I feel like everyone’s done it before; keep clothes that don’t fit anymore in your closet because you convince yourself that one day you’ll lose enough weight to wear them again. You tell yourself that someday, when you have your life together like those fitspo people on Instagram who eat “clean” and exercise for hours every day, your body will fit into your old clothes. You don’t take no for an answer when it comes to clothes that are too small for you, because letting them go feels like giving up. You’d rather try to change your body to fit the clothes, rather than look for clothing to fit your body. By seeing your body as the thing that needs to be altered, rather than the size of clothing that you buy, you start thinking of your body as a problem.
Keeping clothes that are too small in your closet is also a constant reminder that you’re not the same as you used to be and that scares people, especially when they realize that they’re not the same as they used to be because they’ve gained weight. A lot of people in our society are legitimately afraid of gaining weight, as if the end of the world is going to dawn upon them if they have even the slightest bit of belly pudge or jiggle.
A clown running at you with a knife should be scary. Swimming in shark-infested waters should be scary. Gaining weight shouldn’t be.
Maybe you'll fit back into your old clothes again one day. Bodies change all the time. If you can gain weight, you can lose weight, right? Why not keep the clothes just in case you ever are able to fit into them again?
The problem with that sort of thinking is that, even though it’s certainly possible that one day you'll will lose the weight you gained and be able to wear your old clothes, they don’t fit you now, and when you wake up and get ready in the morning, you’re not getting dressed to go do things tomorrow or a year from now. You’re getting dressed to go do things today, so you need clothes that fit the shape and size that your body is today.
I think there are definitely exceptions to what I’ve been saying. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to keep your old baby clothes, your wedding dress, or anything sentimental like that. If an item of clothing has some sort of significant meaning to you, by all means, don’t get rid of it. But fold it up and put it in a box in your attic. Take it out every once in a while to reminisce if you want, but don’t keep it in the closet that you look through every day. As important as your past is, it’s your past. Your wardrobe should reflect who you are right now.
