I have a ridiculous amount of clothing. Two years ago, I did finally get rid of the vast majority of my "skinny" clothes. That was before I was really comfortable with myself, so my reasoning for getting rid of most of them wasn't accepting I'd be "skinny enough" to wear them again. It was more "good grief, why did I ever wear that?!" Sometimes it was "I'll never wear that again"--regardless of losing weight, I'll never be as short or as flat-chested (well, okay, flat-chested compared to now) as I was at 13.

Other things, I kept. For example, I have a pair of size 18 purple jeans that I love. I remember the day I found them at the Ross in Boulder. I was so damn excited! And the one time I lost a significant amount of weight, I was very happy to wear them again. Now, I'm still clinging to them, but I'm not sure why. Even if I did lose weight and could wear them again, I wouldn't--they're tapered-leg, terribly unflattering. But every time I go through my clothing trying to purge more, I keep those jeans.

A few items, mostly shirts, shrank when I washed them. I kept them, because it seems a shame to get rid of sexy corset tops or cool embellished t-shirts because they're just a little bit too tight. If my weight fluctuates down about ten pounds, they'll be wearable, so I keep them. The same with items that fit before I lost about twenty pounds just from stress relief--if I gain a bit, I can wear my neat handkerchief hem skirt again! So I'll keep it.

And then there are a few pieces of "motivational" clothing. I got rid of all my old "motivational" clothing two years ago ... but not too long after that I started working for Lane Bryant, and boy, did I make the most of my employee discount. Most of my money was spent on things that I could and did wear right away ... but some of the items I bought, like a pair of size 18 Seven7 jeans, didn't fit at the time. They may never.

But I hold on to them. I'm not sure why. The only thing I can think of is that I'd never find that exact item again. So I hold on to these things because maybe someday, under some circumstance, I might wear them--and it's better to have them in case than to get rid of them and regret it.