Saturday, November 8, 2008

I Am Emotionally Attached To My Clothes

I don't wear that many clothes so WHY do I keep so many? I guess I am emotionally attached. I think that one day I will suddenly NEED to wear that green sweater, or blue shirt, or brown tank top. Some day I will find the perfect pants to go with them and suddenly I will have a great outfit to wear. But the reality is that I keep these things in my closet or in a bag for years. They take up space (space I that I don't have to spare in an RV) and I never wear them. I even forget that I had them. When I went through my drawers, closet and giant clothes bag today I found stuff that I thought I had given away a long time ago. But once I see it again I think that maybe this season I will wear it.

Oh, and then there are the comfy items that I have worn to death but can't bear to throw away. The edges are tattered and they are getting holes but they are like an old faithful friend...just like those old sandals that I had for years (I still haven't actually put them in the trash). This time when I sort the clothes in to 'give away' and 'summer clothes' I need to take the give away bag to the donation center right away or else it will go right back in to my closet and I will have to sort them again next season change. My comfy clothes are a lot harder to part with. I have 3 generations of sweatpants in my closet. The black ones have holes, the grey ones are looking old and my new ones are the ones I put on every day after work. Am I worried that I am going to have a sweat pants emergency and suddenly need 2 back-up pair? One back-up pair is fine. I just need to throw them out and move on. I'll try...but I'm not promising anything!

6 comments:

Sharon S said...

Hi there-LOL, I know what you mean! mind you, I do edit my wardrobe quite regularly, but that said, I have a lot of 'nice' clothes still not been worn yet. Still, while I have the space, I'll keep hold of them!!

Over the Cubicle Wall said...

I think because of memories, the more tattered something is, the more attached I get to it. Then I rationalize that no one at the goodwill will buy it, and it will end up discarded if I donate it to them, so I end up hanging on to it. Then I start to feel stingy, which is no good, so I give away something in better shape that I think should sell. Clothes are complicated.

Lucy said...

I also stuggle with letting go of clothes, even ones I don't particularly like or feel great in. I alsways think of the money I spent on them (even sometimes when it's only a few dollars), and then I want to find some way to wear them! Of course, they continue to only sit there. And if something gets a hole or rip in it, I'll still hold on to it. I'm not like this with any of my other possessions--I need to learn to just let go!

Anonymous said...

OMG I can *totally* relate. One time my sister had to literally pull clothes out of my arms and throw them into the bin when I was struggling to clean out my closet. Like jeans that didn't even come close to fitting anymore (I'm still hanging on to a few of my faves, with hope). And the comfy clothes! I get my mothers' handmedown PJs, and for some reason, I get way too attached to them. I've even had difficulty letting go of her old, worn out, ill-fitting, ripped white cotton camisoles, that I like to wear to bed. Can't believe I'm even admitting this... but it's true!

Daizy said...

sharon rose, it's those things that I have never worn that really make me feel like I'm hoarding clothes. Maybe I should put a date on them and after 2 years they have to go.

over the cubicle, I totally agree. The thrift store won't even accept my comfy clothes with holes so why should I have to get rid of it? Ok, so I wouldn't be seen in public wearing them and I probably don't need so many holey clothes...maybe I should just pick my favorites.

frugalchick, maybe having so many clothes to choose from makes us feel rich. I would keep them all if I had the room.

Daizy said...

saverqueen, ok since you admitted it...I too have jeans that don't fit and I wear white t-shirts and tank tops to bed that have yellow deoderant stains under the arms. I mean, they are already stained anyway why would I throw them out and buy new ones when the next one is going to get deoderant stains too?