In the day-to-day rush of parenting, it can be easy to forget a lot of things. Swapping your PJs for real clothes before racing the kids off to school, for instance. Or leaving behind those carefully packed lunches you so lovingly made last night when you vowed to be a more organized person today. Whatever the case, there are a lot of things to remember when you’re the busy parent of one or more kids. But a recent post by Samantha Taylor, of the blog Walking Outside in Slippers, is challenging moms everywhere to not forget one thing that matters more than they think —
Themselves!
Her reminder isn’t about penciling in girls weekends or lengthy spa days to get in that much-talked-about “me time.” It’s actually far simpler than that. And yet, it might just change your world.
“No one's going to remind you to do this,” wrote Taylor in her September 16 Facebook post, “so I'm going to.”
Intrigued?
Well, here it is: “Buy yourself new bras and underwear,” she declared.
Wait — buy new underwear?
Yes, that really is her magic bit of advice. And she doesn’t just suggest buying one new pair, either. Nope. She advises you stock up on “a half dozen of each.”
If you just chuckled to yourself, you’re not alone. So did I. But then I kept reading.
Why you — yes you — should buy new underwear
“Some of your underwear are more than a decade old,” her post continues. “They are all stretched out and have permanent period stains. You wore that pair in the hospital when you went into labor with your firstborn. Remember how they got wet when your water broke and you threw them in your overnight bag to change into the disposal hospital granny panties? You probably should have thrown them out then. But instead, you kept them through two more kids.”
Whoa. Talk about a truth bomb.
But she’s not finished with your underwear drawer yet.
“That over there's the pair of undies you bought at Victoria's Secret for your honeymoon all those years ago,” she writes. “They were cute then. They're not so cute now. Throw them in the trash.”
Welp.
“Remember that thong?” she continues. “You were rocking it while Sisqo performed 'The Thong Song' at that concert in 2000. Twenty years ago. Now there are 20-year-olds wearing something called a ‘front thong.’ It's even worse than it sounds. Google it. Then sling-shot that thong-tha-thong-thong-thong into the garbage where it belongs.”
Next, Taylor moves on to bras, and it’s like she has a front-row seat to every mom’s underwear drawer.
“I see you, wearing that nursing bra,” she writes. “It's so comfy, but your youngest is 4. Put it in the trash and pour a little milk out on top of it for the fallen bra homie that kept you company on those sleepless newborn nights.”
That “mangled, twisted pile of faded, stretched-out bras with an occasional underwire poking through”? Channel Marie Kondo and toss them all, she advises.
Now, get out there and buy new underwear
And now for the best part of this panty-drawer cleanse: the replenishing part.
They don’t need to be fancy. You don’t need to order some extravagant lacy numbers that’ll feel like you’re wearing $80 worth of dental floss around your lady bits while you’re scrubbing dishes and dropping kids off at soccer practice. But they can be stylish and comfy. (Ha! What a novel idea!)
“You're 30-something, not dead,” Taylor quips.
When all is said and done, she promises this will be a remedy for happiness — an instant mood lifter you didn’t even know you needed, but really, really did.
“There,” writes Taylor. “Don't you feel better already? You EARNED this with all your labors of children and/or labors of love.”
Since the post first went live on September 16, it’s been resonating with moms all over Facebook who appreciate the gentle reminder to clean out that undies drawer and buy themselves some new underwear.
“Have you got cameras in my house???” wrote one woman.
“Life is better with good, well-fitting bras!” added another.
“A friend was just telling me today that she does an undie delivery club and gets three cute pairs per month,” shared one mom about a brilliant way to buy new underwear without even leaving the couch. “I'm going to go look into that right now.”
The fact is, life is just better with a good bra that actually fits you — that doesn’t have uncomfortable underwire poking through or make you want to rip it off the second you walk in the door. Same goes for a good set of panties, which can somehow instantly put a spring in your step, making you feel sexier even if they’re just hiding underneath your plaid pajamas.
But the underlying message of Taylor’s post is one that shouldn’t be lost. It’s not just about replenishing old clothes, it’s about making the time to do something for yourself for a change. For moms who are so used to staying on top of what their kids need, it’s important to remember that you don’t always have to put yourself last.
Even if you’re just hitting up Target or the discount bin at your local lingerie store, the newfound confidence that you’ll get from a simple pair of underwear will be well worth it.
