The time has come…I’m doing a No Shopping Challenge, starting now. I’m finally trying to curb my spending habits with this long-awaited Shopping Ban.
Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE clothes and I love choosing beautiful new items for my collection but I have a ton of clothes. A self-imposed shopping ban is the best way for me to simplify and reflect a bit/break with bad habits while giving my credit card a break. And, to be honest, I have more clothes than I can wear in a year so I’m very ready for a shopping detox.
Just a little peek into my dress wardrobe
The Reasons:
I have enough. After assessing what I already own and realizing that I have enough to last me for a (long) while, I think it really should be possible to make do without a few things I thought I wanted –> turning to some healthy minimalism. As much as I love fashion and accessories – many of us are so lucky today and live in a good bit of luxury if we’re honest. …When I look around my closet I cannot but realize that I already have so much clothes and I’d love to make the best use of all that I own instead of piling up more and more. I feel it’s just not sustainable to buy new clothes every month (which I currently do). Although I always try to make a habit of wearing what I buy it’s just getting too much, my closet is packed and I’m not really willing to let go of clothes I still love just in order to make space for new finds. I’m also beginning to find it quite stressful that my closet is so cluttered/unorganized that it gets hard to find things I know are there…somewhere. Apparently, many of us are guilty of only wearing about 20 percent of our clothing the majority of the time anyway.
I’m a packrat by nature, carefully saving things for sentimental reasons or “just in case” that hot pink jersey bolero with organza flower applications will be just the thing I want to wear. In self-defense, I have to say that I have rediscovered several things in my wardrobe over the years which I was actually happy about. But here comes another reason: I hope to get more creative with outfit choices and combine the things I already have. As I mentioned before, clothing is also a way for me to express my creativity, so spending some time remixing my current wardrobe would be quite an excellent creative endeavour.
I would also like to save a bit and break bad online shopping habits which my credit card would surely be thankful for. I would like to have a bit of money to fall back on eventually which I absolutely don’t right now.
Although it may not look like it, I actually do most of my shopping online
So, summed up, this is what I hope to achieve by doing this challenge:
The Goals:
- sustainability (less spending, using up resources)
- economical independence (saving some money to fall back on)
- appreciation of existing wardrobe
- creativity
The Rules:
No shopping for clothes, accessories or shoes within the next 3 months. Ideally, I will extend this to 6 months.
I will try not to be so rigid that I end up depriving myself of basic necessities though. So should I find that I really need new underwear or a rain jacket during the ban, then by all means, I will go out and buy what I need. But nothing extra (the hard part). No designer handbags. No silk cami because it’s on sale somewhere (and let’s face it, you can always use a good silk camisole).
I will be allowed to recycle clothing, i.e. do DIYs and make my own clothing such as knitting a top for myself. So when I really crave something new I will need to get creative!
Accountability:
I plan to check in at the end of every month to let you know how this challenge is going. I will also include any observations, moments of weakness or triumphs over spending urges I encounter and whether I managed to stay away from online shopping. And I will be needing your guys’ support.
— I still have a notable backlog of hauls and new items I haven’t shown you on the blog so don’t be surprised about New In posts during the shopping ban. Those will be items purchased before July 1st.
Has anyone of you done a shopping ban before? How did it go? Would you consider doing one?
so cool, love it!!! :)
Hadasah | http://www.styletolove.com
wow great post, nice pics
http://carrieslifestyle.com
Ahhhh wie toll, da bin ich ja gespannt wie es dir dabei geht (hälst du mich auf dem Laufenden?) :-*
Melanie / http://www.goldzeitblog.blogspot.de
Liebe Christina,
das ist ein sehr löbliches, spannendes und doch nicht sehr leichtes Unterfangen. Ich wünsche Dir ganz viel Durchhaltevermögen dabei. Ich habe so etwas im Hinblick auf einige Schminkprodukte versucht, durchzuziehen. Das klappte für ein paar Wochen ganz gut, dann kaufte ich wieder was und dann einige Zeit wieder nicht. Das ist inzwischen bei mir zu Phasen geworden: da gibt es viel Hübsches und das möchte ich dann haben. Und dann gibt es Phasen, da kaufe ich nichts, weil ich weiß, wie viel ich habe. Aber grundsätzlich müssen wir alle mal unser Konsumverhalten überdenken, da hast Du Recht. Ich bin gespannt, was Du uns berichten wirst!
Liebe Grüße!
Sounds like a great challenge, Gemma x
http://www.jacquardflower.uk
I also tend to keep things for sentimental reasons, though funnily enough this year I’ve been trying to clear some things out! Good luck with your spending ban, I really hope it goes well and leaves you with a healthy nest-egg to store away :)
aglassofice.com
x
looks great !
