Clothing...keep or donate?
 

I'm sure it's been asked before...

I am 40lbs down with 60 (or more) to go. Yay me! I can now fit into a lot of clothes I've saved from my thinner days. I have some clothes that are falling off me now. Do you save them or donate them? I'm not planning on regaining the weight (who does though?) and I can't get pregnant. I hate getting rid of anything, just in case I need it again someday (it's the packrat teacher in me!).

I guess if I donate them, having to rebuy bigger clothes will be my punishment if I ever regain.

Hiya, missdiamon! :wave:

HUGE CONGRATS on your success so far! WTG! :cheer:

I totally get the concept that it's hard to get rid of stuff... b/c Imma as frugal as can be... (BTW, Imma teacher too! :) )

In my decades of yo-yo dieting I kept all the clothes btween 4XL to whatever size I would get down to... then it occured to me this time around (last and final restart: on 5 July 2013) that I was giving myself permission to REGAIN the weight all over again... :bash:

I had to finally break the cycle of behaviors that kept me from being and staying successful...

So everytime something became too big or too big to alter to fit, I donated it... I only have clothes that fit me now...

Wishing you success on your journey to better HEALTH!

Clothing--keep or donate?

IMO it depends on what you can afford to do. I had donated most of my old clothes, then boss changed my job from a high energy usage on my feet go-go go for 7.5 hours a day to standing still for 10 hrs at a time. Guess what happened? I could not adapt my eating fast enough. SKipping breakfast was not enough. Started to skip lunch too..... added 20 pounds in 2 months. ANd had to buy more clothes again because all the clothes I donated I needed back.

Weight surged up to an all time high in the years after that, and bought more clothes.

Now that 20 pounds are off, and those larger clothes are falling off again, I will keep those and pack them up.....until I can let them go.

So bottom line: how do YOU feel about replacing them IF you need to? No one right answer here.

Well....I have not done anything yet about my clothes. I am down 60 pounds and some of my clothes are too big but some I can still wear. I plan to go through them when I feel better (I have COPD) and donate them to our local county charity resale store.

I will say that my husband gained a lot of inches because of a medicine change ( fluid retention and weight gain). He has been wearing sweat pants and shorts with a stretch waist like sweat pants for the last 8 or nine months. We had to go to a funeral a couple of weeks ago and he panicked.....until he found a few pairs of pants that he had not discarded after his 100 pound weight loss several years ago. He was distressed to find that the old pants fit again. He has regained 30 of the 100 he lost but with the fluid retention the old pants fit. Since he doesn't wear a standard size and his clothes are mostly altered, it saved him and allowed him to have something to wear at the funeral. His sport coat was a little tight but he could wear it open. In this case we were glad he had some of his old clothes left.

as I lose weight I plan to just get rid of the nastiest clothes. the old ones that had seen better days, the ones that have shrunk a bit in length, the ones with the tiny stain what won't come out. Old jeans become gardening shorts worn with a belt. I will always keep my leather winter coats, sweaters and sweatshirts. I sewed up the seams in my underwear and have them on the bottom of my stack but buy a smaller size of granny panties when funds allow. New bras are a must and the old go into the garbage.

Well done!!

Contrats on your loss! Donate, you dont need them, you wont need them in the future, bless someone else with them 💖

Hey.....I just put on some older pants that were my snuggest that I wore back a year ago, and they were too big! I am so excited to put them in the donate bag! YAY!

Funny how these little victories make you feel so good!

Congratulations! :wave: Love Non Scale Victories!

It's great to grow out of those clothes in a good direction.

I've lost and gained 100 a few times. The first time I lost was around 2003 and I got rid of most of my bigger clothes at that point. I did regain and not having clothes, having to rebuy things, made me more depressed than I was over the weight gain already. In subsequent losses, I've packed up bins of clothes and kept them as insurance, not because I planned on gaining anything back but because I remember the depths I of despair I was in when not only I gained but I had nothing to wear.

I've now had bariatric surgery and have again lost down to under 180. This time I have given away all the too-big clothes. I know that gaining weight back with the surgery is also a possibility but I am determined this time to keep it off.

