I need help with my declutter task

SusanCarter

On a similar-ish subject to ivyleaf: Why not use the money you make from selling the old clothes to get some nice clothes that are designed for your size? I believe standard shops tend to design for about size 10 and then just add more material for increasing sizes whereas you can get specialist shops which design clothes for a larger size rather than multiplying up from a smaller size. Hope that makes sense.

taurusgb

SusanCarter wrote:

On a similar-ish subject to ivyleaf: Why not use the money you make from selling the old clothes to get some nice clothes that are designed for your size? I believe standard shops tend to design for about size 10 and then just add more material for increasing sizes whereas you can get specialist shops which design clothes for a larger size rather than multiplying up from a smaller size. Hope that makes sense.

Oh I SO know what you mean! I'm larger than I'd like to be and I am so sick of looking at clothes that are supposedly my size, but are in reality a size 10 with more fabric and the wrong shape....let's be honest here, a size 10 dress that has a nipped in waist, floaty skirt and tight bodice just does NOT look good when scaled up to a size 18! If anybody can point me in the direction of a shop that does design for larger sizes (apart from Evans who I already know) I would be most grateful....and LilacLillie ((((hugs)))) to you !!

Churchmouse

Anne Harvey design for larger figures, but tend to be pricey. Get some good sale bargains though. I used to use them for special occasions, then lost five stones and didn't need them anymore. Five years on I've put on two stones in the last 4 months and am rapidly nearing needing them again!!!

ivyleaf

taurusgb wrote:

Oh I SO know what you mean! I'm larger than I'd like to be and I am so sick of looking at clothes that are supposedly my size, but are in reality a size 10 with more fabric and the wrong shape....let's be honest here, a size 10 dress that has a nipped in waist, floaty skirt and tight bodice just does NOT look good when scaled up to a size 18! If anybody can point me in the direction of a shop that does design for larger sizes (apart from Evans who I already know) I would be most grateful....and LilacLillie ((((hugs)))) to you !!

Elvi are quite good, but it depends on your age group as well, their clothes aren't aimed at very young people. I did get a beautiful pair of jeans there last month and have been nearly living in them, they are so well cut and actually seem to make my chunky legs appear slim! They cost £55 but I think it was worth it! I feel really good when I go out in them. BHS jeans are a lot cheaper, but much less flattering. Another shop is Ann Harvey, though I haven't found anything I liked in there lately - worth a look though.

HTH

ivyleaf x

LilacLillie

I managed to get a stall for Saturday at the fete
Its only local so I'll only get 50p's or £1's on some great stuff, but hope to just shift it.
Spent all day clearing through the wardrobes/cupboards/drawers and those hidden bags everywhere (2 son's have left home, so I have taken over both of their wardrobes and drawers in each room).
I was quite ruthless, but not as much as I'd like to have been.
What I did do that I was proud of was, the things I did put back I bagged up first into: sizes, then summer & winter dresses/evening dresses/tops/trousers/coats/skirts etc: and labeled them all. Didn't keep any nightwear or underwear, as beautiful as it all was.
If I don't lose weight and get to use/open any of the bags in say 6mths, I'll take the bag (without opening it) straight to the charity shop or put it on Freecycle.
I feel lighter already. House looks like a tip though
Thanks for the help, support and advice. I'll let you know how it goes on Sunday!
LL

Bargainloverbec

I have been known to cut up old shirts into squares and hem them to make hankies or dusters. How many OS brownie points is that?

Not been doing too much of that recently - I move house in 10 weeks so am ruthlessly decluttering all the stuff I save in case it 'comes in handy' one day.

Contains_Mild_Peril

BrightonLad wrote:

when i have a clear out my criteria for binning are these:

1 have i used the item in the last six months

2 do i plan on using it in the next 2 months

If the answer to both is no then bin it!

I always think it's a sin to bin anything that other people could use. I suppose it's understandable if you live somewhere so remote that you go for months without going anywhere near a charity shop and people wouldn't travel so far away from civilisation to collect Freecycled goods, but I live in a town so it's easy for me to give things away.
I've gone from a size 12 to a size 18 and back to a 12-14, so I'm familiar with the experience of finding loads of clothes that don't fit!
When I sorted through my size 12-16 clothes while I was a size 18, I admit I did keep a few of my very favourite things just in case I ever fit back into them. Now I'm relatively slim again, it's been fun trying them back on. I had a few regrets about things I gave away which would fit me again now if I'd kept them, but I also had plenty of excuse to buy loads of fab new clothes, which I couldn't really justify if I'd kept loads of my old ones.
Brand new clothes and popular labels will usually sell on eBay if listed with a low start price.
I gave a lot of stuff to my sister, and for things that don't fit us but we really don't want to part with, we've sometimes "lent" each other clothes indefinitely: we reserve the right to reclaim them from the other sister if they ever fit us again!
LilacLillie, you mentioned giving things to charity shops which they never put out - how long afterwards did you look? Turnaround times can vary hugely. When I give clothes to my favourite charity shop, it's usually several weeks, sometimes months, before they appear on the rails. Another shop had my clothes on sale 2 days after I donated them.
When I'm having a really major clearout (something I don't do as often as I should), I actually sort clothes into different bags for different charity shops. Bog-standard clothes go to the cheap shops, posh ones to the posh charity shops. I usually have a jumble sale bag too, for things which are still wearable but not quite in good enough condition for a charity shop (e.g. if there's a little wear visible on trouser knees, or one of my blouse buttons doesn't quite match the others).
Anything which I'm particularly sentimental about but have decided to part with goes on eBay or to someone I know rather than to charity, just in case it were to remain unsold in the charity shop and go to the rag trader. On eBay, you know it's going to someone who wants it, and may even love it as much as you have.

chardonnay_2

the ones that are new with tags and don't fit - sell them on ebay - create a fund for when youa rfe at your ideal weight or treat yourself to some nice clothes now.

the clothes that have been in storage for 3 years + get rid of sell off on ebay etc. use the funds to buy nice outfits. if you must keep your fav outfits if you think they will stand the test of time & fashion + you will fit them one day. take photos of the special clothes outfits and declutter your life.

GardenMillie

I've helped friends declutter and likewise they have helped me, it's easier for someone else who doesn't have the sentimental attachment to things. I have two jumpers I cant part with one - knitted by mum, just love the colour and still wear it around the house in winter, the other navy with oranges on, was much heavier when it was bought me for me and now it drowns me but it's so lovely and was expensive!

I always feel better though when I've had a clearout. Good luck

VickyA_2

When trying to squeeze some clothes into an overful drawer this afternoon, I've realised that I need to do something about it too! Some of the clothes are there for "when" I slim down (they've been waiting for a little while.....). Spurred on by this post, I'm going to do a mixture of two things:

1) Ebay the newer items.
2) Send other bits (but still in good condition) to charity shops.

Life's too short and wardrobes are too small :rolleyes: to keep things like this, isn't it?