Help me avoid clothing declutter traps

[GentleIron]

Just about to embark on huge wardrobe clear-out. It has got borderline out of hand due to a conviction that things will come in useful and a reluctance to accept that my shape has irrevocably changed since DC and will never be the same again.

Help me stay strong in my resolve to:

a) take things to a charity shop (only nice clean items in excellent condition, of course!) instead of holding on to it with the intention to "sell it later" (it literally won't happen; I just buy stuff second hand, and have never actually sold a fibre myself).

b) just get rid of things which, however lovely, I've not fitted into comfortably for over a decade. It's not worth holding onto things on the off chance that my DDs will think they're cool in a few years

I know I will wobble massively, as I'll be letting go of some really lovely things.

Your lovely things deserve to be worn, and if you don't think you'll be able to wear them then it's time to set them free.

I have found that even getting a couple of £ on Vinted feels better than putting them in the charity shop. But it's your stuff - charity shop is just as good, as long as it's out of the house. Have an exit plan for everything - are you going to Asda tomorrow to put several bin bags of clothes in the charity bin? Plan it.

I also do a '10 things a day' declutter each weekend, which might feel more manageable. Things I decided to keep several weekends ago often find themselves in the 'sling' pile when it's 7pm on Sunday and I haven't reached target yet!

Just back from a few days away in a tent -blissfully uncluttered.
Thank you for your response. I resonate with all three paragraphs, especially (rather childishly) the idea of my (inanimate) items of clothing 'deserving' to be worn. I'm sure I'm not alone in this, but it doesn't make it any less weird to sort of 'personify' favourite garments.
Before I left I managed to get 3 large bags together for a charity shop (and you're right, getting them out of the house is a mission in its own right), and a big zippy storage bag full of things to sell at an upcoming event in a few days, the idea being that whatever doesn't sell will go to the charity shop on the way home.
I know some of these items will make the new owners really happy, which makes it easier -they still make me happy until I try to squeeze into them!
Thanks again for the encouragement.

That sounds like a great start. And good idea to take anything that doesn't sell to the charity shop.

I definitely struggle with hanging onto stuff. I mean, I may sound all full of advice but I have a large storage bag under my son's bed full of clothes that I haven't worn fitted into since 2019. It's hard. I have definitely found that selling stuff helps me feel like I am giving them another chance at life, for whatever reason that tricks my brain into not objecting to being separated from whatever it is so much.

It's all a process and you have made the first step. 👍