I guess for me mindset is everything. Keeping or giving away the clothing doesn't give me permission to gain or keep me from gaining but it has had an impact on my mental health.

Thanks everyone!

I've started getting rid of the stained and obnoxiously big stuff, mostly pants. I can wear too big shirts with leggings to give them a new life :)

Yes, it's fun to be able to raid your own closet and wear those clothes that used to be too tight that now fit. I gradually made a pile in my closet of clothes that just got way too big and sloppy on me. I fretted about giving them away too. It's like what JustJo said, was I giving myself permission to regain all the weight? NO! Finally donated the bag the other day so now I can start the pile again. It had gotten so big it was in danger of toppling over. I've been buying new pieces here and there, including a favorite jacket I love two sizes smaller!

LOL, I have two dresses that I bought years ago for when I reached my golden weight. They served as an inspiration. Fast forward, I realize I can never acheive that golden weight, nor the figure I envisioned. It was all a dream, a useful one at the time. I let go of the unrealistic expectation, and will let those dresses go too, making room for better choices.

I have been enjoying purchasing some new pants.....all casual now that I've retired, but it was wonderful to find that most of my dress pants I wore to work in for so many years are now too big. My clothes are the next job on my list. I plan to go through my closet and dresser drawers to purge and replace with clothes that fit and that I am wearing. I am living off clothes piled on furniture in my room while my closet and drawers are filled with clothes that no longer fit.......time to purge so I can regain my bedroom!

I am also replacing underwear and bras and nightgowns, even some of those are too big! YAY!

I got rid of everything on the way down. (Went from size 24-26 3X to size 8-10 M in about a year.) There is only one item, a really cute good quality denim dress size XL that I loved and had bought years ago on my way up, that I kind of regret getting rid of. I have bounced around a bit trying to find maintenance and could be using that dress a lot; it was so versatile and I loved the style and material. It would have been an ideal bouncing around dress :lol: . I suggest keeping things you actually really love that are a little big. If you are perfect and stay the same size always, cool. If you bounce around a bit like the majority do, cool; you’ll have something to wear anyhow. I am certainly glad I did not keep most things!

Ohamy.....one thing you could consider is to haveyour dress altered to fit you now....my husband lost 100lbs several years ago and had all of his suits altered to fit his new shape. It makes more sense I guess to alter men's suits since they are so expensive than it does ladies' clothes, but if I really liked something I might considered taking it to a good tailor to see if it could be altered.

Well done on shrinking everyone :)
I have not very many big clothes -- you know - the big woman that wears the same dress everywhere - that was me
Thus donating isn't on the cards for me
I am very excited for xmas this year because I fit into a beautiful dress that I already have had and it's 6 sizes smaller :D

With me, it depends upon the cost of what I give away or keep. The important thing (to me) was throwing away my big underpants. Don't know why, but there you have it.

In the 80s, I paid $300 for a beautiful black linen job interview pant suit. I still have it. Even though I took out the shoulder pads, it still looks strange, and the pants are a bit too large. I still have it.

Guess I'm weird about getting rid of clothes that don't fit.

THAT sounds like a suit worth altering.......

I finally did it! I got rid of (or have bagged up at least) quite a few pants. I had some pants that will not stay on and I am tired of rolling the waistband. I finally bought some cute tight leggings to wear with my really big shirts (I don't like tight shirts anyway, being a first grade teacher I just don't think they are too appropriate, for me anyway). For the first time in a very long time I bought a size L, with no X (or XX or XXX LOL). I'm very slowly updating my wardrobe :)

Thanks ladies! And congrats on all those pounds lost!

I realize this conversation is about clothes, but have to admit that in my case there's a lot about body shame attached to my clothes. So much of this attitude is attached to my religious upbringing that I don't know which part of it, if any, is really my OWN.

There's another thread here on the forum https://forum.lowcarber.org/showthread.php?t=481737 where I posted yesterday, "I really like my body.."

So, even though I have no sleeveless clothing because I HATE my upper arms, :lol: as whole, I've overcome some of the brainwashing. Instead of oversized shirts (which I've been wearing for the past 30 years) I now own and wear form-fitting tops and skinny jeans. Although it's a bit late at 73, I'm now flaunting the body I worked so hard to lose the protective fat from.

