Purged

I should really be in bed since it's 1:45 in the morning and I have to get up at 9 to deal with UC's parking services in the morning for a parking pass but I decided on a whim (I seem to be good at this in the last 24 hours since I chose to cut my hair last night on a whim!) to purge my closet of everything that was too big.

I have an entire laundry basket of just clothes I yanked off of hangers. This doesn't include my other closet of t-shirts and shoes that I haven't gone through yet. After purging everything that is too big, I was left with about four pairs of dress pants, three pairs of capris, three pairs of jeans, and a few shirts. I'm good on pants for awhile since I just bought two new pairs tonight but my shirts are definitely going to have to be replenished because some of them are too nice to be wearing while I work at a preschool. I also had to purge all but one of my fall and winter sweaters which means I need some more of those too.

It made me sad to purge some of my clothes because I loved them but as I stared in the mirror and saw how some of those clothes swam on me now, I wondered how I ever let myself get to that size and weight. I looked through some pictures on myspace from college and I'm just amazed at the change in the last two years. Some of the weight started coming off as I started taking the meds for my PCOS, but most of it has come off since joining Fitworks.

Looking back over the last nine months, I am so glad I chose to make the leap of faith and join a gym. It was one of the hardest and scariest decisions of my life because I had always been intimidated by people who worked out and went to the gym but I love that I made that choice to become healthy and change my life. I have more energy now than I ever did. I actually enjoy running around with the kids I work with and my nieces and nephew, and all the kids I baby-sit for when before I would have been content to just let them play by themselves because I didn't have the energy to chase them. Now, they love when I go outside with them and join in their activities. I love life and being able to enjoy physical activities.

I was so tempted tonight to keep some of the clothes I loved the most but knew it would be too easy to fall back in that "comfort" zone and have those clothes to fall back onto. By tossing out everything that's too big, I'm telling myself that I will never let myself go back to that weight and instead, will keep looking to the future and the weight I know I still need to lose.

I did, however, keep the dress I wore at my college graduation and I tucked it in the back of the closet with all of my formal dresses that I keep for sentimental reasons. (Yes, I am a sap!) I just couldn't bring myself to part with it because it had been worn on such a big occasion but because it's so big, it's not something I'll be tempted to wear in public. :-P

The best part of purging my closet other than the new shopping spree I know I get to go on? All of my clothes I'm getting rid of will go to the Salvation Army. They come around every couple of months and collect items from families that don't need or want them and then donate them. This will be my third donation in the last year or so. Along with the clothes I'm also going through some kitchen stuff from school and donating it as well. I just have so much stuff that has been boxed up forever that there's no sense leaving it in boxes when I clearly haven't had a use for it in the last year and a half since I've been back at home. I'd rather it go to someone who needs it more than I do.

Alright, I'm off to bed. I need some rest if I'm going to fight with parking services in the morning. After that, it's off to the aquarium!! :-)