Hard to Say Goodbye?

While doing some laundry tonight, I wondered: Does anyone else have the problem of not being able to get rid of their old, tired clothes.

I just can't seem to do it. I have shirts in my closet that haven't been worn for ages for various reasons. Some don't fit quite how I'd like them to anymore, and I still have this pipe dream of regaining my pre-baby body. Getting rid of those shirts would admit defeat...something I've never been good at. Some aren't quite in style anymore. Remember just a few years ago when shirt hems hit the top of your jeans? Now that shirts are (thankfully) growing, it just doesn't seem right to wear them. I put them on and wonder how I ever did it and throw a cami underneath so it doesn't seem quite so short. I think some have shrunk, despite my former obsession with not drying anything...although some could probably be blamed on Erik who tries his best at my laundry. I don't have time for that anymore, though. Toss them in the dryer and get on with it...

Despite all those perfectly good reasons for getting rid of them, there they sit - slowly moving farther and farther back into the depths of the closet - until one day, I actually look in the back and go, "I forgot all about this one!" and make another attempt, once again realizing why it was moving to the back in the first place.

Of course, some never move to the back. Their tired state notwithstanding, there are some that I just love. I may not wear them out of the house (often), but they're my old standbys for fat days or when I just want to be a schlub. Plus, I justify keeping them in case I ever need a shirt to purposely get dirty in, like painting or some such nonsense...but I usually don one of Erik's for those occasions, so who am I kidding?

The really stupid thing is, when I buy new shirts, they sit on their hangers for weeks, sometimes even months, because I just can't bear to insert them into the rotation. I stick with my old favorites for reasons that make no sense until I finally say, "Enough! I'm done with you!" and break down enough to ruin the pristine beauty that is a brand new, perfectly clean shirt (with no jelly, peanut butter, or spaghetti-o stains). I currently have six shirts in this situation. Those two shopping trips yielded eight, but I consiously made myself wear two of them within a week of purchase - trust me...I almost didn't put them on.

I think I may need an intervention.