What to do with the fat girl jeans...

I'm still going strong on my urge to make 2011 a big year - in terms of running/fitness as well as simplifying and de-cluttering. One thing that I've always been good about is getting rid of old clothes. Years ago I heard it mentioned somewhere that if you haven't worn it in the last year - get rid of it. So, at least once a year, I go through my closet and drawers to get rid of clothes.

There are, however, two exceptions. Jeans and T-shirts. Why? Because I'm a crafty girl and think I can create useful items out of them! I have in the past, but honestly, haven't done anything with either in several years. Still, I save them, put them in containers for the day when I'll have the inspiration to create stuff.

As I was going through yet another closet, I found the jeans and T-shirts bins. I moved them into the center of the room and decided they will remain there until I do something with them. Having to look at them everyday will keep me motivated to use up the materials.

Since I was already motivated, I also decided to sort through them. I divided up the T-shirts and have already started cutting them to make a T-shirt quilt - but not a typical one. I don't care for the look of most T-shirt quilts so I'm going with a different approach - we'll see if it turns out.

Then, the jeans...Wow, um, they kind of brought back some memories. I had no idea I still had any of the clothes (besides the T-shirts) from my, um, larger days. I'd been getting rid of that stuff all along the way and don't have much to remember from a few years back. I hardly have any pictures because I hated having my picture taken (there's one in my About Me section, but it was hard to find any). I pulled out those jeans and was pretty shocked by the size. I certainly have no intentions of reverting back to my old ways, but if I ever needed an extra motivator - those clothes would be it. To remember, I took the picture above and will soon be cutting up the jeans to make a quilt. I guess the only advantage is the bigger the jeans - the more fabric I have!

My husband didn't understand the concept of a quilt made out of old jeans so I went upstairs, grabbed the one I'd made several years ago and showed it to him. He asked, "Have I ever seen this before?". I think he had, but maybe not. Then, he said, "That's actually kind of nice, why don't we have that out?". So, it's now out where it can be seen and used. He likes the back, not the front but since he likes it, I can make one a little bit more to our current tastes. The last one took a really long time to make, so I don't anticipate it being a quick project, but if I can at least get started with it, that will help with the de-cluttering and it's a perfect way to use up the fat girl jeans!

Oh, and my number 5 goal, I decided to take a 'before' picture (it won't be posted here). Seeing those jeans was a great reminder. Tracking my progress sounds like a good idea.