Last year, I did a big closet clear out. I donated several trash bags of clothes. I'm not talking the white tall kitchen bags. I'm talking about the big, black trash bags we keep in the garage. I was really proud of myself. As you can probably guess, I haven't missed one thing that was in those bags.
When I look in my closet now, there are still many, many pieces that I don't love, that don't fit well, that I haven't worn in a year (probably years). You know, all those questions you are supposed to ask yourself when trying to clear out your closet. So, why not just get them out of my closet and be done with them? There is a big reason I feel like I can't get rid of more.
I'm looking for a teaching job for this fall. For the last seven years I have been home with my kids, watching other kids. At home, I dress very casually. Jeans and a sweater feel like I've dressed up. Before I took my leave, I was a PE teacher. If I go back to teaching PE, I will be able to get rid of more things. What if I have to go back into a classroom? I don't have that many clothes I could wear in that situation. If I get rid of lots of stuff, I really won't have anything to wear. I could go out and shop if I get that kind of job but we don't have the money now for me to go out and buy a bunch of clothes. On the other hand, there are lots of t-shirts and track pants that I could get rid of. But, what if I get a job teaching PE? It would be nice to have plenty of those kinds of clothes, too.
As I was going through this process I realized that when I purged last year the decisions I made were easy. I had too many clothes so I was able to part with a lot. This time, the decisions were harder. I had already cleared out the stuff that I really didn't like. Now, I had to make more difficult decisions.
So, this is what I was able to part with.
It doesn't look like much but I have to remind myself that only a few months ago I did a huge purge. Plus, some of these were really hard to get rid of. For me, that's more important than the number of items.
The shoes were easy. I haven't worn any of them in a long time. I don't think I wore the bottom pair more than twice. (I got them on clearance somewhere. That rarely works out for me.) Some of the middle pile was a little more difficult. There are two sweaters. There is nothing wrong with them, I just didn't wear them. Same with the striped shirt. I still like the green sweater and the striped shirt and really debated keeping them. (I better get them out of the house before they make it back into my closet.) The camo pants I will probably never wear again, my brothers made fun of me enough to last quite a while. There is another pair in my closet anyway. I took them out twice and put them back. One thing I thought was, "What if we go paintballing?" I have never been paintballing (though it has always sounded like fun.)
The pile on the right was difficult but for different reasons. All of those are things my husband bought for me. He has expensive taste. The two sweaters on top are from Abercrombie. The other two pieces were from Banana Republic. (None of the stuff in my piles was from Abercrombie or Banana Republic.) They were hard to part with because my husband got them for me AND they were expensive. Having said that, the black sweater was itchy and the brown turtleneck shrunk. The sweaters are a different story. I've had them both for several years and have hardly worn either of them, though they are in good shape. (I only wore them ever so I wouldn't hurt my husbands feelings.) Abercrombie clothes are not made for me. They are too short and too tight. Especially after I had kids. They are definitely not made for someone who has had two c-sections. (I've told my husband that if the people working in the store don't look like me, that's a good indication you shouldn't be buying my clothes there. If everyone is a teenager the clothes were not made for me.)
Maybe when I know what my job situation will be I can get rid of more.
I'm linking up to A Bowl Full of Lemons One Project At A Time Challenge and i Heart Organizing.
0 comments:
Post a Comment