up samples, etc.

  45. I like this! I found it easy to ditch my old jeans and such, as they were not nearly as cute as the adult-sized jeans that I could never fit into. It’s nice to move up from a girls 16 – more options, more fun. 🙂

  46. Great post – and so true.

    I had been keeping clothes from a 5 month period after I got back from a trip to Africa in 2007 and had been very sick. I had kept these in my closet, in the hopes that I would wear them again once I got “back” to that weight. Finally it clicked with me this spring (as I tried them on once again, with failure) when I realized that I had only ever worn these clothes for *5 months* out of the past 8 or so years of adulthood. Why would I even *want* to fit into clothes I wore when I was sick? Our minds play funny tricks on us.

    I gave them away and never looked back.

    Thanks for posting such insightful thoughts, as always 🙂

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