My name is Susie and I have a race shirt problem.

[Susie]

When I was a kid, I had a t-shirt problem:  I had mounds of t-shirts from every swim meet, every team, every all star team, etc. that I swam in/for.  I couldn't wear them out half as fast as I accumulated them (and I never did outgrow them).  In college it kept growing, with the free shirts from beach patrol (and lifeguard races), stuff from college swimming, etc.

During my post-college "H&F break," it abated a little.  But since I started racing again in 2009 or so, it's compounding again.  My t-shirt drawer is overflowing.  I have a 2nd shelf of them in a closet; haven't worn any of those in years - maybe since we bought the house and I put them up there in 2008?  I have t-shirts dating back at least as far as 1993 (or is it 1991?).  I can also think of 4 warmup jackets, 2 swim parkas, and my high school letter jacket (which I never wore), all in that closet.  I almost never wear the jackets; if it's nasty out and I'm running, I wear stuff I've bought specifically for that purpose.  One of our spare bedroom closets is FULL of my clothes, half+ of which are bygone H&F stuff. 

Every time I start wading through them, I think "ok Susie, time to thin the herd."  But then I think aw, I remember that meet!  I remember that team!  And then I don't throw enough out.

Help!

[kams]

Lol, what about making them into quilts?! Snuggle with your blood, sweat, and tears every day!

[IIOY]

This used to be me. I finally bit the bullet and donated most of them. My t-shirt drawer is much better organized and I don't miss them at all.

[SuziSaysDa]

I have a similar problem, except I don't wear t-shirts, ever, but I cannot bring myself to get rid of them.

[sadlebred]

I had a similar problem a few years ago. I now decide as soon as I bring a new tshirt in the door if it goes in the closet or the donation pile. If it goes in the closet, I make myself get rid of an old one.

[marclovesme]

I use mine as workout gear, pajamas, lounging attire or home improvement wear. Eventually they get downgraded to cleaning rags or thrown out. This is why I can't bring myself to buy any workout specific shirts - I have so many race shirts, and while they're all cotton and decidedly "low tech," it's just about the only time they'll see the light of day outside my house.

If you really can't bring yourself to getting rid of any of the shirts, I second the idea of the t-shirt quilt.

[pixy0stix]

I'd also make a quilt. Or cut out the front panel and make a scrapbook.

[chitownbelle]

i have bags and boxes full, waiting for the day i learn to quilt and can transform them into quilts! sorority quilt, running quilt, college quilt, sports teams quilt...yes, one day, this will happen. ;-)

maybe you can cut some into fancy tanks? i've seen them on pinterest, can be very cute!

[reginaphalange72]

Aug 13, 2013 15:04:10 GMT -5 kams said:

Lol, what about making them into quilts?! Snuggle with your blood, sweat, and tears every day!

I love doing this with old shirts that you can't bear to part with, but also don't really wear.  I made one for a friend with shirts she had that were stained or worn out, or she was just plain too old to wear, and she loved it.

[Bob Loblaw]

Hah, I have the same problem. I keep meaning to get one of these quilts: www.campusquilt.com/

[Wines Not Whines]

I've started using my long sleeved cotton shirts as throwaways on race days. That's the only way I've been able to get rid of them.

[MrsE]

Aug 13, 2013 15:52:33 GMT -5 chitownbelle said:

i have bags and boxes full, waiting for the day i learn to quilt and can transform them into quilts! sorority quilt, running quilt, college quilt, sports teams quilt...yes, one day, this will happen. ;-)

maybe you can cut some into fancy tanks? i've seen them on pinterest, can be very cute!

This exactly! LoL, and I will probably never actually learn how to quilt so they will continue to stay in my Rubbermaid boxes for a while... Or until I pull the trigger on paying one if the online companies to do this for me.

[joenali]

Sometimes I don't even take the shirts anymore. I rarely ever wear them anyways.

[trigal]

I'm glad many races have started giving out tech shirts. I wear those all the time. The cotton ones, not so much. I've thought about doing the quilt thing too. Otherwise they become housework shirts.

[gt7301b]

GT sits down next to Susie, while wearing a race shirt.

I don't have a problem tossing the cotton shirts, but now I my tech t's won't even fit in the tech t drawer.

[chitownbelle]

Aug 13, 2013 19:32:34 GMT -5 MrsE said:

Aug 13, 2013 15:52:33 GMT -5 chitownbelle said:

i have bags and boxes full, waiting for the day i learn to quilt and can transform them into quilts! sorority quilt, running quilt, college quilt, sports teams quilt...yes, one day, this will happen. ;-)

maybe you can cut some into fancy tanks? i've seen them on pinterest, can be very cute!

This exactly! LoL, and I will probably never actually learn how to quilt so they will continue to stay in my Rubbermaid boxes for a while... Or until I pull the trigger on paying one if the online companies to do this for me.

Ack, the online companies are so expensive! $200-500ish for a quilt? No thanks! Crazy what they'll charge!

[emuni04]

Aug 13, 2013 15:09:48 GMT -5 IIOY said:

This used to be me. I finally bit the bullet and donated most of them. My t-shirt drawer is much better organized and I don't miss them at all.

I did the same. Sometimes, I wish I had made them into a T-shirt quilt. By "I" I mean, "pay for someone else to put said quilt together." Honestly, though, I don't miss them. I really never wore them anyway. To mitigate this being a recurring problem, I generally "opt out" of T shirts for races I do now, unless it's a really cool one (for example, I thought the Bolder Boulder shirts looked cool, so I got that one).

[emuni04]

Aug 13, 2013 22:50:56 GMT -5 chitownbelle said:

Aug 13, 2013 19:32:34 GMT -5 MrsE said:

This exactly! LoL, and I will probably never actually learn how to quilt so they will continue to stay in my Rubbermaid boxes for a while... Or until I pull the trigger on paying one if the online companies to do this for me.

Ack, the online companies are so expensive! $200-500ish for a quilt? No thanks! Crazy what they'll charge!

OK, I take back my previous statement about paying someone else to make a quilt. $500?? I don't love my shirts that much.

[demandypants]

what about photographing them and donate all but a few? Then you have the memory preserved without taking up any space in your closet.

[Deleted]

Aug 14, 2013 10:41:33 GMT -5 demandypants said:

what about photographing them and donate all but a few? Then you have the memory preserved without taking up any space in your closet.

I like this idea! I am picturing a cool looking instagram collage photo you could make.