A Weighted Dilemma: How to Organize Your Wardrobe When You've Gained/Lost Weight
Most American adults gain an average of 0.6 to 1.7 pounds every year. Depending on a variety of factors, experts agree it's safe for the average adult to lose between 4 to 8 pounds per month.
With all that gaining and losing, it's not always easy to keep your closet organized. It's not uncommon for me to work with clients who have at least 3 different sizes of clothing in their wardrobe. And at times, I can say the same for myself.
But should we keep all those sizes, and if so, for how long? Keep reading to learn how to fight the battle of the bulge so you end up with a well-organized closet and a wardrobe that looks great and fits.
It's Time to Get Real
The first step towards having a great wardrobe and an organized closet is awareness. Here's what you need to consider:
Which items fit well now?
What doesn't fit well now?
How long they haven't fit?
Was there a reason for the weight loss/gain?
Asking yourself these questions will provide you with the right information to help you make smart decisions.
Set Healthy Boundaries
I love organizing because it's a safe, easy way to get in touch with yourself. It works, but only if you're willing, to be honest with yourself. If you set healthy boundaries with yourself, making decisions is a lot easier such as:
Always get rid of the stuff you don't like, use, or wear, no matter what size it is
Keep the items for a specific amount of time (like 1 year) if the weight gain/loss is recent (illness, baby, stress, etc)
Donate/toss if they haven't fit in 2 or more years
Why are these boundaries healthy? Because they're honest. After 2 years, accept that while you might lose/gain the weight, but probably not anytime soon. And even if you eventually do get back into that size, you're probably going to want to celebrate with something new, not something old. Or it'll be out of style by that point.
Why Keeping Items that Don't Fit Isn't Inspiring
Many clients of mine want to keep their skinnier clothes as a way to inspire or motivate themselves to lose weight. Unfortunately, most of us feel the following instead:
Guilty for not being strong enough to change our bodies quickly enough
Ashamed for everything we're not doing enough of
Fearful we'll make things worse
Failures for not being perfect
Frankly, whenever I try to guilt myself into losing weight, it only makes me want to stuff my face with everything I can see. Instead, I focus on loving myself exactly as I am, even if I'm not thrilled with what I see.
How to Deal and Succeed
Accept yourself, your body, and your weight as it is right now. Choose to love your body, yourself, and your weight as it is right now. The more you hate the body you're in, the more resistance you have towards the situation and the more impossible it becomes to change anything (except possibly gain/lose more weight, creating a nasty little cycle)
Instead, by purging yourself of the old stuff that doesn't fit you, by choosing to love and accept yourself now as you are, you're creating a space for change to occur. And, when you learn to set healthy boundaries, you can transfer that skill to choose healthier food options for yourself.
Get Support
If you've been struggling with getting and staying organized, you're not alone. And you're not a failure.
You just need more support. The skills learned in organizing can help you create the life you've always wanted. Click here to schedule your first session today.