I like to keep some old clothes as a nice reminder if I ever feel like I haven't made much progress, though hardly an entire closet full of them, since that'd be a waste of space, particularly if small enough to know it's really unlikely I'll ever be that thin again.
That and I sort of have a dream of one day making buttons burst off a shirt that's way too small. It'd be a waste to buy something just for that, since it'd never be appropriate any other time.
For the rest of them.. that is, things that don't fit...
If they're in good or fair condition:
- If classic/timeless, or only somewhat tacky (I no longer buy anything very tacky, I'm very careful about this), I'll take them to Goodwill or another non-profit thrift store, or if worthwhile, I might try to sell first on E-bay or something. Alternatively, if I know there's someone in need.
- If horrendously tacky - either rags or the trash. I'm not subjecting someone else to that treatment. Not that I ever buy that anymore.
- If underwear, rags only. Even if it's legal to sell or give away, that seems gross and wrong somehow. I wouldn't be surprised if that's illegal in some jurisdictions, because of contact with other bodily fluids and the risk of transmitting disease. Hospitals face very strict regulations regarding the disposal of biomedical waste.
If in bad condition, rags only, or the trash if I can't even use them as rags anymore.
If you engage in something dirty or messy like gardening, it may be worth it not to cut up the "rags" clothes. Since you don't care, you don't mind if they get dirty and messy.
To avoid this problem, it's important to be strategic with any kind of clothes purchases.
- Consider buying a size up. In fact, the heavier you are, it seems the more flexibility you might have with this. For undershirts, you might be able to go 2 sizes.
- No holiday themed clothes, ever. Or at most, a tie. If you want to be holiday themed, pins are a great choice for this. Or just use the holiday colors. For example, a tie that's red with green stripes doesn't waste too much space, and you can combine and layer a red and green pocket square to create the contrast to use with a suit.
- Hat size is unlikely to change much, so something like a Santa cap should be fine.
- No Halloween costumes unless you can make them out of regular clothes with minimal to no modification.
- No longer are you limited to sweats or gym clothes for stretchy. Even jeans, regular trousers, shorts, etc. often come in versions with some stretch.
- Try to only buy clothes that are more universal; the more universal for more combinations, or appropriate in more occasions, the better.
- Be careful to buy only small quantities. The worst is an unopened, unused shirt that no longer fits, particularly because there's almost no chance you can sell it for what you paid for it, even if it's not tacky and ugly.
1 year
