Wow, I just spent the entire afternoon cleaning out my closet. Initially, I was just going to do the normal donation bag of items I hadn't worn in an while... make some space so I can hang-up the maternity clothes I've been exclusively wearing the past few months (and which have been embarrassingly piled on a chair in our bedroom). However, then I started pulling my pre-preggers clothes to store them away, since I won't be fitting in them again for the next 12-16 months, if not 24 months... And it dawns on me, "Why even bother?" After my daughter was born, I did lose the weight and got back into my pre-pregnancy clothes, but it took a good year or more--And when I could wear all those clothes again, I wasn't comfortable in them. The styles had changed, the shirts were too short, pants/jeans were too flared... and my body wasn't the same anymore either. Even my breasts weren't the same for my old bras.
So today I started thinking I should just donate everything. We really don't have storage space for me to pack way my pre-pregnancy wardrobe (all our attic space is taken up with storing our daughter's baby stuff and clothes). And I hate the idea of paying a storage fee in order to store it... I mean $100 a month to store stuff is silly! $1200 a year?! We could just buy new instead of paying $1200 a year... I just have an urge to clear it all out. Is that just crazy?! I keep recalling how I got to a point (when my daughter was a baby) of feeling absolutely overwhelmed with clothes I couldn't wear-- maternity clothes were too big, my pre-preggers clothes were still too small... And when I could wear them again, they didn't look/fit right.
Has anyone ever gutted your wardrobe and started over? I'd keep my current maternity clothes and the post-pregnancy clothes I saved from last time... But, I was just wondering if anyone has ever done this and did you regret it? I've never massively cleaned out my closet like this before... Maybe other people do and I'm just a hoarder-?! Maybe I'm under a strange pregnancy nesting urge?
Thanks for your thoughts, y'all!
Yes!! I completely gutted my closet and it was so cathartic!!! I felt like I lost about 20 pounds!!! I had held onto them for so long and just as you said, even my bras,shoes didn't fit the same. I say go for it!!! I NEVER regretted it!!!
B.
Yes! After my last child (#3), I lost all the baby weight and more. We are not planning to have anymore. I went down three sizes. I sent most of the nice (working) clothes to consignment stores; all the others I put them in a yard sale. I bought clothes little by little through resale shops (I was able to get brand new with tag items for little to nothing). I asked for gift cards for my birthday and XMAS so that I could get what I needed. I went through the sale items in department stores to stock up. I just basically had to start from scratch. (What I earned from consignment stores was able to pay for some of the new wardrobe.) Good luck!
Sounds like you are nesting. I would be cautious to give in to that urge. Keep at least some of the clothes you will feel comfortable in. Good jeans, a few classic shirts, some dresses or skirts you like that have some elastic in the waistband.
Why spend a lot of money on clothes that you will only use for a few months then have to replace again when you get your pre-pregnant body back. I would wait for the new outfitting until the baby weight is down and you can really enjoy the shopping experience.
I store off season clothes in flat tubs under the bed or in the back of my closet. i don't have room for everything I own to be hung at once. I do the same thing with the kids clothes too. They can usually wear the past Winter clothes in the beginning of the coming Fall and the Summer stuff that still fits at the end of Summer can make good early Spring clothes so I store things very well.
But the not fitting is a different issue. I have a friend whose feet grew a half size with every pregnancy, even miscarriages. Obviously if you are never going to wear the clothes again then by all means get rid of them if you can afford to start over, I hear it takes about $5000 to buy a good interchangeable wardrobe, according to "What Not to Wear"....LOL.
i think if you do, do it..........you are officially my hero.
i still have tiny little nighties i wore when i was 125, and i would look like a comic sketch in them now
power to you
i go through my closets once a year. if i haven't worn something during that year, i throw it away. then every season i go through stuff meaning for example if we're about to have summer, i go through my summer clothes, and whatever i don't like, looks worn out, doesn't fit well i pack and throw. i have a pretty big closet, and even as big as it is i hate how cluttered it gets within a few months.
my only thing is shoes, i don't seem to be able to get rid of them, yes i throw away flip flops, sneakers, every day boots, but my fancier ones which i also never wear i can't bring myself to throw them. so that's my next to do list.
i do the same thing with my husband's clothes and my children's too. we don't have a lot of clothes, but a piece here and a piece there it gets piled up.
yes, go through them, get rid of what you think should go and do not look back
ps i would never pay storage fee to store clothes.
If you could afford to buy a new wardrobe, go for it!
