Cleaning My Closet Of (Tennis) Clutter

As I told my good friend and tennis buddy Paula, this is my summer to clean out my closet and get rid of all of those clothes and shoes I never wear. I need to admit the mistake of some of my purchases (too big, too small, too hideous) and just get rid of them. Paula responded that she would not only like to do the same thing, but she also has several tennis outfits that she would like to just throw out. Well, I too have quite a few things in my "tennis closet" that I can't stand and, inspired by Paula, I am finally going to dispose of them:

• the very cute Nike top that shows just a little bit too much cleavage (OK - way too much cleavage)
• the two white skirts and the gray skirt that were such bargains but come down to my knees (I'm 5' 4" and look like a granny in these skirts.)
• the couple of tops that are "old favorites" but are so worn out that I appear to be just in from Tennis Hobo Camp when I put them on
• the black Nike skirt that fits - as long as I don't move (And you know how tennis is one of those games where you never really need to move, right?)
• the 4 (yes, 4!) pairs of tennis shoes that are too worn out for me to wear but which I surely must have some other use for (What? Vases?)
• the tennis dress that I bought on eBay that has never, ever fit me properly (Lesson learned - never buy something as hard to fit as a tennis dress without trying it on first.)
• etc.

The problem with these items is that I feel guilty when I don't wear them but then I feel incredibly uncomfortable when I do wear them. And I have enough to think about with my tennis game without wondering "Does this skirt make me look fat?" during a match.

So, all of these things, plus many others, must go. My shoes will go to Nike's Reuse-A-Shoe recycling program (click HERE for more information). My clothes - well, I'm looking into the "freecycle" program as a place where I might find someone who could actually put the clothes to good use (click HERE for more information). And, I'll also go through all of my old equipment too (racquets, bags) to see what else needs to move on to a new home.

I hope you'll join me and Paula in the summer purge of bad tennis purchases! Clean out your own closet of tennis clutter! You'll not only feel better about yourself but maybe your game will actually improve (certainly mine will if I can quit pulling and tugging on my ill-fitting skirts)!



© Kim Selzman 2009
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