I lied to you. Seriously. I tell my friends, clients and blog readers to pick a date by which they want to fit into their pre-baby or other weight gain/body change happening clothes, and stick to it. If the clothes don’t fit by that date, away they go. I’ve also told you that even if you are hanging onto clothing that doesn’t currently fit, you should review it every season to make sure you still want to hang onto it. It is amazing how out of style your “favorites” will look to you after sitting in a bin for 5 years, or even 2.
So this is where I really tell you the down and dirty. I had a bin of clothes that pretty much hadn’t fit me since I became pregnant after my first year of marriage, 6 years ago. With every pregnancy I would rotate my bins of clothes, always ending up with one bin for each season labeled “Too Small”. I managed to either fit into or give away everything in the “Too Small Fall” bin a few years ago. However, I couldn’t seem to let go of the “Too Small Spring” bin, even after my youngest (James) turned 2 in 2015. I mean, if they didn’t fit by then, when were they supposed to start fitting? The super bad part is that I was so sure the clothes in this bin were too small, that I wouldn’t even open it! I stashed it at the top of our office closet (sorry Kyle!) and tried to forget it was there.
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The bins that have held my treasured “too small” clothes all this time
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Then…miracle of miracles…I finally lost some weight recently. Just in time for spring. It wasn’t much, but I figure it is as good as it is going to get with 2 kids and my own biz. This meant the day of reckoning for “the box” had come. And just like my clients, I hadn’t even remembered half the stuff that was in there! Why did I save an H&M tank top for 6 years? It was the perfect thing for a few skirts I had at the time but is certainly not age appropriate now and looked worn on top of that. I edited about half the box, put a quarter of it back in my closet (it fit!), and “archived” 3 or 4 dresses that I wore for wedding events and wasn’t ready to get rid of yet. Maybe they will fit again one day, maybe they won’t. But I promise I’ll review the idea of keeping them every year. I mean it this time!
Do you forgive me?
Are you hanging onto clothes that don’t fit? Have I convinced you to review them regularly? Please share!
Love,
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Lani Inlander is a personal stylist who has been working with clients who want to feel their best and look put-together every day for over 15 years. You can find her in the Washington, D.C. and New York metropolitan areas. Are you looking for professional training to be a personal stylist? Click here to learn how you can train with Lani at The Stylist Studio.
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