image from pinterest

I am half way there!  I haven’t bought one single thing (aside from food, gas and a few other essentials) for myself in three months.  Let’s be serious though, I’d rather starve and walk everywhere than not have new clothes.  Okay, maybe that is a bit of an exaggeration, but it’s been really really hard.  I knew it was going to be difficult, but I never thought it would be THIS difficult.  I think the two month mark was the hardest part.  It was still summer, my wardrobe felt like it was lacking a certain “freshness” and I may have had a few breakdowns (read: temper tantrums).  At least now that Fall is on the horizon, I will have some “new” things to wear.

It hasn’t been ALL bad, though.  Doing this has really made me realize how much money I spend on clothes, and moreover, how much I spend on clothes that I don’t really need–without even thinking about it.  Not shopping has made me realize where the gaps are in my wardrobe and what items I need to focus on purchasing when I can shop again.  How to shop smartly, if you will.

Now that I am through the first three months, these next three should fly by in no time…right?

image from pinterest

I did it!  Okay, I did one week’s worth of it, but that is something to be proud of.  I successfully skipped JewelMint for the month of June, I did not browse online this week (other than blog research) and I didn’t even open the Anthro catalog that got mailed to my house on Monday.  Coincidentally, not shopping online has made me much more productive at work.  Let’s just hope I don’t work myself out of a job!

Oh, and did I mention that my boyfriend asked me to help him pick out pants at the J. Crew Factory on like the second day!?  Rude, I know.  But I did it!  I went in there and didn’t even glance at the women’s side.  Okay, maybe I glanced once or twice but I didn’t succumb to the pressure.

I did hit a bit of a road block in the middle of the week.  I think it JUST hit me that I am going to have to make it work with what I’ve got for the next SIX MONTHS.  I mean, that’s three different seasons that my wardrobe will be seeing, all without adding one thing to it.  It’s definitely not going to be easy.  I wonder…is this what recovering alcoholics feel like?

I should add that I am currently living in a temporary living space.  I have been in this space for almost a year now so I guess I should stop calling it temporary, but my closet space is not ideal.  Clothes are shoved in there so tightly, with boxes of shoes piled up everywhere, plastic bins filled with sweaters taking up space and making things difficult to get to…you get the picture.  My point is, when I look in my closet, it’s overwhelming.  I can’t see everything I have and I end up wearing the same things over and over again.  I think I am going to do a reorganization this weekend to help start next week off fresh.

The hardest part has been reading other blogs.  Everyone always looks so cute and has something fabulous that I want to buy…and can’t.  It’s hard but I just can’t (won’t) stop.  It’s a part of my morning routine that I refuse to give up.

The best part: the things I purchased online in a frenzy the last few days in May have been arriving this week so it feels like I am getting new things.  I hope this doesn’t mean next week will be harder.

One week down and twenty-five to go!

image from pinterest

I shop a lot.  Like, a lot a lot.  The thing is, I don’t even really like the act of shopping that much, I just like to have things.  I feel a little bratty and Veruca Salt-ish saying that (“I want it now!”) but it’s true.

A lot of people will say to their friends, “let’s go shopping,” and do so as a means to socialize and hang out.  This is not why I like to shop.  When I am in a store, I am on a mission to find and bring home as many things as I possibly can.  Think Supermarket Sweep but with clothes.  This is not okay.

In addition to going out shopping, I am constantly shopping online.  Aside from my usual stores, I receive daily emails from deal sites like Gilt and Ideeli.

In an effort to spend less money, I started to shop in less expensive stores (TJ Maxx, Old Navy, etc.) only to find that I just bought more.  Instead of buying two tops at Free People, I’d buy eight at TJ Maxx, spending the same amount of money.  This is also not okay.

“What’s wrong with that?”, you might ask, “sounds perfectly normal to me.”  You are right–this is normal (to people like us), but not when you are trying to save money.  See, I have some big plans in mind for myself, which (as most big plans do) involves a little bit (read: a lot) of money.  So, in order to save, I am going to stop shopping for six months…starting tomorrow.  Yes, you heard me correctly…six months.  This means no clothes, shoes, bags, accessories, jewelry, nothing!

I have been told by a certain someone that if I can do this, I might just receive something special on December 1.

Here’s to looking at my closet in a different light, pairing new things together that I usually wouldn’t and being more creative.  Wish me luck!

P.S. If at any point you get tired of seeing the same clothes or just feel sorry for me, please feel free to send any clothing donations my way.