The other day I opened my closet and thought, for the first time in my life, “I don’t think I need all of this stuff.” I began to think about the last time I’d worn certain items, and asked myself why I hadn’t worn them in awhile. Then I moved on to the bottom right drawer of my dresser: the jeans. See, I once realized I’d lost 38 lbs since my highest weight. The number is now around 50 pounds. So I tried on some jeans and put a few pairs that were… wait for it… TOO BIG… in a pile to take to Plato’s Closet.
And then I realized… you know, I haven’t consistently worn dresses in awhile. So I took every single dress I own, threw it on my bed, and started trying every single dress on. INCLUDING… Bridesmaid dresses. Check this:
This first dress is one I wore last September in Rachel’s wedding.
When I got the dress it fit really nicely; they didn’t alter the fit at all. When I tried the dress on, I thought “okay it fits kind of the same,” but when I saw the pictures I realized that the waist part is actually more loose now! Also this dress is just the cutest. It makes me feel like a princess.
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The next dress is from August 2011, one of my favorite weddings of all time because it was at CAMP ARNOLD!
I was looking for a picture from Sarah’s wedding and I saw this one and was like… wait, what? First, just note how much shorter it was on Sarah’s wedding day. Second, don’t pay too much attention but I was snug as a bug in that dress. When I put it on, I literally thought “this is what it feels like to wear a potato sack.” There was NOWHERE for it to cling, it just hung flat. This was the moment I thought “okay, maybe my weight loss is actually physically noticeable.”
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But wait for this one.
This is from my friend Brittany’s wedding in April 2011.
When I wore this dress, I had no problems keeping it up. It’s strapless, but it had enough to stay in place. Now it wouldn’t even stay on my body.
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Okay so here’s the thing. I didn’t stop there. I tried on every… article… of… clothing… I… own. Seriously. I tried it all on, and I decided.. some of this needs to go.
and you know what’s crazy? I kind of felt awesome about it. Because I realized this little cycle:
Losing weight –> Selling clothes –> Making a little $$ / un-stuffing –> less to worry about –> more time to do other things –> like sleep –> sleep helps with losing weight…. see this cycle? I realized that so much of what I’m currently tackling is all connected.
As I get rid of stuff in my room, I’m appreciating the value in the things I keep, which makes me less likely to go buy stuff just to make myself feel good. That helps me save money and keep an easier living space. Having a clear mind like that helps me stay focused on things like losing weight. It’s all connected.
I’m seeing that there’s a lot of stuff in my life to unstuff. I’m attempting to unstuff my debt (slowly… but surely. You know who is KILLING this debt repayment stuff? ROBYN. Go read this post like RIGHT NOW). I’m attempting to unstuff my body. I’m attempting to unstuff my closet, my room, under my bed, the drawers, the bathroom, my car, the garage…. not all at once, obviously. I’m just realizing that having lots of stuff doesn’t make me happy. Doing lots of THINGS makes me happy. Seeing lots of PEOPLE makes me happy. Being lots of places, drinking lots of coffee, having lots of conversations, hiking lots of miles… all stuff that makes me happy. Stuff isn’t cutting it anymore, and I’m tired of it.
This month I made a goal to unstuff by my bed. I’m getting there. This was a really healthy detour. I’ll tell you how much I make at Plato’s…. when I finally take it down there.
So here’s to progress in all the things that matter.
Yay for more money and less stuff that you can’t even wear anyways! 🙂
right!!!?!?!?
Go girl! Purging your closet is one of the next feelings…right next to losing 50 pounds!!! You go girl!!
heck yeah!!! i’m going to miss some of the clothes, but i’m so stoked to be able to buy NEW CLOTHES! haha
Way to go! I am so excited that you are excited about losing weight and cleaning out your closet.
yay!!!! thanks <3 <3 <3
Whoo! Awesome for you girl! I move states a lot (every few years it seems) so I go through an un-stuff period quite frequently lol
THANK YOU!!! moving states definitely is a great reason to unstuff, haha.
girl. YOU ARE A BEAST! i can’t even believe those transformation pictures! so, so awesome!!!!
and encouraging to me b/c i have the opposite problem… gained 45lbs in the past 2 years and need to lose it. so hopefully i can be as awesome as you some day! 🙂
and i love how you made the connection (haha!) that everything is connected! because it so is!!! that helps my perspective a lot too, so thanks for that friend! 🙂
THANK YOUUUUUUUU.
dude in january i’m wanting to do a whole 30/exercise/devotion type group — would you be down to join?
Wow! Unstuffing the closet is quite the task! Congrats on your health and fitness journey! You’re awesome! – Jenny
THANKS JENNY!!!! <3
Way to go Stephanie! You look fabulous and I bet you feel just as great! I have a completely free weekend so maybe I can unstuff some closests/drawers/the attic!
THAAAANKK YOUUUU!!! have you gotten around to unstuffing yet? ;D
Woohoo! Way to weight loss! 😉
aw yeahhhhh!!!!! <3
Okay, I AM SO IMPRESSED! These are really noticeable differences and I hope you are like “yeah, I’m awesome- I did this!!” I just lost enough to fit into size 14 pants and I am so excited. They are tight, but I’m not muffin topping so it is all good to me!
THANK YOU!!!!!! my size 16 american eagle jeans are OFFICIALLY too big – i’m so excited to put them in my thredup bag and pull out a pair of size 14s. i’m going to start keeping my eyes out at thrift stores for cheap size 12/14 AE jeans, since i only wear american eagle and then i can have them on the ready!!! it’s so exciting!
That is so great! I know it made you fell so good about yourself! You look great!
thank you SO MUCH, sophia!!! <3
Wow! That must feel awesome, both to see your progress that way and to clear out the closet a little bit. Go you!
P.s. New reader! Glad to have found you 🙂
ahhh thank you allie!!! sorry it took so long to respond 🙂 i can’t wait to keep unstuffing my clothes!
Before you sell some of those dresses you should get a couple tailored! That first blue one is gorgeous on you and with a little bit of sewing (and like $15 at a tailor), it will look great again! You could wear it to another wedding later or even like a fancy christmas party. That will save money on a new dress! But the potato sack one, definitely sell. You should never keep something that feels like a sack.
i’m definitely keeping the first dress – i might keep the other ones just for a point of reference, i think. it would be worth it to keep seeing a change in the fit, you know!??
PS. I physically notice your weight loss every time you post a photo, even selfies. You’re killing it. You go, girl!
yayyy!!!!! thanks!!!! people are just starting to notice so it’s exciting. 🙂
This is amazing! I too have lost a huge amount of weight and lost a ton of clothes from it. I mostly donated a lot of it to the rehab facility I was working at then. Rebuilding a wardrobe, though, can be very expensive too, so be wary!
CONGRATS!!!! <3
i'm definitely starting to keep my eye open at thrift stores when they have half off days or tags – looking for pants that are a size smaller than i've been wearing so that i can get rid of the ones that are too big without having to make too much of an investment, you know? because hopefully those will slowly (but surely!) get too big ;D
Yes. Yes. Yes! Rooting for you!
Fantastic! It is so encouraging to see progress isn’t it?!?
yes!!! and now that people are finally starting to notice, it’s REALLY EXCITING!!!! thanks for the encouragement <3