Should I Declutter My Fat Pants That Don’t Fit Anymore?
One declutter battle that just about every human will come face to face with is the battle of the fat pants. Should they stay or should they go? Naturally, we want to celebrate a weight loss if it was a healthy, intentional decision. It only seems natural to plan to stay at a healthier size and get rid of the fat pants. However, it’s tough to shake that voice in the back of our head saying, What if you get back to that size again? What if it this weight loss doesn’t stick? Let’s walk through your options so you can make the informed decision whether or not to get rid of your fat pants.
The art of letting go
One thing a lot of us don’t realize is that the things we hang onto are often attached to limiting beliefs we have about ourselves. We feel bad for throwing things away, fear that we’ll declutter something and then end up needing it, or we worry about letting go of our fat pants.
The first step in letting go is learning to understand why we have these fears in the first place and what we can do to overcome them. This is something I talk about in my eBook, The Gentle Art of Letting Sh*t Go if you want to have a deeper dive conversation about all things letting go.
What do fat pants really mean?
Recently I noticed a friend of mine lost weight and my instant reaction was to say, “Hey! You’ve lost weight, you look great.” Thankfully I paused and started hyper-thinking about why this is our instant response to weight loss.
She looked great the last time I saw her. I don’t want her to think she wasn’t already beautiful before she lost weight. Why do we even use weight loss as a parameter for looking good? Sometimes it could be beneficial for people to gain weight. Why do we comment on people’s weight at all?
After spending .5 seconds having all of these thoughts and more, I decided to keep my mouth shut. If this particular friend happened to mention that she had started healing her stomach or health issues and was feeling so much better, I would commend her for that. If she mentions she went though a bout of the stomach flu and couldn’t keep anything down for weeks, I will be glad I didn’t open my mouth.
What I’m getting at is that a lot of times we have been lead to believe that we are somehow less worthy, or less beautiful simply because we are donning a bigger size. In reality nothing could be further from the truth.
So, before you go condemning your “fat pants,” I want you to spend some time (at least the rest of this article) considering how silly it is that we’ve all become obsessed with the size of our bodies. I would also love it if you would consider that if maybe it’s time we shift the narrative around body image.
How’s your day going?
The next important thing I want you to ask yourself is, “How is my day going?”
If you have recently found yourself on the skinnier side of life, I’d really like to know how it’s going.
For real, just between you and me, how are you average days going?
Does your inner narrator sound like this…
Oh my gosh, I’m so hungry. Shit, I haven’t made it to the gym yet. I shouldn’t have eaten that piece of pizza. I feel so fat. Gross, look at my stomach.
or does it sound like this…
Oh my gosh, I feel so much better. I love being able to eat well, feel full and know I’m taking care of my body. I think I’ll do an easier workout today. Man, I feel strong. This is amazing.
I’m only asking because, my dear friend, if you sound more like option number one, there is a good chance that the weight loss you have recently experienced isn’t going to be sustainable for the long haul.
Losing weight as a form of self punishment often won’t lead to long lasting results when it comes to your body. Even if you do manage to keep the weight off, is this really how you want to spend your days?
If, however, you find yourself dancing more along the second version of internal thoughts, let me congratulate you. It sounds as though you’ve found a healthy balance with food and body and aren’t depriving yourself.
I understand the pressure we can all carry to lose weight and meet today’s beauty standards, but I have found that having a body that is widely approved of isn’t worth it if you are sacrificing your mental health to make it happen.
Check your confidence level
OK, now that I’ve given you a few reminders that your worth is not determined by your body type or size, let’s get into the real reason we’re all here…
Do we declutter the fat pants or not?
One thing I’ve noticed when it comes to minimalism and decluttering is that a lot of times we think there are certain rules we have to follow. Like there is only one right way to do things and we can’t officially say we’ve decluttered if we’re hanging onto anything that goes above and beyond the necessities for living.
If you struggle with thoughts like this, check out my post: How Many Pants Should I Own and Other Weird Minimalism Questions.
I say this because more than anything, your body will tell you whether or not it’s time to get rid of clothing sizes you no longer fit into. Basically, if you feel resistance around eliminating these items, then it’s probably something you should hold off on doing. If you cannot wait to chuck those bad boys out the door, then you don’t need my permission to do so!
A lot of us struggle to trust that inner voice, our own knowing, and it’s high time we learn to listen to her again! Listen to: Hearing Your Own Inner Voice for ideas on how to tap into your intuition more and more.
If you’re still on the fence about getting rid of your fat pants, keep reading on.
What’s your track record?
It has been almost 15 years since the day I got married and I am a mere 20 pounds heavier than I was when I first met Tom. That being said, I am only one size larger than I was when we first met! This could be a balance of muscle (but I doubt it) and fat. Who knows. But the crazy thing is I have friends who gain 10-15 pounds during their periods alone!
At the end of the day, we all have different body types and weight gain/loss habits. So, before you go committing to getting rid of your clothes (or not getting rid of them), ask yourself what your track record is for gaining the weight back.
If you’ve been like a yoyo when it comes to weight loss where your body is ever-changing, there is nothing wrong with that. Don’t be afraid to acknowledge it and use this information as confirmation that you probably aren’t ready to get rid of your bigger sizes just yet.
Keeping our track record in mind is something I talk about in The Gentle Art of Letting Sh*t Go. It’s never meant to be something we shame ourselves for, but rather something that can help us make informed decisions about life and letting go.
Testing the skinnier waters
If weight loss is a newer thing for you, and you’re not feeling totally confident in chucking the “fat pants” just yet, my biggest recommendation to you is to build yourself a Maybe Bin.
The Maybe Bin is part of my 4 bin method for decluttering, where you set aside items you aren’t sure you’re ready to get rid of in a bin. You can leave this bin in storage for 6-12 months. If you end up needing something from it, then the bin is there for you to pull things from. After 6 to 12 months if you haven’t wound up digging back into the Maybe Bin, you can simply load the bin into your trunk and donate it!
When it comes to getting rid of your fat clothes, this is the method I highly recommend. Stash away your bigger sizes in a bin for 1 year. If after a year your lower weight has maintained, maybe you’ll feel a little more peaceful about letting go of these bigger sizes for good.
You are bigger than a number
At the end of the day, I want to remind you that you are so much bigger than a number. Whether you get back into this bigger sizes or not, I want to leave you with the knowledge that your amazingness cannot be contained within a single number whether it be a scale, pant size or waist size.
You deserve to feel comfortable and healthy in your own body and in your own clothes, no matter what size the tag is!
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