Organizing Clothes
Did you have a green smoothie today? I had two! The smell made me a tiny bit queasy but it really tasted fine so I will be drinking them daily again.
Losing weight has made dressing quite an adventure. Last fall I was tired of not having anything to wear so I finally bought some new clothes but then within a few weeks they were all too big. And if you remember, being 6-1″ makes it so I can’t just shop at Walmart for a few in between items. When I buy clothes they are expensive. Which is why I am spending a lot of time altering everything. I am too cheap to give it all away and too lazy to try to sell it.
Don’t tell Sailor this but I was fantasizing that I would take some clothes to the cleaners and have them altered for me. It doesn’t matter that I used to do alterations for a LIVING. Sometimes these things need to be outsourced for sanity’s sake, right? When I dropped off Muscle’s suit to get cleaned I asked about alterations. The girl at the counter said the lady did a good job and was really cheap. She only charges $12 to hem a pair of pants. $12??? I had three pairs of pants I needed hemmed (let down of course) and was not about to pay $36 so I came home and did them myself. I might have been tempted just a tiny bit to pay anyway but I know in the end I will do a better job so I suffered through it.
The next part of the adventure is that I have finally gone through all my maternity clothes, and new clothes, and old clothes and saved clothes and organized all of them. That pile doesn’t even begin to show the amount of clothes I have given away. I gave some of them to a friend and the rest were donated to the thrift store.
I want you to learn a few things from my experience.
- Do not save clothes hoping that you are going to fit back into them some day.
- If you want to lose weight, buy a bunch of new clothes.
- “If I saw this hanging in a store today, would I buy it?”
By the time you do lose weight they will be out of fashion and then it’s too late for them to be of use to anyone. That is sad. Get rid of them while they can still be worn by someone else. My excuse for keeping two boxes full of clothes is that I have such a difficult time finding clothes that fit. Out of two boxes of clothes I found about three things that were cute enough to keep. In the end it wasn’t worth the time and space and hassle I spent storing it. If you have ten boxes of clothes you should be ashamed of yourself. Give them away this very second!!!
I don’t think it’s a coincidence that I lost weight after I finally bought new clothes. For years I went without because I didn’t want to spend the money and it is not fun to shop when I am overweight. That is just a fact. But you know, there are a lot of heavy people out there that do dress nice and they look fabulous. Learn from their example instead of mine.
We all need to care about ourselves enough to look fabulous, fat or thin. If you dress ugly you will look terrible and feel terrible which doesn’t help anyone lose weight. When is the last time you were so depressed that you ate salad every day for lunch and went to the gym 6 days a week? Doesn’t happen. Feeling good about yourself is what is going to get you to that gym for a workout.
Modern Molly Mormon has a fabulous post about this very subject today. All Dressed Up and Someplace to Go
As I went through old clothes I asked myself this question. The answer was usually No, so I tossed it in the donation box. If I wouldn’t buy the same thing today then there is no reason to keep it around hoping that some day I will feel like putting on an ugly outfit to go out in public. When you put it that way, it sounds ridiculous doesn’t it? I have an old long denim skirt that I’ve worn for years. In my head it looks so cute on me! But then I seriously pondered the fact that every time I see someone in a long denim skirt I think, “Yuck.” I don’t want to look like yuck so I was finally able to get rid of it. From now on I am only wearing cute clothes.
Which means I guess I am also getting rid of my brown coat. I love that coat!!! It’s only a couple years old but I have gotten two negative comments about it in the last week so it’s time to say good bye.
Good bye!
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March 5th, 2009 at
I need to do this so much! Oh and the thing about to buy clothes to lose weight is so true! I gained 30lbs during a year abroad and all my clother were so tight and I felt so big and ugly and uncomfortable with myself that I didn’t even care for going out for a walk. Fortunately, my mum made me buy a new pair of jeans and a couple sweatshirts so I could get out of the house. Also, seeing my new size on all those tags was a reality check for me. I really needed to see for myself how much bigger I was.
March 5th, 2009 at
NO seriously, this green shake thing. How does that make you lose weight? I don’t get it.
I haven’t been super healthy these days, admittedly, but when I have been and have had greens every day, that didn’t seem to help me. There’s got to be more to your trick! I am going to try it though.
March 5th, 2009 at
Yes, I’ve been having my green smoothie every morning! And I haven’t been organizing clothes but I have been organizing closets.
March 5th, 2009 at
Actually, yes I did have a green smoothie. It was pretty good but a little too green. I need to check out your recipes… wait did you say you had any?
Thanks!
Lara says: My smoothies are just spinach, frozen fruit, flax seed and water.
March 5th, 2009 at
When I changed from a large dresser to a smaller one I had to go though all of my clothes. It was a something that I needed to do. I didn’t wear 1/2 of what I had.
Hugs!
March 5th, 2009 at
I agree.
Although I have a denim skirt I wear way too often.
I want to see how ugly your brown coat is. You can’t talk about something so ugly and not show it!
March 5th, 2009 at
Great post and I love the “when was the last time you were so depressed that you ate a salad” . I was excited to read your point #2 because I have a whole article on just that topic at Modern Molly Mormons today.
http://modernmollymormon.blogspot.com/
and I love your #3 because heck yeah…that is a *great* way to cut through the clutter and have only things you love left in your wardrobe.
