Old Clothes and Japanese Restaurants
Being a true American, I overate on Thanksgiving. I made some eating decisions before the big day arrived so I wouldn’t lose sight of the fact that I am on a diet and regret my choices. I would allow myself a little bit of dressing and one sliver of pie (in addition to the turkey and salad of course!).
I did stick to my goal except I had a second sliver of lemon pie that night. Although I felt too full, that wasn’t the problem. The problem came on Friday night when we went out to eat with my aunt and uncle. That’s where I lost all sense of right and wrong.
We went to one of those Japanese restaurants where they cook your food at the table. It was a sight and even though I just ordered chicken, shrimp and veggies, there was something about that food that caused me to lose control. My plate was piled high with deliciousness and it was shamefully enough to feed a small country. And I ate every.single.bite.
Afterward I pushed myself away from the table and may have been slightly green. It left me feeling sick and I am not kidding…..I continued to feel stuffed the rest of the weekend. If you are reading this in 2014 I am probably still full from that meal.
On Saturday morning I decided enough was enough with my closet full of clothes that don’t fit me and I started cleaning. I had Elijah, my 10 year old, helping me by throwing away trash and carrying large mounds of clothing from the closet to my bedroom. I’m not kidding…..there is a mountain in there! I almost lost him at one point and thought I might have to dive in after him.
I made myself let go of everything that’s too big, which was almost everything. Now this is embarrassing to admit, but I felt so sad getting rid of those things! I know it’s just clothes and it’s a victory and all that. But cute, modest, plus-sized clothes are hard to find and as I watched them get tossed onto the pile I felt pangs of sadness. I really will miss some of them.
I’m not sure what to do with them now. I am considering selling them on eBay or Craig’s List. But that would involve a lot of work and I don’t know if photographing clothes, listing them then packaging them to ship is how I want to spend my Christmas holiday. What do you do with your old clothes that are perfectly good?
We spent the rest of the weekend doing the second most popular Thanksgiving tradition….the decorating of the house for Christmas. It’s a slow progression and this full, tired, nearly clothesless mom took her sweet time getting it all set up. Each of the kids had an assignment involving some form of Christmas decorating right down to the repair of last year’s nutcracker decoration.
I am so glad I painstakingly stored it in my closet and have been stepping carefully over it for a whole year only to pick it up and and have it fall apart in my hands and need to be completely reassembled.
Note to self: just go ahead and store the nutcracker decoration with all of the other Christmas ornaments this year.
I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend and I really hope you were wiser than I when it came to your food choices. May your December be merry and bright and all your nutcrackers be intact.
When I get rid of any clothes (mine, husband, kids) if it doesn’t have a stain and could be used by someone I donate to Goodwill. Shoes too. I don’t ever throw away good clothes unless they are stained or dirty.
I donate to goodwill or salvation army, get a receipt and take the gift deduction on your taxes.
I was down and didn’t really over eat. We went out for our Thanksgiving meal. No leftovers 🙁 but I feel good. I make a real effort to stop eating just BEFORE I feel full and this is really helping me.
I donate my clothes that I’m getting rid of. I’d also like to recoup some of the money, but the task is too daunting. If I were you, I’d let my friend that is behind you in weight loss go through them…
Any chance you can alter some of the clothes? Or find a good alteration business near you who can adapt your favourites so you can still wear them?
We usually pass clothes on to other people who could use them. But in the case of us not fitting in them anymore, sometimes that can be a touchy subject. Other than that, we typically donate. Selling them all can certainly be daunting! 🙂 Hope you’re able to figure out what to do with your mountain – and congrats on how far you’ve come!
CAM usually needs larger size clothes.
When I clean out my closet, I put my favorite “discards” in empty suitcases. We have some suitcases that are too large to be useful for air travel. This gives me some time to consign, give away or discard as the opportunity arises. Once in awhile, people taking mission trips ask for nice clothes to take overseas….there is something about getting those clothes out of sight that gives me the opportunity to detach from them and think logically about what should be done with them. I love an organized, uncluttered closet and I am more likely to ruthlessly purge if I know I can “reclaim” an item I am not certain I want to donate…come to think of it…that hasn’t happened yet!
I LOVE the musical ornaments! Our Christmas Tree has had a Christ centered musical theme for a few years….these ornaments will be a fun addition!
We donate most of our clothing (when it’s still in good shape) to Goodwill. I never take a receipt because I’m just too busy (or lazy? lol) to take the time to determine a value. With 9 kids I don’t need the tax deduction anyway. 😉 When I have REALLY nice clothes (which is rarely) to part with I will take them to a place in town called Clothes Mentor. They are pretty picky, and clothing must not only be in good condition, but also less than 3 years old. The nice thing is I can get a little bit of money for them (usually around $2-$3 per item) and all it costs me is a little time to drop things off and pick up the items they’re not interested in (or peruse the store and buy more clothes. 😉 I also liked the suggestion above of altering them or finding someone to alter them for you… especially if there are a few items that are truly favorites.
On another note, I’m so proud of you for doing the purge! It says you are committed to your weigh loss journey. So many times people will hang on to clothing “just in case”. I think saying good-bye to those outgrown (under grown? *grin*) items can help give you a mental boost as well as you continue on this path. 🙂
As for good food choices over Thanksgiving? I’m not sure that 1/4 pan of fudge I ate (only one piece at a time! lol) really qualifies. Since I just had a baby 2 1/2 weeks ago I’m allowing myself to use the “I’m nursing a baby” excuse through the holidays this year. 😉 Then, I will get back to begin a good little girl so I can slim back down like I did just before I got pregnant last year!
So now that Thanksgiving is done and gone… Merry Christmas to you and yours!
~k