Anyone who really knows me (or has seen my closet) knows I'm a fairly certifiable shopaholic. My affinity for J.Crew has become a byword among friends, who love to tease me about it, and having a mom and sister (not to mention brother, who might be the worst of us) who share my addiction hardly helps matters.
With a fairly hefty rent to pay, though, and two international trips plus plenty of domestic travel on the books for 2015, I need to start making smarter money decisions, and one of the easiest areas to pare back my frivolous spending would be reducing shopping. Plus, what better way to kick off 2015 than with a little extra money in my bank account and a detox from one of my favorite addictions? So here goes nothing, I decided: January would be my shopping-free month. As the month progressed, I decided to chronicle the ups and downs in a sort of serial blog diary to see how it went, what the challenges were, and ultimately whether I could stick to it:
January 2: Back at work. Just realized how often I online-window-shop in my spare time at the office...I can't decide if I should cut that out to reduce temptation, or if I should just consider it an exercise of my iron willpower. Jury's still out.
January 3: After spending several hours doing laundry, I really don't think I need more clothes. The problem is I'm so loath to get rid of clothes I've loved, even if the love affair is dying a bit. I always think of JUST ONE OUTFIT that piece would be perfect for...then I never actually wear it and it's a moot point.
January 5: During the "Bachelor" premiere, I ended up online-shopping Anthro (browsing only!) and got weirdly obsessed with pretty pajamas. Didn't buy...really wanted to.
January 6: Online retailer C.Wonder is going out of business, and their entire online stock is 50% off. There's this adorable pair of smoking slippers that I would adore...but where would I really wear red velvet smoking slippers with a foot of snow on the ground in January? Resisted.
January 8: Trying to convince myself that shopping for my apartment doesn't count as shopping, but being honest with myself, it does. Because I really want to finish my gallery wall and there are a few prints on Etsy that I'm obsessing on...
January 9: I went in Anthropologie and didn't buy anything. Willpower growing.
January 11: I spent most of the afternoon shopping with Claire and came dangerously close to breaking my month off for, in order: a great Express circle skirt, a yellow coat and a powder-blue coat at Macy's, a perfect ponte dress at Banana Republic, and a polka-dot blouse at Loft. STILL stuck to the no-shopping thing, but it was seriously not fun.
January 13: DAMNIT. J.Crew Factory has a popback of the most gorgeous emerald green wool dress that I wanted and wanted for work, but it sold out in my size before I could order it...and it's on clearance for $48.99. Resist, resist, RESIST............
January 19: Honestly, the longer I've gone without shopping, the easier it's gotten. I do, however, have an obscenely long list of things I "need" to buy in February...mostly replacements for basics in my wardrobe that have gotten really tired. My white button-down is looking a little dingy, my favorite skinny jeans are faded and saggy, and I should really get rid of about ten pairs of underwear and replace them with something that doesn't say "VS PINK" in glitter on the ass.
January 28: This is going to sound really weird, coming from me: I'm not even really wanting to shop once this month-long sabbatical ends. Sure, there are things I probably should buy, as mentioned above, but the desire to just go browse and touch things and be a consumer has waned for me in a big way. I'm liking the way that not spending money on clothes has freed up a little extra flex room in my budget...and it's forcing me to be more creative with the (obscene amount of) clothes I already have.
February 1: I did it. No shopping, 30 days clean and still counting. It's funny reading back over the early days of this admittedly silly challenge I set myself...especially because by the end of the month, any desire I had to go shopping has drastically abated. Not going to lie, I still browse online for cute clothes on my lunch break, and I'm totally looking forward to buying a cute new sundress for my trip to Mexico, but all things considered, I'm going to consider this shopaholic reformed!
To check out the rest of my 101 in 1001, click here!