Those are swooshy pants.
In a Donate Box.
Swooshy pants should really be the easiest type of clothing to purge, but I somehow still struggled.
Oh. Not sure what swooshy pants are? They’re the ones that make a swooshy sound when you walk.
I think I’ve debated about those pants every time I’ve purged clothing for the past five years. Honestly, I haven’t worn them in those five years either.
It’s just that every time I started to pitch them, I would think about how one day, one coooooold day in the future, I might need them.
I mean, they are wind-breaking pants. (Please, no obvious jokes on that one . . . )
And they are lined!!! With really warm and thick something-or-other!! If I ever needed to spend time out in the freezing cold in a situation where I did not care one bit about how I looked, these would be the perfect pants!!!
But then, that happened.
I’ve mentioned my 5 a.m. Camp Gladiator workouts. Well, these workouts happen no matter the weather. Even when it’s like 20 degrees. Or colder.
Even when the wind is blowing like nobody’s business.
They also happen in the dark. Yes, there are a few lights. But honestly . . . this is as close to a who-cares-what-I-look-like situation as I’m ever going to get.
I’ll admit that I skipped the workout (the only time I’ve skipped) on the day when school was canceled due to an ice storm. But it was still scary-cold two days later when I did go. I had stressed all night about how cold I was going to be.
Around 2:30 a.m., I remembered those red workout pants. I think I even got up to be sure I still had them and then slept less fitfully after I knew I had something warm to wear.
I got up at 4:45 and put them on. I even walked to the kitchen to get my water and unlocked the front door. But as I walked out, the swoosh became too much for me to bear. The swoosh plus the elasticized ankles.
I had to turn around and put on less embarrassing pants.
I was cold, but I managed.
And now I know the answer to the age-old declutterer’s dilemma:
If I had to be outside in the freezing cold while it was pitch dark, wouldn’t I be glad for these pants, even though they’re swooshy?
No.
The answer is no.
I wouldn’t.
Want more decluttering tips and stories based on (way too much) decluttering experience? Go here.
--Nony
Out here in basketball country (Indiana) , we call them swishy pants. I still have black ones that I do wear for softball practice, but they are a bit embarrassing, hmmm
I ALMOST got rid of my son’s IU swishy pants yesterday, but then I changed my mind.
Sounds like a great decision to part with those now that you know you will definitely not use them. At least you tried. I think that maybe makes up for keeping them for five years. 🙂
My parents had SEVERAL pairs of these from when they were more commonly worn in the early-mid 90s. My dad was fine with letting them go when we cleaned out their closet a couple months ago, but my mom on the other hand, had a hard time letting go even though she hadn’t worn them SINCE the mid-90s… She especially had trouble with the LIME GREEN pair! Dad finally convinced her to give them up, thank goodness!! 🙂
This morning as I sit on my COLD porch drinking my coffee and… er- having my morning ciggy( which is why I am outside) I am laughing at your post.
I rummaged through my crowded sweat pants drawer looking for something WARM that I could get dirty-( and not feel bad about ruining) as I have plans to hit the shed of doom later today.
Tossed on some way too tight neon green velor pants ( with the satin stripe down the sides) that fit me 40 pounds and 10 years ago.
They are snuggish now and hit me 6 inches above the ankles. My cold cold ankles. I have another pair of bright pink ones.
They are both tight in the fanny and make me look like I have turds in my pants!
Really? Lumpy AND chilly? Will toss them out. As soon as I finish the shed. I am going in to find my long wool red striped boot socks now to cover my shins. Because I am nothing if not stylish.
Oh my, have done this…. But it wasn’t one pare of pants…. It was two outfits… like oh my goodness just I case we ever have a snow storm and you have to travel miles on the frozen ground type outfits…. Think that end of the world movie was playing in my head. I’m glad I finally got over it….. Or did I
. I must check my closet later…..
