Safety Valves
Our family has been self-applying the Marie Kondo KonMari method to our home. In general, we have not been big keepers of “stuff.” We tend to move things out to the thrift store pretty quickly, keeping a couple of boxes of sentimental items from our kids’ childhood and such. (The kids get input into what’s kept.) For context, our oldest is out of the house and our youngest is in high school, so their relationship with things has changed as well. This method, however, helps us more efficiently use our space and give more thoughtful consideration to which items we keep.
As my fitness regimen has taken hold and begun bearing fruit, I have been pretty active in clearing out clothing. Among the first things to go were five ‘executive cut’ suits I had gotten a few years ago. Trying to have them altered was simply impractical, so I’m down to one new suit.
This past weekend, as I was in the midst of a flurry of KonMari efficiency, I came across a couple of pairs of shorts that I had been hanging onto. I’ve dropped about six inches from my waist and these shorts were from my high-water mark. Though they are ridiculously large now, I somehow kept hanging onto them.
I had a number of “reasons.” First, they were flat front shorts, some of the few that exist in my collection of otherwise cargo shorts. Second, I really liked the fabric. Though they weren’t expensive, they were a comfortable cotton. Of course, to keep them from falling off, I have to cinch my belt so tightly that they look silly.
As I looked at them, I realized that I was using those shorts as a safety valve. I have yo-yoed with my weight so many times that I habitually don’t trust my ability to maintain. By holding on to those shorts, I was hedging my bets in case I ever went back up. At least then I wouldn’t need to replace my entire wardrobe again. With that realization, the shorts, along with a few other items, went into the thrift store bag.
So, on the same weekend that I started breaking in my next pair of running shoes, I ditched some of the last of my “big clothes.”
No more safety valves.
