Wanted: Suggestions, Thoughts, Guidance, Your Experience.........

....in dealing with your clothes.  I'm not even 2 weeks out, but I decided to start clearing out my closet and dresser drawers -- I may need a rescue squad to find me -- what a MESS LOL.  Some things are instant give-aways, some will become rags (yeah, I hold on to EVERYTHING), but some things I still love.  I know by the fall/winter, none of these things are going to fit. 

My dilemma:  I'm decent with a sewing machine and overlock machine (serger).  Should I do alterations or just give up the ghost and give away everything?

Vets and newbies and inbetweenies -- men and women -- all ideas are wanted.

Thanks,

Ree

I've decided to do a lot of thrift store shopping between now and goal.

Having said that, if there are a few things you don't want to let go of for whatever reason, I see nothing wrong with taking them in as much as you can. It might save you a little money in the long run, especially when there might be times when you are going through sizes at lightning speed.

I'm so looking forward to lightning speed LOL  For now, no size changes yet -- was just thinking ahead.  Thrift shops -- maybe 40 miles away -- but a thought.  Thanks

You need to give up the old you and move on. If you have pieces that were expensive then go for it with alterations otherwise toss or give it away to a shelter or Goodwill.

I see your point -- keeping outgrown clothes would be a reminder of the "old" me -- the mental stuff, right?  I'll give away a lot -- especially office type things for women who need them.  I'm retired now, so I don't need a lot of those.  Thanks for your ideas!

I am handy with a sewing machine as well. Even if I shop at thrift stores, I can't afford a new wardrobe at every size. I want things to fit nicely, so I will be/ have been altering SOME of my clothing. I think I'll buy cloths every other size or so and continue to alter my clothes as I go. I won't be altering anything more than a size or two down. I think it's important for clothes to fit well to help my mind adjust to my new size.

Whatever you decide to do, best of luck.

A big part of my problem is how short I am.......5' 1.5" -- I always have had to alter everything I buy...........which is why almost everything I have is very tailored so that I don't "break" the lines of the items any more than necessary.  I like the idea of getting a few new things every few sizes and altering in between times.  Now all I need it to lose enough to warrant the alterations LOL

Thanks for the ideas!

 I am entirely unable to even sew a button on, so keep that in mind as you read this.

Getting new clothes was a HUGE reward for me.  I would be Ok with the thrift store approach, however, at my height you just don't find talls enough to even make it worth looking.  So I needed a plan to keep costs down.  

Old Navy carries talls with decent prices.  I would wait for the emails with the sale codes and buy when I saw it was the better sale percentages.  I would not go crazy- I teach, so 5 pair of slacks in the needed size bought when the "starting to get loose pants" were still wearable.  Thus, I had 10 pair to pull from at any point.  I also bought 2 pair of their yoga pants, and because those things or so stretchy I am still wearing them and I bought those puppies back in January.  I am betting they will work through Christmas- I live in them on the weekend in the cooler weather.

JcPenny.  Jackpot!  I hit the clearance stuff sometime in late Feb or March.  I was getting sweaters for $3-$5, blouses/shirst $4-$7.  I bought the current size I needed and a fair amount of a sizes that were too small.  The xl size now fits, and even if I lose quite a bit more due to my height they will still fit well enough to wear.  

So I went through a few complete wardrobes this way, but generally spent about $250ish for one size range worth of items- at most.  I will need to invest in all new slacks in August, but it is pointless to buy them at the moment as I am not sure what size I will be. 

I would ditch your old stuff if you can afford to.  Go with less newer items since you burn through sizes quicker.  Just be smart about choices so you can mix up a few key pieces for different looks.  Most of all, enjoy those smaller sizes!

Those smaller sizes are a ways down the road, but I tend to try to be prepared, so I started looking at my clothes today. 

Old Navy and JCP sound great.  I always shopped ON and JCP sales when my sons were young, but never for myself -- nothing fit

My problem, as I mentioned above in another post, is that I'm so short -- 5' 1.5" and that's when I stand really straight LOL  Just the opposite of your problem.  I definitely am giving away a lot of things and I want to do it now as I'm sure most of it won't fit come the Fall. 

Seems the best advice thus far is to do a combo of give away and alter -- I think that will work!

Thanks for your input -- always welcomed!!!  You know what I mean??? LOL

Ree

Depending on how much weight you have to lose, i would be inclined to just get rid of stuff rather than alter it.(unless its something really expensive or sentimental). If you are losing 100 pounds like many of us, thats a pretty major alteration. you will change sizes as you go down and lots of us lived in sweat pants and other stretchy things through the size decrease.

If the clothes are decent, give them away. I have heard that battered women's shelters often need larger clothes for women who escaped with virtually nothing.

Having said all that, I still have some large stuff around - purely out of laziness - but have removed the big stuff from the drawers i use most. need to get that stuff out of here. good for you for doing it soon!  And some support groups have clothing swaps for people who need temporary stuff while losing.   Diane