If you choose to go back in and change clothes rather than being comfortable in the cold… just throw them away…
I could so identify with this! I have about 3 pairs of “swooshy pants” (complete with matching zip up jackets). Haven’t worn them in Lord knows how many years yet I keep hanging on to them! My mother gave me most of them (I still remember opening them on Christmas) and I think that’s part of why I can’t part with them…. I feel like I’m somehow throwing part of my mother away…. or memories of her (she passed away 7 years ago). When I was decluttering clothes last year, I asked several people if these were even in style or would they be considered ridiculous. I never got an answer. Not sure if they knew or just didn’t want to hurt my feelings! HA! Oh, I’m such a sentimental junkie.
I kept the jacket!!
When I was 6 or 7, I got a swooshy snow suit (we were living up north then) and the sound it made DELIGHTED me. I mean, I loved that thing even though it was navy blue and second hand just BECAUSE of the sound. I think that might be the right age to not care that people hear you coming. BTW…Do kids even still wear snowsuits?
Oh how I love this! I have SOoooooo many clothes. I also have so many clothes I don’t ever intend to wear again because I bought them from a thrift store and they ended up being awful (although I’ve bought some great clothes from the thrift store). Why do I buy awful clothes in the first place? Because when I take my 6 year old son with me I don’t try clothes on I just go by the size on the garment. I’m sure I still have some hand-me-downs from when I was a teenager….. I’m now 30. 🙂 I could probably get rid of some of this stuff. I really could.
Oh, my, great post! I have had the same dilemma! Somehow my kids have gotten those swishy pants, and I have such a hard time decluttering them! Because, just maybe, my boys might need them. I think there’s a forest green pair in my 4 year-old’s drawer waiting for him that was passed down from his older brothers. But, I don’t think they have ever worn them or liked them. I hold onto them just in case we go to the snow or something. Hmmm…I love how you share your decluttering thoughts!
Laughing here! I don’t think I’ve ever owned a pair of swooshy pants (thank you, God!). It has gotten cold enough the past couple of winters that I did wear a pair of sweat pants to the grocery store. Twice. Usually I never walk out of the house unless I’m in jeans or slacks. I do have bummin’-around-the-house clothes I’ll never wear in public though. Clothes I’ll never get rid of until they’re falling apart at the seams – because they’re so comfortable. 🙂
Nony,,
This post should come with a-do-not-drink-milk-while-reading warning.
Thanks for the laugh!
I hate that swooshy sound so much! I’m glad you realized you would NEVER use them, and got rid of them. Congrats!
This post was hilarious! Glad to hear that you’re sticking to the workout by the way. I have the same problem with sweatpants. I ALWAYS wear jeans. Seriously. Yet I have about ten pairs of sweatpants. I MIGHT wear them but I’m very tall and sweatpants always seem to come in very short. So I won’t be seen in public with my ankles showing and my calves get cold around the house. So I bought some very comfy yoga pants that are actually long enough and now I’ll toss out all my sweatpants….or at least pair them down haha
oh my oh my oh my–I’ve just got to share….as I finished reading about the swishy pants & then the comments, my husband came walking out,wearing HIS swishy pants. He hasn’t had those pants on in years!!! The timing was just perfect. He must have have felt the need declutter tovibeintheairt
Oh wow, I remember those swooshy wind suits from the 90’s. In fact this May I just decluttered our coat closet and got rid of 2 of those suits. At the time I liked the shininess and the bright colors but they haven’t been worn since college. Who knows why they sat around in our closet for so long? Anyway they finally made it into the donation bag, after I took a photo of them for the kids to laugh at one day.
Brought my swishy pants and jacket to California in 1986 and NEVER wore then. Only this year, 2014, did donate them! Great post. Thank you. Love what you do say.
So I was remembering those pants & agreeing with you until you said they were lined. I was out tonight in the car only & it was a whopping -12 degrees. The air was so cold through my jeans. Good thing I don’t own any or I might have had them on tonight. lol
Negative 12?? Wow. Yep. That’s worth a swoosh for sure!
If it belongs in another decade, it is already gone. My closet is ridiculously small. I did have an issue with my socks and underwear drawers. They were so full that it was difficult to close them. I went through everything and purged about a third of the stuff. I filled a large box with those purged items.
I love this post and just had to comment. I LOVED these pants when they were popular but I can understand why you didn’t like the noise. In high school if I was ever late to class, everyone would stare at me because they could hear me coming!