The Last of My Excess Baggage

Tuesday, January 29, 2013


Over the break, I spent nearly an entire day purging our old or unworn clothing. I hang on to clothes for a number of reasons:
  1. I tell myself they'd fit again (or for the first time) if I lose X number of pounds.
  2. With a little tailoring, they'll look right on me. This sewing machine novice is far from that skill level and I'm probably not going to pay someone to do it for me at this juncture.
  3. I feel guilty for having bought it in the first place. Although I'm getting better, I never used to return anything. It wasn't worth the return postage, I felt bad that it didn't fit, I was too lazy...the list goes on. 
I would open up my closet full of clothes and have trouble finding something to wear. Most of us have that issue. I know. But I really did have a closet/drawers half full of clothing I didn't/couldn't wear for various reasons. Some of them I liked enough to keep despite the fact I'd never wear them.

Case in point: a J. Crew shirt I only wore once.

But they were hurting me more than anything. Every time I pulled out my dream shirt, tags still intact, and tried unsuccessfully to make it fit my body, my soul suffered. By holding on to those pieces of clothing I was inflicting damage to my self esteem.

It was time to let them go. Let go of the guilt. So I packed it all up, sorted it into piles for the Salvation Army, Planet Aid, and a local consignment store. I've never consigned before, and I'm rather excited. I have a lot of higher-end pieces that I just couldn't bear to donate, so I found a consignment store that carries nicer brands and will give me more bang for my buck. It will be more money to add to what I am now calling our Purge Pot.



Same goes for Kiddo's old clothes. Because he grows so quickly, I have tons of gently used clothes from brands like Gap and Abercrombie Kids that I knew we could get some money for. I've tried Ebay but typically find it isn't worth the effort and shipping costs. Perhaps I still haven't discovered the secret to being successful on that site. Anyway, after a little research I found a boutique that consigns nice children's clothing and toys, so I will be dropping his stuff off there soon.


As with most things, I am a work in progress. Do I return all of my unwanted purchases? Nah. More often than not, though. Do I get rid of that oh-so cute shirt that makes my boobs look lopsided? Sometimes. Are there pieces that will stay with me indefinitely thanks to the delusion that someday my body will morph into that of a catalog model? You betcha. Perhaps I'll make a pretty penny off my discards and gain the motivation to overhaul my ways. Baby steps.

Linking up:
Dear Olympia Furniture Revivals

9 comments :

  1. I'd keep the shirt, you never know when "lop sided boobs" will come back in fashion :). Seriously tho, the consignment shop for kids clothes is a great idea! When my kids were little I both bought AND sold tons of their stuff there. They outgrow it so quickly!

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  2. You can have a blog sale and then you don't pay any fees and the buyer pays shipping. Lots of bloggers have blog sales occasionally...I have a sale blog just for that! Good luck.

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  3. I'm always getting rid of clothes lol. I recently went through my shoes and finally got rid of what I don't wear.

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  4. I have to get rid of clothes ... I have half a wardrobe full of things I have endless excuses for not wearing (and half the time it's down to lack of confidence!). I do have two pairs of trousers hung up on the back of the door that are, very slowly, making their way down to a bag of things to recycle/giveaway ... Not good enough to sell - I hope you do well selling yours though!

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  5. Baby steps indeed! I love purging though ... to the extreme. There have been times when I've purged something in one of my "fits" and a few months later I wonder "Hmmm, what DID I do with that _____?" I never regret it though. :)

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  6. I used to have this problem, too. I don't even shop rarely ever any more because I always buy things on a whim, then decide I don't like it once I get home. Or I would buy a bunch of really nice clothes, and still choose the comfy jeans, tshirt and oversized zip up hoodie instead (every time).

    Although, I have this one t-shirt I refuse to ever throw away. It's ripped, stained, faded and has warped completely over time. No idea why I still have it though...

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  9. Hi! Thank you for linking up at Simple Living Thursday and I am so proud of you for letting go of the clothes and the guilt. It is very hard to do but I know you'll be feeling great for doing it.

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