I did but not when i was pregnant. I did it before I moved to texas. Less stuff to move and where I lived before I had to settle on clothes. not much option. would I do it again OH YEAH. ITS TOO COOL. you don't have to settle you get newer and neater clothes and for me the prices were cheaper in texas. :)
you are in a big enough town it would be worth it. if you were from a small town I would say no. look at it like this you can spend $1200 storing them or $1200 on a new wardrobe that you love. hmmm which should you do? I vote new clothes. :)
Yes, I have! And it did revolve around babies!
I have been wanting to do the same thing for the same reasons! We should just do it. Simplify!
My only warning would be to save your absolute "favorite" pieces that maybe can be reworked or restyled... other than that - GO FOR IT!
Good luck and congrats on the new little one on the way!
blessings,
Stacy
If you can afford to buy new, why not. You can't buy much for $1000, however. Just think about how expensive it actually is. I did some of this with most of my clothes about 9 months after I had my last baby. I kind of regret it now because I did end up losing enough weight that I could have worn some of my really nice dress pants (I don't work anymore, so don't really need them, but they would have been nice to have for some events I had to go to). I'm not going to buy an $80 pair of slacks for one event. I just needed some more time. Definitely hold onto anything you just love, anything that is a classic style and maybe some jeans and shorts. I think about all I have and if I added up what I spent on everything, it's thousands of dollars. ...and I do not buy expensive clothes or have just a ton of them. I can definitely wear a lot of things that I had before my two kids and they are not out of style (capris, shorts, some shirts, etc.). Hold onto one pair of your favorite jeans so you can try them on after the baby is born to see when you are back down to your old size.
If you can afford to go buy new clothes, then I suggest doing it. You will feel great after and feel like a new woman. Sometimes we just need to "Clean out the Closet" as they say.
I sort of did two years ago. I got a lot of tank tops on clearance at walmart and realized that is all I wear. I don't like sleeves, so good bye t shirts. My old tank tops, I don't know how they covered my belly before. I felt I was doing the right thing after being so happy with my new tank tops that fit perfect. I'm still working on the bottoms though. Can't walk around naked, so I am holding onto a couple pants that most likely I won't wear.
My first pregnancy, I held onto so much thinking I would wear it again. I never did. So after the next pregnancy and one summer, I definitely knew I wouldn't wear those clothes. I knew myself better. Go with your gut and your budget.
I did this after my third baby. We were in a rental while our current house was being built. I moved all of these clothes that didn't fit or whatever and one day I looked at them and tossed everything. Kept the blue jeans and white t shirts that I wore every day and everything else went. My only suggestion is make sure you have time and money to go replace everything! For about three months I wore those SAME white t shirts and jeans because that was ALL I had- along with a 6 yr old, a 3 yr old,an 11 month old and a house under construction and NO TIME TO SHOP! But it was quite liberating and now I regularly purge my closet. If I haven't worn it in a year or I notice that an item is in the same spot for too long- out it goes. I also tend to buy multiples. If I love the fit of a tee I but three or four in different colors. Same with pants- if I find a brand that fits I will buy multiple colors/styles in that brand. I wear those clothes hard and when the season is done, usually the clothes are too- so out they go. At the end of the summer, all of the lightly stained shirts that I have been wearing anyway or the faded shorts- out!
I do keep special clothes, some classics which,since I'm a stay at home mom, are not Designer suits but more like the Gap blue jean jacket or the faded 501 jeans. I tend to keep the nice slacks longer as they change less with trends AS LONG AS THEY FIT! If they don't fit, out they go. (I have a fairly steady weight, if you have a tendency to fluctuate then maybe you need to be more cautious. )
I say GO FOR IT. Even new fresh Target t shirts will be more stylish, inviting and likely to be worn than the year or two old clothes (or older) that have been hanging in your closet.
Good luck!
The only reason I have kept my pre preggers clothing is because I dont know if I will be able to afford new clothes once I get to that weight again. If you feel confident money for building up a new wardrobe wont be a problem I say go ahead. My friends dont hang on to clothes they just buy new once they out grow them. And really its not like you loose 20 a month so a few different outfits at a time wouldnt break the budget.
No - But I Need To! I'm usually pretty good with donating my son's clothes when he's out grown them. But for some reason I have a hard time going through my own closet and I have things I'll never wear again that need to go.
There are a very few sentimental pieces I would keep, but %90 of what fills up my closet is just a waste of space. I have a few favorite things that fit me well, and I have a tendency to wear them till they are ready to fall apart. Perhaps a closet overhaul would be an excellent project for this upcoming weekend!
