Packrat.

[porphyrin]

This morning, among other things, I dropped off a bunch of clothes, books, and miscellaneous stuff (including three thermometers, although they didn't want the fourth) at Youthlink.

I got out my summer clothes and put them in the closet.  I put away my winter clothes.

I went through every box in the goddamn closet.

There are 2 boxes of Size 12 Nice Clothes, and I mean *nice* clothes, waiting for me to lose weight.

There is an *entire suitcase* of Size 10 niceness. 

I couldn't afford, now, to buy anything half as nice as these clothes.

I haven't been able to fit into the Size 12 for the last 3 years.

I don't know that I ever will.

I'm really torn between selling the damn things (out of my house!  out!  you take up space!) and keeping them In The Event of Cachexia.

My war with my packrat instincts (and my husband's EVERYTHING MUST GO SINCE WE ARE MOVING commandment) and my knowledge of the budget (IF I lose weight, I can never afford to replace these) are going head to head.

Advice? 

Comments

[wiliqueen.livejournal.com]

Keep a few (no more than half a dozen) of your Very Favorite Things. Sell the rest. Earmark the proceeds for new clothes.

Spend some of it right away, on some really nice quality pieces that fit you now. Stretch those dollars by getting those nice quality pieces on eBay, or at Filene's, or whatever. I'm a firm believer in the power of feeling like you look great now.

Keep the rest of the money wherever it won't be tempting to spend it on More Important Things -- in a jar at the back of your closet shelf, or whatever works. When you need new clothes because the nice ones you bought in the previous paragraph are too big, celebrate by going shopping with that money.

You know where you want to be; keeping old clothes isn't going to make any real difference in your resolve to get there. This way you'll still have a reward on reserve when you do, but it'll take up much less space. Plus, shopping. :-D