A Happier, Healthier Patty

I am a planner. And a saver. I am the type of person who will spend an hour planning my grocery shopping trip, looking through sales fliers and clipping coupons, to save my family money each week on our groceries.

I shop end-of-season clearance sales to get winter coats or swimming suits for the kids, sometimes in sizes that are years off in the future, in order to save money.

When Samuel outgrows clothes, I save them for Isaac.

When Avery outgrew her beautiful dresses when she was an infant and toddler, I saved them in a keepsake box, because I am planning on having a granddaughter one day!

I will save the last little bit of cooked veggies, the chicken stock, and half of a chicken breast from dinner, pop them in the freezer, and take them out one day and make homemade chicken soup.

I keep things. I save things. I plan ahead. It's who I am.

As some of you may know, I've been on a journey over the past several months to adopt and maintain a healthier lifestyle, and in the process, hopefully lose some weight too. In the past when I have lost weight, I've always found it difficult to rid myself of clothes that became too big for me. I suppose this is because, as I've stated previously, I save things and plan ahead. What if I gained all the weight back, and I couldn't afford to run out and buy all new clothes? Horror!

As a result, over the years I have accumulated many different sizes of clothes, that have all taken up permanent residency in my closet. And it's been that way for many, many years.

But recently, I've come to realize that while it can be a good thing to hang onto some things and plan ahead for some things in life, sometimes it can also be downright unhealthy.

I don't want to plan on ever going back to the weight and size that I was when I first made the decision to do better for myself. I don't want to save a closet full of clothes that remind me every single day when I walk into my closet of just how unhealthy I allowed myself to become at one point in my life.

And so today, I hope that you all can appreciate just how difficult it was for me to do this...

Over 100 articles of clothing, in 3 different sizes, that are all too big for me. I'm getting rid of them all! No turning back!

As I look forward and plan for the future, I am hopeful that I can continue to plan and save in a more positive, healthy way. There's no need for me to hang onto the past and hang onto all of these clothes, because I don't plan on ever going back to the way I was before I started on this journey. Here's to a happier, healthier me!