How hard is it to let go...?

[Caden Lane]

Okay, in another thread someone said they purged all of their unworn, poor choices in clothing. I recall a time when I'd hang on to every item like it were my Holy Grail.

So my question is; and it applies to ladies all along the spectrum: we're you ever in the same place as far as your femme items? We're they hard to part with? Even items that were ugly or did not fit?

[RADER]

My self, I was purged by my first wife, she threw everything out for me.
So after that, I found better hiding spaces.
So if you want to purge, hide everything in some boxes and put them
into the attic or somewhere out of the way. That way when you get the urge to dress,
All you have to do is unpack.
Rader

[meganmartin]

To my surprise it is very hard to let go. I have tons of stuff I can not fit into or just did not look good and can't seem to say goodbye to them.

[Daisy41]

Simple: "who wants free clothes?" To me, they're just clothes. The clothes are an expression of who I am. Just like I get rid of guy clothes from time to time, I do the same with girl clothes.

[bimini1]

Recently per my wife's request I went thru a closet clean out. I think some of the clothes were so hard to come by in the first place and I was proud of not having purged for years I had hung on to them. I thought it would be difficult when I finally decided to give them to good will, but I boxed them up and it was all good. However, there are still some that should have gone but I had to keep for sentimental reasons and still trying to squeeze into some favorites that are now too small ( a couple of bad-azzed dresses that were just too hott to throw out).

[Annaliese]

At first, but there a time when you see something you want, it fits, but there no room in the closets. There are some thing I don't even remember buying. Something new for something old, not even a hard choose.

[Lillyasia]

If it is a really poor fit or is uncomfortable, then away it goes. If it is something I really like then I will wear it until it is wore out, and then some.

[Anna H]

I'm only just now getting so I can trade something old for something
new.

I Do have some stuff that doesn't fit well, but it's just Toooo Pretty
to part with. Some wouldn't even hold up well to wear it, but it
adds to my collection and and just the sheer Niceness of it makes
keeping it worthwhile.

Jewelry, hair accessories, baubles...I keep every single one of those things!
The only way I part with them is to lose them...and it happens sometimes...

:happy:

[Tammy Lynn Tx]

If only I had been smart enough to do like Rader says... when you feel the need to purge, Pack it up and hide it. It may be months before you feel the need again and you aren't out a bunch of money that is hard to come by now days. It can be hard to clean out once in awhile, sentimental, cute, but if you can't wear it share with someone who can. My wife and I swap earrings quite often and i tend to lose one of a pair when she borrows mine, but it works out in the end.

[Nicolesmyth]

Aside from purging years ago, I just last week threw out a pair of shoes and some old tops. Still in the closet and the suitcase can only hold so much. Zippers are about to burst on the suitcase.
Nicole

[DonnaT]

Yes, it's hard to let go. I like to think I'll fit into it again, yet in the other direction, I'll think I'll hold onto it in case I gain the weight back.

Yo-yo thinking to go along with yo-yo dieting.

[Jocelyn Quivers]

I'm kind of still at that phase, although I should be well past it by this point. Part of the reason is it's a trait inherited from my male side, being I still have male clothing items from childhood, teenage years, 20's, 30's that I can't seem to part with, so I guess it would make sense the same traits would apply to my femme clothes. The main reason of course, is it's still a holdover from the denial years, when it took an act of god for me to bring myself to purchase anything femme related, so I guess I still cling to items because I remember the difficulty in acquiring them.

[Katey888]

Caden - I think you said it right: "I recall a time when I'd hang on to every item ..." - but presumably you don't anymore?

That's true for me - there was a time when I'd hang on to everything, regardless of how ill-fitting, dated or otherwise unsuitable it was. Until a complete purge, of course... But each time the cycle has repeated, the attachment has become less. Probably part of that was an understanding of just how inappropriate some of the clothing really was.. :eek:

Mind you, some would probably think that of me now... :devil: I'm just trying to do it with a little more style this time around...

Clothes are just material things (pardon the pun :)) at the end of the day...

Katey x

[stephNE]

I regularly make donations with my used clothing. I have bought a number of items, and when I get them home decide that I don't like them for color, style, or fit, etc. Also, I don't get to go out very often, and I hate wearing the same things over and over, so after a couple times, out they go. And of course the benefit is I get to go shopping again!

[natcrys]

It was very hard to part with anything that I bought during the last 17 years. :P

However, when I moved to my new apartment 3 years ago.. I did take a good and hard look at what I had in my closet. I thought.. what of this do I really wear?

After that.. I put a lot of my stuff in bags for the thrift shops.. and never looked back.

