Tuesday, December 06, 2005

Cleaning out the closet

I’ve been meaning to get around to this the past 10 or so years. I just kept buying more hangers. But now the issue is nothing fits. Well, nothing seemed to fit six months ago (a little too small to way too small). Now most of my closet is way too big. I decided to start sorting through so I could get to what does fit right now.

Coldwater Creek is awesome. They take back things even after several years. It sounds like they take about anything back - worn, with or without receipts, but I think that’s pushing it. I do however have a lot of unworn things with receipts. I bought them on sale but either didn’t have an occasion to wear the item or it was just slightly too small. Since I lost way more than “a few” pounds, those are now too big. There are two boxes of these right now.

I also have some gently worn stuff from Coldwater Creek, JJill and some other name brands that I can post on ebay. Plus the stuff not worn that I can’t return due to time passed or no receipt. There’s three boxes of that so far.

A close friend has loaned me several pairs of 14-16 pants that have come in quite handy in the “transition” sizes. She is now embarking on her own weight loss plan so I have a very large box of recent clothes that she may be able to enjoy in her transition sizes.

As I’ve dug through the closet, I found several dresses I kept over the years that I can fit back into. While they are cute, they all seem to have either shoulder pads or empire waists (some have both). Empire waists make me look like a short Little House on the Prairie wannabe. So those and a bunch of other stuff make up five plus boxes going to charities.

Well, would you look at that, not one but TWO new pairs of Avia aerobics shoes. I also had wanted some Mary Jane style shoes, apparently I have bought 3 pairs now.

Now I should stress these are large moving boxes full of clothing. There are a ton of clothes here. I know they say if you haven’t worn it in a year, you should get rid of it. I agree and disagree on that. I have been quite happy to find some classic items (skirts, dresses, jeans) that I am glad I did keep as I am changing sizes. But perhaps I should keep a check on what’s in and what is still my style. Those cute shorts rompers from the 1990s may be back in style at some point, but really should not be worn past 30 years of age.

It’s easy to hoard clothes when you have a closet the size of a small room. But as a new year’s resolution, I promise to keep it more organized. Roy G. Biv and all. In the meantime, all these fantastic outfits, even the outdated ones, will make someone happy.

Did I mention the gazillion pieces of luggage? Boy I have a lot of baggage! Part of the hoarding comes from the fact I cannot throw out anything that can be reused or recycled. I must have been traumitized by films as a child showing landfills taking over the earth. Now that my little house is becoming smaller and I would like to make room for a new human or two, it’s time to deal with it.

A great web site with a list of recycling/donation places: http://www.officiency.com/recycling.html

Now I am going to try to get one of the local charities to come pick this stuff up!

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