NEW POST : THE COLORFUL THOUGHTS
Great job Cristina!
Kisses, Paola.
Expressyourself
My Facebook
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Amazing, the best of luck! I might give this a try myself! You have a lovely blog too, I would love to follow each other.. let me know! x
adelelydia.blogspot.com
I think this is such a great idea, girlie, and for all the reasons you’ve shared here! It really does help us appreciate our wardrobes more and stretches our creativity in coming up with unique outfits with the pieces we’ve so often ignored! Thanks so much for the inspiration and I hope you’re having a great start to your week so far!
XO,
Jalisa
http://www.thestylecontour.com
Love this effort to be more conscious of what you buy and sustainable. Good luck and can’t wait to see how this progresses!
JennifHsieh
Good luck with your shopping ban! I’ve never done a 3 month one, but I’m doing #noBuyJuly16 at the moment so no new clothes or accessories this month, as I need to take a break with accumulating things at the moment. Like you, I’m finding it all getting a bit much again and making it hard to clear out my wardrobe.
Away From The Blue Blog
Ich finde Shopping Detox eine super Idee und ich will es auch schon voll lange machen – ich müsste es wirklich mal durchziehen! Ich hoffe, du bister erfolgreicher damit als ich :)
Was hälst du davon, wenn wir uns gegenseitig auf bloglovin folgen? :)
http://nilooorac.com/
Liebe Grüße
Ein tolles Vorhaben. Ich bin schon sehr gespannt, was du uns zu berichten hast in dieser Zeit. :)
Liebe Grüße Martina
http://www.kleidsam.org
Trust me that it’s not as hard as we though it to be, I did it last year and managed to pull it off for few months. Initially it was tough as I wanted so many things but the feeling goes away after two weeks, good luck to you!
Shireen | Reflection of Sanity
Great blog post
http://www.queenhorsfall.com/
Das klingt wirklich ziemlich interessant und auch vorbildlich. Ich glaube nicht, dass ich das schaffen könnte ;)
Liebste Grüße, Fiona THEDASHINGRIDER.com
Eine tolle Herausforderung. Ich würde das nicht schaffen, drücke dir aber fest die Daumen. Ich wünsche dir einen schönen Donnerstag.
Liebe Grüße
Charlotte von http://www.importantpart.de
Great post!
<3 michelle // covered in copper
This is so amazing! I love testing myself every few months and doing this! It saves an obscene amount of money and it is so good for the planet! In January every year, my husband and I don’t buy anything except necessities! We saved almost 1K in a month!
xx Annie
http://www.somethingswellblog.com/
Das hört sich wirklich toll an, ich wünsche dir ganz viel Durchhaltevermögen! :)
Liebe Grüße
Jimena von littlethingcalledlove.de
So cute!!! ❤️
Please do visit my lifestyle blog – it has a new design and I need content tips! Thank you in advance! http://theradiantcherie.com/
hehe a packrat! I love it. I’m the same though I agree. I try to throw out something if i buy something new.. hard though!
Love LC
luckypretty.blogspot.co.uk
Such a great idea! I don’t know how long will I keep up with this challenge!
XoXo,
Tamara – LoveofMode.com
so nice!!! btw, love your shoes.
kisses dear
http://www.aprendiendoaquererme.com
What a nice idea! I’ll join for sure!
Ich bin auch ziemlich oft am shoppen, jetzt nicht jeden Monat an Klamotten, aber ich habe einen Beauty Tick: Skincare und Make-Up die tierversuchsfrei und vegan sind ist ein teurer Faktor den ich nun unterdrücken sollte. Du hast vollkommen Recht! Bei den Klamotten bin ich eigentlich ziemlich gut dabei, deshalb ist das für mich kein Problem. Ich hoffe deine Shopping-Pause kannst du erfolgreich durchstehen denn ich fange auch jetzt an (ok es trudeln noch Sachen von Asos und Lime Crime an… aber danach!!!).
Liebe Grüße,
Mai von Monpipit.de
xox
This is such a great idea, I’m a total packrat too and have zero room in my closet! You’re right too, it’ll lead to creativity with what you already own and that’s always fun :)
xo
Marta
http://www.paradiseplayground.blogspot.com
Best of luck!
The more I think about it the more I like the idea, at least for clothes, might join you (my weight is quite unstable these days anyways so spending a lot of money actually would be a waste… and having a bit of money or pay back your bank indeed sounds like something we all should do sometimes)!
The look is really nice – suits you so well
Regards
Katya
Stunning, the good luck! I may try this out myself! You have a stunning web journal as well, I would love to take after each other
great posting
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