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January 2011 Moms
nurseJK
member
Closet question- calling all prior moms especially!
nurseJK
member
So... what am I supposed to do with my closet? Almost all of the clothes in it do not fit and won't for a long time. Did you pack all this stuff up and store it? I really don't have room for the new pregnancy clothes I am buying. I am also staring at mini-skirts and skimpy tank tops from my sorority days thinking I won't wear them once I am a mommy. A trip to good will is in my future! Just wondering what other ladies are doing and what has worked for mommies!!!
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Re: Closet question- calling all prior moms especially!
I just moved into a new place, and while unpacking my winter stuff it got kind of depressing. It was like, "Well, I'll be too enormous this winter to wear this....and this... and this..." So I'm just packing them back up in totes and sticking them in the back of my closet to pull out next year.
If they are things you know you'll never wear again, though, it probably is best to just go ahead and Goodwill them... or have a yardsale.
I have a pretty big closet, so I just left stuff in there. It was the only place I had to store it - I really had no room to put boxes if I had boxed it up.
Doing a purge and taking stuff to Goodwill now is a great idea. I really wish I did that with my closet and the rest of the house before I had DD. I *really* need to do it now that LO#2 is on the way, but am lacking the motivation and energy to do so.
I would start by going through everything in there. If you haven't worn in it 6 months or more, time to let it go. Once you do that, see how much room you have. If it's still too tight, then I would start by packing/storing fall/winter clothes since that will be the time you will be pregnant. Plus, they are bulkier.
I didn't really wear maternity with dd until around 25 weeks, and we have a pretty big closet so I just got rid of the really old/never worn stuff and went from there.
(I'm not a prior mom, but...) I spent about 2 hours trying on clothes one day and anything that seemed like it would fit for at least another month or two stayed. I got rid of anything that I could barely fit into pre-pregnancy (since those clothes had just been sitting there for a good year +) and anything that I wanted to keep post pregnancy went into two empty dressers in my guest room. If you don't have empty dresser space, you could put it in plastic bins and store it somewhere (possibly the nursery closet if you don't need all that space right away.) It really cleared out my closet and I stopped spending so much time trying to figure out what fits me. Anything in my closet now fits me.
I'll probably just leave them in the closer, periodically going through and donating things I **know** I won't be using anytime soon. Most of these clothes aren't going to work for me for the next year and a half or so - my boobs will be huge and in constant demand. As they stop fitting my pregnant self, they'll probably go, unless I can seriously foresee myself wearing them post-pregnancy.
I'm not at all attached to my wardrobe though. I never spend much on it, so I don't mind rotating things in and out.
~EDD Nov 18, 2017 with my IUI success story~
[spoiler]
Yes, I transitioned my closet completely. Why look at racks full of clothes I won't be able to wear?
It was also a great time to purge clothes I hadn't worn in over a year. I had a box for donation and then a box that I will keep.
During post partum with DD, I wasn't even attempting to put on regular clothes until 6 weeks PP. Plus the only thing you want to wear are comfy stretchy pants.
I made sure to put my favorite jeans on top and when they fit is when I transition my clothes from maternity back to normal.
Katie: 1/16/08 2lbs. 15oz.
Abby & Emily: 12/31/10 6lbs. 2oz. & 5lbs. 7oz.
I had a yard sale/goodwill drop for stuff I just needed to get rid of, then packed away all the stuff I like but won't fit into for at least a year and put it in totes downstairs. Most of my shirts should work at least through the summer, so I'm keeping them out and only bought jeans & capris so far. I also just saved a coat of hubby's that was destined for goodwill, it's huge so if I don't want to buy a new one for a few months (and if I even need one with the space heater in my belly now - not used to being warm, this is weird!) I have that to fall back on.
I'm finding I have no interest in spending $$ on maternity clothes, I'd much rather save for baby.
I purge a lot and rotate with the seasons. (I have the smallest closet in the house, go figure.) I would store anything that isn't comfortable and semi-loose fitting. It takes awhile to get back into regular clothes.
I am having the same problem though with looking at the clothes I want to wear and know I can't. I'm going to have to go through my clothes soon too. ...maybe next week.
)
I am gradually packing mine up as they stop fitting. Every two weeks or so, I move the non-fitting stuff into the guest room and swap in the maternity hand-me-downs that I've now grown into. Once I'm totally transitioned into maternity, we'll pack up the clothes and move them to the basement.
I see no need to look at things that don't fit. Things that are a size and style I might like a year + down the road, I am keeping. Anything that is a size or style style I have long outgrown (for example: midriff-bearing shirts from the late 90s, jeans I wore when I was 20 and <100 lbs, which will never happen again), I donate.
I wouldn't just go and get rid of everything because--at least in my house--money will only be tighter after the baby, but if it is something I will probably wear again, I'm keeping it.
Also, don't forget the flip-side of donating...checking out what the thrift store is selling and stocking up for cheap. I rarely see maternity, check out things like a flowy shirt that could work , large winter jacket, larger size of pants for transition post-partum, etc.