Talk some sense into me! Decluttering old clothes

[Iamlikesorry]

I've recently moved house, its lovely but smaller. We've got rid of years of useless possessions that have accumulated. (Now late 50's).

But....

I have a huge wardrobe of clothes, some go back 20 years, very few fit me now. I really struggle to let go.

Even I were to lose 4/5 stone, I'd surely want to buy new things. I'm not so hard up I couldnt start the process.

But I think underneath I feel that if I give them all to a charity shop (they're decent but not high fashion) I'd finally be admitting I wouldn't be a 12 again. Plus I think of all the money spent over the years!

Being a 12 again is not dependent on what old clothes I still possess. That could happen regardless (with a huge sustained lifestyle change!)

Help me!

Why am I struggling so much? (Suspect I might be ADHD, DD and nephew have been diagnosed recently and I see lots of behavioral/emotional similarities! Not sure its remotely relevant though)

Talk some sense into me.

Cant move properly into our bedroom, its full of clothes with not enough space to put them!

I’ve been through this over the last year. I was procrastinating because I really wanted to sell stuff (felt I ‘ought’ to) but realised that was holding me back and my mental health was more important so it all went to charity.
I made myself try absolutely everything on. I got a full length mirror, good light, and a hand-held mirror so I could see myself from all angles. Oh boy. If I was struggling to let go of something, seeing how I really look in it cured that pretty quickly!
I’m 50 and have a very young face, and although I haven’t put weight on, the weight distribution has changed. Suddenly half my wardrobe didn’t look right or feel right. Trying everything on was time consuming but basically made the decisions for me.
I also recommend Hoarding World by Angela Brown on YouTube. She talks about the psychology of stuff and it’s very helpful and inspiring.
I’ve had some wonderful preloved clothes over the years- currently a denim shirt that’s my favourite- so I try to imagine someone else finding something I’ve donated and it becoming their favourite thing. That helps.
Also, something I’ve learned is do it in the relevant season. Sometimes it’s hard to really ‘feel’ how you feel about a winter garment in the middle of summer, for example.

That's such an uplifting view @Iamlikesorry . I can entirely see why you're inspired to make positive change in your life waking up to that beauty every day.

So much great advice and support on this thread.

Had my 2 first Vinted sales!

Is it a tiny bit of a faff though? Jury's still out...

Loving this thread, I've been every size from a 6 to a 20 over the years (my happy weight is large 14 to 16) and as my lifestyle has changed so has my wardrobe. There was a lovely meditation I remember doing when I had the time to attend classes, 20 odd years ago, about a river. You're sitting by the river bank and various things float past. If they're useful to you, you take them. And in turn, you put some of your own stuff in there and that floats on down the river to someone else who needs it now, it's no longer useful for you.

At this point the practical side of my nature kicks in and I want to know how the stuff is being protected from rocks and moisture as it continues to drift on by but I love the idea.

It is a bit of a faff at the start yes but over the past few years I've made around £300 and I enjoy sending my clothes to a new home.

Much easier with a printer and buying bags in bulk. You do get into a system after a while and it's not faff anymore.

So for example today I received a OUAI hair oil sample I paid £2.50 for it (a small travel size one is £14 and full size is £30 on Amazon) And then p and p (so around £6.40) I really appreciate that the seller has parcelled it up and posted it to me so I can enSame with a Nars orgasm blusher great to try these things without a huge spend and saving the planet a little.

Also got for £2.50 some lovely mom
Jeans from New look which fit fabulously (sick of spending $$$$ on jeans which fit for the hour then morph into an unsightly mess).

So yes it's a faff but a lovely thing to do also!

Free your mind op. If you haven't worn it for a year out it goes. Sell or charity or bin. After that it's one in one out. If you buy new trousers or even a bra, one current trousers/bra has to go.

Lol at jeans that fit for an hour then morph into an unsightly mess. So true. What happens?! 😂

You could try it in gentle stages? If you are a 16 now, try culling stuff that's under a 14. For a current 18, anything under a 16.That way you might make the effort and lose the weight and you would still have something left to wear, and feel smug about. If that works, go down another size. If it doesn't, think carefully about recycling the 14s - and be realistic. Bodies change in middle life.

Hmm, sold 5 things on Vinted this week, just printed off the labels. I hadn't realised the buyers chose the sending method...now tomorrow, I have to go to Inpost lockers, an Evri shop AND a blinking Yodel shop. I live in the middle of nowhere.

Some of these things are only £2. Taking into account, the packaging, the time, effort and fuel I'm not entirely convinced it's worth it.

It's a nice feeling that people will enjoy these but I'm thinking they'll love them just as much from the childrens' hospice shop.

There is a lot of emotion held in our things and this is what you are struggling with.

I'd recommend listening to the podcast 'the declutter hub' they did an episode on this a few weeks back when Lesley one of the hosts discussed her own wardrobe declutter and how it hinged around her weight etc. I think this is actually very common.

The reality is that if you did loose weight you would go out and buy new clothes.keeping the clothes is not increasing your chances of loosing the weight in any of way but deep down maybe you think this does? In reality letting go will take the constant pressure off you to decide what to do and make your life so much easier because you will have more space to hang thing and enjoy the clothes you actually wear.

Wishing you luck xx

I also recommend Dana K white's podcast and her book 'declutter at the speed of life' they transformed the way I manage my home x

I have exactly the same issue as you. Clothes stored and not worn for many reasons, firstly as I'm a few sizes bigger, or I'd just fancy wearing something else. But I love them so I want to keep them.

Done loads of online selling in the past, don't have the patience or time for it now.

It doesn't help that I like and appreciate vintage clothes and items and I can see that what we cast away now as "a few years out of current fashion" are tomorrow's amazing vintage things and I love the idea of creating a treasure trove and being able to say "I've got one of those!" rather than "I had one of those!" But who's going to love them and appreciate it, in reality?!

I didn't have lots of things/clothes growing up (didn't have much worth keeping either) and maybe that's why I really find it hard to let stuff I once loved go now, even though I might not ever wear them again. I am really quite minimalist in other ways and tidy. At least I store them neatly, in labelled boxes in the loft