Thanks!
March 5th, 2009 at
I have been having my green smoothie every day. We are going on two weeks now. No weight loss, but I am only 5′7″ and 135 pounds so there really isn’t much to lose. They do make me feel better though and my husband and kids LOVE them!! We will stick to it cause it is easy and I don’t have to make a huge salad for every single meal now. THanks for the inspiration, I am going to go clean out my closet now!
March 5th, 2009 at
Yes I have been having a green smoothie everyday and usually a salad too for lunch. I have lost 11 lbs since the beginning of February.
For my smoothie I do big handful of spinach, smaller handful of frozen fruit, 1T of freshly ground flax seed, 1T of coconut oil and a packet of emergenC if I remember. My favorite frozen fruit is a mixed fruit Dole bag I get at Sam’s.
March 5th, 2009 at
Great tips! I always love to clean out the closet this time of year! I’m a tall girl too (only 5′11) and do the majority of my pant shopping at NY & Co – they carry REAL tall sizes!
I have loved the green smoothies – and my husband is getting more veggies than he has in years (he is the epitome of a meat and potatoes guy). Thanks for your very helpful suggestions! I love one orange and 1/2 a banana in my smoothie. SOOO good! 
March 5th, 2009 at
I just bought a bunch of spinach yesterday to try the green smoothies some time this week…..when I get up the courage. I was going to have one for breakfast this morning but my daughter made waffles so I had two of those instead.
I seriously need to organzie my clothes. Although instead of giving them away I’m going to remake them into cute clothes for my girls.
March 5th, 2009 at
i just found your site from Blue-Eyed Blessings, and I’m bookmarking it. You have a lot of great ideas on here.
Thanks!
March 5th, 2009 at
I wonder what fresh fruits would be best for the smoothie considering frozen fruit is something non-existent here in Spain.
In my area there’s so much fresh fruit that supermarkets just don’t carry frozen fruit (and you can only find canned pineapple, peach and pears!).
Any suggestions? I really want to give the green smoothie a try!
March 5th, 2009 at
To Gracia: You can flash freeze any fresh fruit you like. Place it single layer on a cookie sheet, freeze a few hours then bag them up. And don’t be afraid of fresh fruit altogether. I often mix frozen and any fresh that needs too be used up. Add ice if the smoothie is too…room temp. I’d stay away from the canned.
Also I use the pineapple core in my smoothies. I love putting it to good use and you don’t notice all the fibers once blended.
March 5th, 2009 at
Hi there,
I’m interested in trying the smoothie thing, but curious how you get enough protein in your diet. I know someone posted that spinach has 30% protein, but that’s not actually the case. My packets of spinach say 3% and after checking the website where that girl got her info it does not say that 30% of spinach is protein, but rather that of the 8 calories in 56grams of spinach 30% of the calories are protein.
March 5th, 2009 at
I used to visit you all the time, then my computer blew up. I have just found you again and I am SO happy.
I bought the stuff for Green Smoothies but I am afraid. My kids thought the ingredients were disgusting and wouldn’t try them with me. And I have a vegetarian daughter!
One question – do you have to grind the flax seeds or can you just throw them in with everything else? That would be so much easier for me.
I have so many clothes I need to give away. I lost my husband in July and I am going through a tremendous change in my life. I hate most of my clothes. My size has stayed the same for years. I am thin, pretty much always have been. But, my clothes are boring and easy. Mom clothes. Gotta keep cleaning them out.
P.S. My oldest daughter is almost 6 feet tall. Have you ever heard of a catalog called “Long Tall Sally”? They have great clothes. A little pricey, but beautiful.
Thanks for the great post. I’m ready to clean my closet!
March 5th, 2009 at
I am on week 2 of green smothies. I am still wearing my size 10. I can’t believe it. (LOL) O.K. really, today I had a bad combo of stuff in there. It just looked bad. I like the frozen mango with it the best so far. Glad you are altering your own clothes. Good job.
March 6th, 2009 at
I am so proud of you for buying those clothes last fall. Too bad they don’t fit anymore.
What great advice on storing and tossing clothes. I’m going to go purge my closet. again.
Get well! Seriously. You’ve been sick long enough!
April 4th, 2009 at
I totally know what you’re going through with the weight loss and clothing thing. My sis gave me some clothes last night from when she lost weight. Some were things I grew out of when I’d gained and are totally out of season and style. Pleated cords! Who would’ve known back then they made you look fatter.
Congrats on losing weight and even though I’m not 6′1″, I have long arms, legs and a long torso that makes it tough for me too. Mom’s altering my clothes but not fast enough for me. I am still hanging on to some Bill Blass jeans. I figured they might work for me still this fall.
I’ll check back to see your progress.
April 5th, 2009 at
I just wanted to add into the conversation that the way the whole green shake thing works is that it meets SO many of our nutritional needs ! And the B vitamins and foliate make is so we do not crave chocolate and simple carbs . The fruit is sweet enough that our body is satisfied . Flax is fiber and some very special oils and the coconut or olive oil make your body feel satisfied . You can’t taste it but the body says “ah…that was decadent!” The energy levels are amazing . And you can vary it , add yogurt , cottage cheese , milk , soy-milk …these all add protien too !