So giving away the big clothes is cathartic for me.

73 is as good an age as any to live life, and make changes!! Life is about growth at ALL ages.

As I have a pot belly that just grew since summer, I too have seen my body differently. At a party yesterday I felt inadequate as I choice the wrong shirt which oddly made my belly protrude obviously and several people were looking at my belly when talking to me. Maybe it was the wrong choice of jeans with a tight waist that contributed...... but ya, we are judged at every turn for our clothes and appearance......

I went through an amoire yesterday that was full of sweaters, shirts, pants and shorts that I haven't worn in probably 10 or more years. Most were in excellent shape and some might actually fit me, but I decided that if it hadn't worn any of it in that many years then I didn't need any of it. I bagged all of it up (9 tall kitchen bags) and loaded it into the back of my car to take to the local charity. I found that now that I am retired I dress differently anyway, and I am going to get rid of any clothes that I can't or don't wear. Its time to purge! Once I get my furniture cleaned out I am going to attack my closet. All will be donated to our local small town charity, which is kind of like a good will store. Once I finish with clothes, I am going to tackle the shoes!

I have a plan to de-clothe as a gift to myself for 2019.
Good for you, all who will be brave.

FINALLY took a whole stack of nicer clothing that hasn't fit me in years to GoodWill on Dec 31st (in order to make the donation in time for this year's tax write off.)

These were all high quality, fully-lined pant-suits and skirt-suits in sizes 18W to 24W that I'd purchased while practicing law. Classic stuff that, in theory, should never really goes out of style. But, even the smallest of these suits are now several sizes too big, so much so that altering it to fit would probably cost more than the suits did to begin with. Plus, I just don't wear this kind of stuff anymore.

I hung onto it all because I was planning to take it to a consignment shop rather than just giving it away. Somehow never got around to doing that and finally realized that, at this point, probably none of the consignment shops would take any of it anyway as it is now all 4 to 8 years out of date.

It's so nice to have that portion of my closet back! For Christmas I gifted myself with 2 pairs of lovely black 100% cotton denim jeans (I HATE stretchy jeans), a pair of form fitting leggings (something I've never before worn), plus a half dozen pretty form-fitting sweaters and fitted tops. I am so DONE with "big shirts." :)

Congrats on your progress!

Pants I can get rid of. Shirts are harder. The shirts that were tight are now loose and long enough to wear with leggings. My tshirt collection (I am a teacher, it's a big one) are now gym shirts, sleep shirts, and weekend lounge wears. My goal is to wait until summer to buy new shirts.

This is a good thread. About 2 months ago I posted a NSV about saggy baggy underwear. But I haven’t been able to get rid of them... :lol:

Different brands fit so differently (jockey xl or sz 8 is way bigger than Victoria’s Secret cotton sz xl) I’m almost afraid to buy new ones...I hate underwear where I can feel the elastic gripping...

tmi?

However, i have started wearing each pair and at the end of the day if they are baggy I’m throwing them out instead of putting them in the hamper...getting rid of them one pair at a time. It seems to make it easier although I also feel like a bit of a weirdo.

:cool:

I have been doing the same thing! I bought some new underwear last year and while I'm not sure if it's the same size or not (Jockey) it fits tighter than my old stretched out ones. When I come across a really loose pair or if it has a hole I will throw it out after wearing it. I'm going to need to buy new underwear at this rate!

Re my clothing purge progress.......I am now going through a dresser that contains underwear, socks and nightgowns. It also had some long underwear and turtlenecks in there. I found a lot of underwear to through out that the elastic was shot, and also threw out the ones I would never wear. The ones I wear are now taking their place.

I also threw out all the long underwear and turtlenecks.....I just can't abide turtlenecks anymore even if they fit! Socks were easier. Since I am retired, I threw out all work type knee highs and hose and leggings.

I found that lots of stuff I had not worn in years that had elastic had ruined....even things like knee highs.....

This is getting fun. Can't wait to get to my closet!

ROFL and I am hoping with the "spring cleaning" that all my turtle necks will show up!!

Have cut a number of items into dishcloths to repurpose. One item in the give away pile so far. Baby steps...