The only items I still have from back in 1996 are my first pair of pumps.. I have put them up for sale, but to be honest.. I don't think could ever part with them.. :P

[Vanessa5]

I am currently trying to get rid of some things. Very hard to do for me. I have donated 3 bags already and that really should be more but as some have said it is really hard to get rid of things.

[darla_g]

Hardly a thought to it! I am out of room to store my treasures. Therefore if i want something new i have to part with something old. I donate all my old, unwanted or surplus clothing to shelters or other charities. I would urge all my fellow sisters to do the same thing. There are plenty of poor or homeless women that might benefit.

[Beverley Sims]

I still find the plastic bag full of mothballs in the back of the garage useful.
I can revisit it any time.
It is full of retro clothing now, and growing in value every day. :)

[BLUE ORCHID]

Hi Cadenlane, I've always had a hard time parting with anything you should see my garage and shed,
My daughter wants to rent me a dumpster I think I will take her up on her offer.

I have three closets full and I'm starting to make up some boxes that I will take to the local Womens shelter,
At age 71 I think that it's time to thin out some things that I don't wear and probably never will wear.

[Aeslyn]

I can't stand to part with a bit of it. It goes back to my teen years. Though my mom never caught me dressed she found my stash many time. Oddly she never through it out though, but I would find different things hidden in different places around the house. And I obsessed about finding every last piece.
I went through one purge in my life though that was out of necessity. I travelled across the country (Nova Scotia to British Columbia) with nothing but what I could carry on my back. So I had to get rid of a lot of stuff which I still miss to this day.
As for parting with stuff now, I am the same with my "guy" clothing too. Though with "guy" clothing I can finally say enough is enough and let it go but only as long as I know it is going to a good home. With my girly things, I can't bring myself to give up anything and will always find a use for something if it doesn't fit.

[Tina B.]

I've been known to invest in space bags, you fill them up and suck the air out of it, and things get compressed, stays dry, and critters can't get in. And they are compact with the air out. But after years of doing this with things that don't fit, out of style, showing signs of to much wear, I finally broke down an sorted it all out, put on a one day sale of used clothing at the local Senior center, and made enough for a great shopping trip.
All of those years of hording, I wouldn't throw away anything, not since I purged the last time 45 years ago, all of a sudden, it was easy, I went through it garment by garment, and thought things like, why did I ever think this was nice, or I'll never be this small again, or I never did like the way this looked on. When you start looking at it from a woman's point of view, it wasn't a purge, it was cleaning out the closet because I had run out of room to add any more. I would rather shop than horde.

[Lexi Moralas]

I know exactly what you are saying , when I first started acquiring a wardrobe and hung on to every thing and alot of it was poor choices I made when starting out and find out my sizes and what works on my body ect. Hung on to those items for years until I went through my first big purge. Then was a little more experienced and made less mistakes on the next to round. Just before my last purge I felt like I had it all down perfect. I absolutely loved every single item I had. But oh well life goes on

[Jaymees22]

I'm more attached to neatness than clothes so if I'm tired of them out they go! Jaymee

[Cheryl T]

I'm always in that place.
Even the item I wear the least, like the least and ignore the most is so difficult to let go of. I've made it a policy now that is ... new in, old out. If I buy something now I have to let something go. I donate it to a charity like Lupus and that helps ease the pain.

[Barbie Anne]

I do remember being this way, and yes it was really hard to part with some of it, but that was when I was back in the closet.
Now that I'm out to all my close friends and loved ones I can be more free about shopping and have a heck of a lot more room in my closet than in my old boxes and bags :)

[Adriana Moretti]

if it does not fit...or it went out of style...I have no problem getting rid of it...it served its purpose. Just makes more room for the new..and if it too big cause I lost weight...even BETTER

[Caden Lane]

I used to hang onto every item. Even if it were ugly, didn't fit, or was worn out. I just never knew when the next opportunity to buy might arise. But I've found that with time those concerns are abated, and I can clean out the wardrobe and closet as the need arises and new stuff is obtained.

[Amy07]

Reading the room....
I had so much Amy stuff, in many places in the house, i too a few days, really, bagged it all up, and donated to charity.
Wishing I can help anybody here in America or elsewhere.

[Drusilla]

I recently threw out a pair of boots, they were very cheap and nasty, I think the coating was made of some very cheap material and everytime I wore them I would have to go around with the hoover to get rid of the debris they left behind. I still miss them. Guess that shows how reluctant I am to throw anything out either that or I should spend more on footware :)

[Abbey11]

Love the response from Rader, made me chuckle. I do thin out the number of items that I have from time to time but never to much. I can go through periods of not wanting to dress but it always comes back with a rush and I enjoy it.