Welcome Jenna Bayley-Burke, author of Drive Me Crazy. What are your thoughts on my New Year’s resolution to Shrink My Closet?
The closet…it seems every time we move I’m looking for a bigger closet so I’ll have more room. And then I just fill it up. Our last move was to a bigger home, but a smaller master closet. It almost sunk the deal. But I decided to sacrifice a few feet of hanging space for the greater good of staying sane.
The transition was surprisingly easy. For some odd reason I still had half the wardrobe from my pre-mom life. A girlfriend took the other half after I didn’t lose all the baby weight with BoyWonder. It was meant to be an incentive. It was more like – look at all the room I have for jeans and t-shirts now! So, getting rid of the clothes I hadn’t worn in three pregnancies? Easy.
And last year I dropped thirty pounds and unloaded two garbage bags stuffed full of things in a size I never wanted to see again. But…now I wish I had them. I have one pair of jeans, people. Ahem. Check out my blog for my journey back to my closet. There’s some cute stuff in my closet that I would love to put on without serious undergarment configurations.
However…I have to say getting rid of the bigger clothes is a better motivator than removing the smaller sizes. So, my advice? Every single thing in your closet that is too big, that hangs and sags and makes you look like the bride of a hobo – get thee gone! Into a giant garbage bag, out the door and into the closest Goodwill truck.
No need to curse me when you don’t have fat pants. Just thank me when you rock the skinny jeans because you were left with no other choice.
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Please join the nine of us as we resolve our way across the blogosphere and connect with fans and friends. Any of these resolutions below look familiar?
THE RESOLUTION TOUR – January 1 – 9, 2013
Maggie Jaimeson – Take a Vacation
Jessa Slade – Get Organized
Paty Jager – Volunteerism
Linda Mercury – Creating a Literary (or Creative) Life
Jenna Bayley-Burke – Eat Healthier
Cassiel Knight – No More Procrastination
Cathryn Cade – Take Time for those OTHER Creative Passions
Susan Lute – Reduce Stress: Find and Follow Your Bliss
Jamie Brazil – Shrink My Closet
Posted by Paty Jager on January 4, 2013 at 3:49 pm
Thanks for the advice Jenna. I tend to toss the large stuff and then I’m stuck hating the way I look in the skinny stuff and resort to a sweatshirt and jeans. But I do keep my closet cleaned out because it isn’t very big and I want to find things.
Posted by Jessie on January 4, 2013 at 7:36 pm
I did the opposite – instead of getting rid of clothes that were too big, I bought a few adorable outfits that we smaller sizes – in the hope that it would motivate me to be a smaller size and where the pretty clothes. Years later, they are hanging, unworn, in my closet.
Posted by Maggie Jaimeson on January 4, 2013 at 8:21 pm
I’m with you, Jenna. Getting rid of the fat clothes is easy. It’s the two sizes smaller that I hold onto with great hope. Even though they are from the 1970′s and way out of fashion. But they’ll come back, right?
Posted by Jamie Brazil on January 5, 2013 at 1:00 am
Vintage is always in style in my books.
Posted by Jenna Bayley-Burke on January 4, 2013 at 9:14 pm
I also use the “would I pay for this” test. Would I buy it off the rack? If not, it’s in danger.
Posted by Jessa Slade on January 4, 2013 at 9:21 pm
Whenever I try to get rid of the really weird stuff, my XY says “I might use that in a video.” So he has a wedding dress (not mine!), a black robe with painted stars, a quilted white poofy jacket, a sequined aqua crop top monstrosity, a clown suit… It’s quite awful.
Posted by Jamie Brazil on January 5, 2013 at 12:58 am
My husband HAD an Easter bunny costume. Worse, he had two at one time (one for his ex — luckily she took it with her).
Posted by jannashay on January 4, 2013 at 10:28 pm
I got rid of my fat clothes like you, but I also bought a really cute outfit a couple of sizes smaller to give me incentive to lose more weight.
Posted by Jamie Brazil on January 5, 2013 at 12:59 am
I’m like Janna and Maggie. Clothes a couple sizes smaller, still within range.
Posted by Evie Bohn on January 5, 2013 at 6:35 am
I buy almost only at goodwill and consignment stores. I figure let someone else pay the big bucks and I’ll get it when they are tired of it. I guess I haven’t had the up and down weight stuff yet. Though every one tells me its coming.
Posted by Jamie Brazil on January 5, 2013 at 4:08 pm
Evie, you seem to live a really active life, so hopefully you won’t get the “up” at all. My up came with a big lifestyle shift — in diet and activity.