Charity shop give away regrets

[NagathaCrispy]

Today I am meeting an old friend for lunch. The weather here is not great - several inches of lying snow and very cold, so although we're meeting in a nice restaurant about half way between us (about 10 miles away, in my case) I'm wrapping up warm. I am dressed appropriately in smart trousers and a nice top, with boots and have just gone into my wardrobe to get out a top coat I rarely wear, but which would be perfect for today - warm and matches my outfit.

Except ...... I now realise, I gave it to the charity shop a couple of months ago, because "I never wear it!!" GAH!!

Please make me feel better and share your charity shop give away regrets. I can't be the only one!

Sadly no regrets. Chances are you might have looked at it again and thought naah no way doesn't look as good as it used to.

I regret giving away my really nice afghan coat in the nineties, as they came back into fashion. I'm kinda over it now as it fitted me as a skinny hippie, wouldn't look at me now!

I had a beautiful red silk blouse. It didn't fit and I rarely wore it, it had some unusual detailing. I gave it away over 10 years ago and still occasionally regret it.

I made a basic dress out of an old duvet cover a couple of years ago just to practice dressmaking skills. Quite basic but it was lined and it had pockets becasue as I say, I was practicing my sewing skills.

It sat in the wardrobe for ages becasue I didn't really wear dresses that often so I donated it. A year or so later, it turns out I do like wearing dresses after all and it would have been so lovely to wear. The material was lovely and soft too.

I have a coat that I rarely wear and have taken it out of the wardrobe to take to the charity shop; it's now going back in the wardrobe! 🤣

Oh... I feel your pain, and annoyance at yourself OP!

I make donations to thrift stores fairly regularly in my effort to declutter.
Too often I can almost be sure that when an item is deemed not useful to me anymore, and has gone, that I can expect that one of my DCs will ask, out of the blue, "do you have such and such a thing"? Arrrgh!

Like you, and others, I get fed up giving closet or cupboard space to an item of almost never worn clothing, only to finally have the perfect opp to wear it, then to find it's 'disappeared' from where I saw it last.

I've learned that I will not get rid of the various coats and jackets that I have ( accumulated), or any of the pairs of boots. Too expensive to replace, these days.
They will go when I do!

I had quite an expensive three-in-one waterproof jacket for dog-walking etc., with a lovely dark blue fleece that could be zipped into it in winter or worn separately. I also had a too-big, too-thick bulky fleece jacket in a very similar colour that I never wore. Both fleeces were on the shelf at the top of my wardrobe for the summer - guess which one I put in the bag I was hastily filling for charity 😢I didn't realise for months, so it was too late to try to buy it back.

I often declutter my wardrobe and take clothes to the charity shop luckily I have never regretted any of my donations. When my DM died we were clearing out her flat. My DSis bless her was trying to help and donated every bit of clothing DM owned. This included a silk scarf I had bought for DM in New York. It had a print of Central Park in the Spring on it. I would really have loved to keep that. I didn’t have the heart to tell my sister. My late DM was a great cardigan wearer as well. I would have liked one of her cardigans to keep.

I gave away a set of 6 lovely china cups and saucers - we are more of a coffee mug type of household - then invited some friends over for a meal and realised I had nothing respectable to serve them coffee in. So much for my efforts to look sophisticated 😁 - we had after dinner coffee in our old mugs.

The entire series DVD box set of Felicity.

I gave away the Monty Don book “Feom field to Fork” and regretted it. DlovelyH tracked down a copy on EBay and gave it to me 5 years later for my birthday and another year after that confessed that it was £40. Probably the same bloody book!

A beautiful, soft velvet jacket with a thick silk ribbon fastening.
I lost weight and it was unwearable. I gave it to a charity shop.
You know where this is going don't you. I put the weight back on and it would fit beautifully again. Lesson learnt

A nicely-tailored woollen Marks jacket. It was in very dark brown. I don't wear much brown, so it went...but it would have been endlessly useful, in truth.

I live in fear of this sort of thing. Pretty much every time I fill a charity bag I look fir one if the items a few months later.

BUT we can't keep everything. I find having lots of stuff very stressful even though it's all neat and organised. I probably need to get rid of half my clothes.

Too many

I nearly bought back a handbag

left to myself I'd keep everything. My issue is lack of space

more specifically- a grey biker jacket which I loved but didn't wear much, would now be very practical

I'm thinking about that nearly daily atm. So sad.

A thick sheepskin coat from a charity shop itself. It was beautiful and d like a teddy cost of today. Had I kept it I'd have worn it so much. Or would I actually ? Do t know it it really was sheepskin or just in the style of. If on the style of , then I'd wear it but not if the real thing. I don't think

I gave away lots of very smart, wool, longer winter coats a few years ago. Went to a funeral this week in the cold and rain. Went to wear one and, yes, I must have donated it. I still had two (only one of which would do up though!) but I didn’t have the one I really wanted to wear.

I have held on to loads of other things that I should have donated.

Too many

4 100% wool coats as they where very warm to wear
Would have come in handy this week

A pair of earrings I bought on esty
Would have looked amazing with a dress I bought on vinted

Pair of boots that I never wore-am now hunting down the exact pair as I would wear them now

I once gave all my baby stuff to the charity shop as 'I'm not having any more babies'
Found out I was pregnant a week later...

It was nice of you not to reproach your sister.

Loads of stuff. After about 10 yrs of holding onto bags of clothes coz 'i might fit into them again one day's I finally gave them all to charity.
Now I finally have lost the weight I'm gutted.
I bought a coat this week on Vinted which is an exact copy of one I gave away...maybe I can find the rest!

When I was college student in the 90’s, I found a very old Chanel wool jacket in a charity shop. It was fitted, in the style of riding jacket. Grey, a bit dull in colour and a bit too small. And a bit musty. I bought it for a few pounds, never wore it out of the house and then I don’t really know what happened to it. Probably binned it! 🙈😆

No regrets about clothes.

I regret some of the books that I've given away in one of my periodic purges.

I used to do a lot of jigsaws years ago but gave most of them away and there's a couple of those that I regret. As a child, I used to love doing jigmaps. I gave them away when I thought I was too old for them but I've been getting nostalgic recently and wish I still had them.

I donated all my pregnancy clothes to a NCT sale after my second child. Shortly after I found I was pregnant again but fortunately, the lady who bought my clothes was a friend and she gave them back to me!

Not clothes, but a book I lent my sister who thought I didn't want it back and gave it to the charity shop, I was annoyed with her then tracked it down on ebay. Now I make a point of saying I want my items back when lending to anyone, but will also say, just give it away when you're done with it, no need to return if i don't want it back.

A Monsoon cord skirt that had a kind of burgundy/purple shimmer, and was really warm. I hadn't worn it for 3 or 4 years, so out it went, but I want it back now, especially this week when I have nothing at all suitable to wear for dinner with a friend at the weekend.