Monday, September 04, 2017

The Life Changing Magic of Accepting Your Pants Size

     I am a big fan of Marie Kondo's "Life Changing Magic of Tidying UP", though I've certainly failed to implement it in my own home. But I decided that at the end of this summer, between summer quarter and the start of my school year, I would go Kondo on my clothing. It takes quite a bit of self acceptance to accomplish this.

     I believe one of the biggest stumbling blocks for people attempting to declutter their clothing is unwillingness to admit that certain clothes no longer "fit"; whether that means actual size, or one's current personality. Giving away that clothing is admitting that you have moved on- that you will never be that size again,or never be that person again.

     It helps, too, to be a thrift shopper. When you know it's time to purge the closet, it's so much easier to do so when the most you've spent on a pair of pants is $4. And if by some miracle I ever get back down to the size of the wish pants I gave away? Then I get to go thrifting again.

     I turned 45 yesterday. Except for a slight weight loss related to my summer's GI crisis, I've maintained a fairly steady weight for years, no matter my eating or exercise habits. This summer's clothes purge contained about 6 bags of clothes that fell into either category of "not fitting", from the pants that won't close to the micro mini and velour lace up tank. (I still kept the gold lame leggings a friend got me at the Goodwill by-the-pound outlet-I'm pretty sure I'll find a cosplay application for them someday.)

     It was freeing to let go of all those clothes, to accept I am and where I am, and to know it'll be that much easier to find what I want to wear during the busy school year.