How did you part with clothes?

[Spirit4earth]

I have a lot of clothes that I love but no longer wear.  I always think I might wear them again, but who knows?  What’s the trick to breaking the emotional ties to clothing?

 

[tav-2020]

when i did a clean out from my former house of 25plus years i treated old clothes the same as nicknacks & memorabilia. i said " if i got hit by a bus and my kids had to sort through all this stuff would they have a clue as to what any of it meant to me?" if the answer was no, i threw it out or donated somewhere.

and also, with clothes, got real-there was no way i would ever fit in some of them, nor would i ever wear if they did fit....so trash or donate. was hard at first but then quite liberating

tossed record albums (its all online now), high school yearbooks, etc...done and gone. Yay!
kids were offered first choice of it all, they wanted next to nothing

 

[tav-2020]

addendum to above:
If you have any designer label items, in great shape, from the 60s or 70s you can sell them on eBay if you have the time to manage that process. i had some furs ( yuck, inherited, never wore) and sold them to a local, high end vintage clothing shop for a surprising amount...worth checking into if you have some unique things

 

[AMGS3]

Hi Spirit4earth. So here's how I in general downsized, and some tips for clothing particularly. If I sound snarky, it's cuz I have a self depreciating sense of humor, not because I'm getting on your case or anything like that.

So I was having a rough time downsizing. My problem is that for most of my life (of 40yrs) I lived with the attitude (raised mainly by my Gram who survived the great depression) that if something has any value at all you should keep it, because you never know when you might have a use for it in the future. Sure, this attitude served me well when i, for instance, ran out of coffee filters and used a cut piece of a clean holey t-shirt instead. And then when I was done I rinsed it and threw it into the regular laundry. After all I could use it again, so back into the rag bin it went. And that 'use what you already have' attitude was very helpful when I was living with practically no income waiting for my disability to be approved.

So, on to the downsizing dilemma -

I had a hard time downsizing things that I was given as gifts. Some of the gifts I liked but had no use for anymore (ie I was given a nice set of baking and cookie sheets, but my new oven in my trailer is tiny, so they no longer would work), and some I didn't like the gift that much, but donating it seemed disrespectful somehow (several years worth of birthday gifts from a dear friend - perfume I never wore, figurines I disliked, a ring and bracelet that made my skin break out in hives the one time I wore them). And then there were the clothes. Clothes I loved but only wore once, clothes I was indifferent to and wore when there was literally nothing else clean to wear on wash day, clothes that didn't fit anymore but I still kept because they were pretty ( WHY???).


It finally occurred to me that all of these things really fit into the same category - physical belongings that no longer worked for MY life as it is now. It really doesn't matter I liked the thing (old skirt) or not (stinky perfume). What mattered was that I have a limited amount of space in my truck and trailer, and I need to use it for things that actually works in my life now.

And here's the thought that really pushed me over the edge - even if I absolutely passionately loved every one of my belongings, I can't take it all with me. I cannot posses everything in the world that I love. My trailer is just not big enough. And I love a lot of stuff. And there's no way to put Bear Tooth Pass or Coos Bay or mountains worth of lake Superior agates or every beautiful or pretty thing i've ever admired into a vault so that I might posses it. There are millions of pairs of comfortable shoes and boots in this world. I really only need a couple pairs (walking shoes, sandals, and winter boots). There are millions of dresses that I know I would love, I do not have a closet the size of the state of Montana. Even if I could own everything I loved, where the heck would I put it? It might sound crazy but this is the thought that pushed me out of the headspace of "I don't want to get rid of any of the things that a) I love and own now or b) I own (and maybe dislike) but could be useful maybe in the future."

So I started looking at it from the other end. Like how much space do I have for clothes storage. And now I have two suitcases for my regular clothes and one large tote for winter gear. I also started a small gratitude journal. It's weird but writing down things as I got rid of them helped. I didn't lie, just was honest about these things not owning me. About my possessions not posessing me anymore. Which is what I didn't like about the feelings of guilt that came with giving away or donating items that I'd been given as a gift. So I wrote things like "I'm thankful for friends who remember my bitrhday" or "I'm grateful for my loved ones who care about me."

~angie

Sent from my VS501 using Tapatalk

 

[MrNoodly]

Most of us have emotional ties to one sort of material object or another. For me it wasn't clothes, it was artwork. It was really hard letting it all go, but I knew there was nowhere in the van for large paintings and sculptures. It would be best to let others enjoy it. So I sold most of it and gave the rest away. I have photos of the art I can look at. I have the memories. This is my new life. The less I drag into it from my former life, the better.

 

[johnny b]

Clothing...
If you haven't worn it in the last year, give it to charity. Somebody may need it more than you just want it. (not meant to be mean, but it can be motivating to apply a little guilt on yourself)
I recently gave a bunch of jeans and shirts to Goodwill that were in very good condition, just 'a bit too tight' for me.
It felt good once they were gone.

