I survived! Man, that sounds so dramatic given all the real problems in the world, but I made it a month without shopping (within my parameters). In fact, it’s March 14th and I have yet to buy an article of clothing or pair of shoes! With Spring around the corner, I know that will change, but here we are for now.
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Stats–
Jan 21: Decide to commit to this.
Jan 21-31: Buy all the things and panic a bit.
Feb 1: Let’s do this!
Things Bought Between Deciding (Jan 21) and Starting (Feb 1):
Tops: 4 (returned 1)
Shoes: 2
Jacket: 1* (RIP: I lost it already)
Sunglasses: 1
Necklace: 1
Earrings: 1
Lipstick: 1
Fancy pens (pack): 1
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Takeaways–
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Addiction:
While I love shopping, and style, and all things that activate the pleasure centers of the brain, it was still eye opening to see how “addicted” many of us are to buying. Much like right before starting a diet or any other activity consisting of deprivation, I definitely bought more in the ten days leading up to this experience than I normally would.
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More Time:
Within the first few days of February, which fell on a weekend, I already felt like I had more time. How is that possible? Since coffee out was “allowable” on the weekends, I spent both Saturday and Sunday morning at Caffe Nero with a book. Not typically one to linger in a coffee shop, my usual M.O. on the weekends looks more like a drive through iced coffee and then hitting up stores to browse or “run errands”. Sure, often times I am buying necessities, but there’s a lot of impulse purchasing going on as well. It was truly lovely to take my time in a nice setting with a good book and just savor my weekend mornings.
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Creativity:
The challenge to rework pieces I already own absolutely fueled me. I pride myself on being able to mix and match even my eclectic wardrobe, but when there was no “falling back” on buying something new, it took it to a whole different level. I was finding my own pieces enjoyable! Who knew?
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Community:
Over 30 of us did it together! And a lot of what I mentioned above resonated with them as well. Here’s the gang (and my ‘starting’ post): http://www.asequinedlife.com/2018/02/01/no-shop-february-why-i-am-doing-it/
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If you’re on the fence about trying a no shop month, or even just practicing more mindful spending, I cannot recommend it enough. As always, feel free to reach out via email to chat: asequinedlife @ gmail.com.
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xoxo
D