 

[lenny flank]

Sounds like you still have attachments.

Free your mind, and your RV will follow.

 

[RowanFae]

Being ruthless. Pull aside what you absolutely know you need then shove everything else into bags (dark opaque bags you can't see through work best) and rush them to the nearest donation site.

Let me know if this works. I'd like to try it

 

[ChezCheese:-)]

If you haven't worn it in a year, in all likelihood, you never will. Get rid of it. Garage sale time. Goodwill. Even simply chuck it in the trash. The gravity of it all is weighing you down!

Imagine you had a house fire. Burnt to the ground. The only clothes you have left are the ones you had taken in your vehicle to the laundromat. This happened to a friend of mine. What are they? Not the fancy party outifts. Not the dryclean only stuff. Not the sport-specific gear for that sport you -- fess up now -- never actually do anymore. The things in your vehicle are the most useful, the most comfortable, the most versatile, the sturdiest. The stuff that fits NOW.

 

[Canine]

Speaking of items in general, for me it was a process. The first time I went through my junk I thought, "Good. Now that's done." Then I patted myself on the back. Then when I went through my stuff again, I saw I had two hard hats. I may never need one, why would I need two? I was embarrassed. Went through my stuff again and that time got rid of all of the unnecessary junk. Nope. Had to go through it again.

Must have went through my stuff 8 times before I started getting real. It was a process. And it got there. Very happy with what little I have now.

 

[crofter]

View attachment 20528ow did you part with clothes?

How to part with clothes?  None of us need as much of it as we have.  Or follow the directions on the sign.

http://columbiariverimages.com/Regions/Places/sauvie_island.html

Collins Beach is a mile-long clothing-optional beach located at milepost 11 on Reeder Road. The beach has been in use from at least the 1970s. It begins about 1/4 mile after Reeder Road becomes gravel. Park on the west side of the road. There are six foot-trails (numbered 1-6) leading to the beach.

 

[highdesertranger]

looks like the only thing legal there is being naked. highdesertranger

 

[[email protected]]

Whoops! The lady I was replying to got lost!!

But here's what I was going to say to her about what to keep. She said if she got hit by a bus, would her kids know what items meant to her?

Great advice! That's what I'm going to do. I'll ask myself "Would she know what it means to me?"

 

[[email protected]]

I didn't lie, just was honest about these things not owning me. About my possessions not posessing me anymore. Which is what I didn't like about the feelings of guilt that came with giving away or donating items that I'd been given as a gift. So I wrote things like "I'm thankful for friends who remember my bitrhday" or "I'm grateful for my loved ones who care about me."

~angie

Sent from my VS501 using Tapatalk

Thanks, Angie. What a neat idea! Like you, my parents grew up in the Depression. Dad could live out of a suitcase, because they often did! Mama kept everything. I'm going to think about this as I downsize and I think it'll really help me

 

[[email protected]]

Thanks, Angie. What a neat idea! Like you, my parents grew up in the Depression. Dad could live out of a suitcase, because they often did! Mama kept everything. I'm going to think about this as I downsize and I think it'll really help me

Thanks to everyone for all these neat ideas!

 

[wasanah2]

I think there is a true emotional attachment to physical things that it's hard to give things up.  It took me some time to downsize because of such attachments.  I had to tell myself that my ancestors (and yours) didn't carry around so much stuff.  Back in the old days, people had their everyday outfit, last year's everyday outfit and Sunday best.  That's 3 sets of clothes.  People had so few clothes that old houses didn't have closets because all the things they owned could be put on hooks or in a single trunk with other things.

I think you can carry around a lot more clothes than 3 sets, unless you plan to live out of a backpack.  So I kept some clothes, but I sure have a lot fewer than I did before.  It wasn't hard for me to give them up.  It was harder to give up other things, but I understand totally.  The possession purge is part of the journey.  In time, you won't even think about the loss.

 

[Dingfelder]

This is really really hard for me. I've spent many years in my life in uncertain circumstances, when material things were hard-won and each felt like a victory. A significant part of me will probably always have that mentality, of being besieged and barely hanging on.

Now I do have a few nice things. Like jackets. Jackets can be expensive and it can be hard to find really good ones with a great fit. I have that.

It's going to be hard to go back to near-zero.

 

[becida]

I have a lot of clothes that I love but no longer wear.  I always think I might wear them again, but who knows?  What’s the trick to breaking the emotional ties to clothing?

Getting rid of things was the hardest part of all this... 

My vehicle only had so much room,  I packed what clothes would fit in the space available.  The rest went to the garage sale, then to the Goodwill.

Getting rid of things was the hardest part of all this. (It's worth repeating).

Good luck!