I don’t usually adhere to a capsule wardrobe – I think life is too unpredictable to follow a set of guidelines for clothing a month in advance – but while I’m away, I do the best to account for different possible activities and events. The clothing I brought with me for the month is being bolstered by having access to all of my around-the-house stuff, like sweatpants from high school and every college shirt I’ve kept. I’m treating the capsule wardrobe as more my “out and about” clothing, so that I have some amount of choice in what to wear – which also means that I won’t be tempted to buy something new over the summer.
First, this is everything excluding a belt, two pairs of earrings, two pairs of shoes, and whatever purses/bags I’m using. Side note, doing a flat lay of clothing which are mostly the same colour was a creative exercise, to say the least.
If I count the two pairs of shoes (not shown), I have 20 items that I’m working with for a month, which is more than enough, since I won’t be leaving the house every day – and there are plenty of combinations available. My final point about this is that I think some of the items that were left in the wardrobe that weren’t even considered should head to the Bye-Bye Bin if they aren’t worn by the end of August (or if I’m feeling particularly generous, the end of September).
Reading:
This month, I’m mostly reading from Libby and Hoopla, and I’m going to try to knock out some of the sampled/wishlist items that have been sitting in my to-be-read pile as of last October. I’ve already gone through two books in the last week, so I suspect that I’ll be able to give you a total count (maybe even reaching double digits!) in the end-of-the-month check in.
Using what I’ve got:
I’ve packed full sized toiletries with me for July since I had the room in my luggage (the shampoo and conditioner bottle absolutely were stored in a running shoe each for doubling up on storage space), so I can keep chipping away at using them up.
A topic of using what I’ve got that I haven’t really touched on yet includes my very old laptop (from 2013). I want to spend some time this month – roughly half an hour a day – going through all of my photos, documents, downloads, and other stuff to do a digital declutter of what I’m not using or have reason to keep. I know a new laptop is on the books for next year or the year after, but for now, I’m going to lighten the load a bit on how much is being stored – which will make the eventual transfer of everything be a bit easier.
As I mentioned in an earlier post, I’m aiming for a post per week, and I’ll go for every Tuesday, but if festivities occur and I’m a bit behind, c’est la vie! Thanks for reading 🙂
This month was much more all-over-the-place than predicted, so I’m doing a review for this month today, and then a mid-year check-in for the 1st of July.
Clothing:
I wanted to think about what I would need according to what I’m wearing, but considering that I spent most weekends in not-my-regular-clothing, I don’t know that this month was the best time to test out how often I thought about having a pair of shoes that work well with navy blue outfits. I can confidently say, however, that the slip is not at all a necessity for now. Even with dressing up (semi-formal) and down (sweatpants from high school), there’s only one dress that I have where it would be helpful to wear under it, and I’m not planning to wear it any time soon. I do want to consider whether or not a navy shoe (flats, sneakers, or boot, but not heels) would still be worth it – and I think it will be easier to figure that out over the month of July since I’m doing a bit of a capsule wardrobe (which will be addressed next week!).
I did, however, have a chance to look over some of the bye-bye bin items that I’d been on the fence about and brought them to a secondhand shop that one of my university friends own. The pieces are all cute, but aren’t the right fit for me – the stripey dress doesn’t sit right (from a clothing swap), the floral dress makes me look like I’m from the 1880s (impulse online buy last year), I’ve worn the red wedges once and they don’t go with the rest of my closet (also an impulse buy, but from 2019), and the headband is cute but doesn’t match anything I wear.
Books:
This month certainly got away from me for reading, but that’s not the end of the world since I’ve spent the majority of the month meeting up with friend and family. I’ll return to the books when I have the time, since I have more “in-person” events and gatherings planned for the summer. What I’ve read so far has captured my attention and has been interesting, but reading while visiting with people I haven’t seen in 2+ years was not the priority.
Using What I’ve Got:
So, I got no prep done for the incoming journal thus far, but I’m setting aside the day tomorrow to work on it. Between packing and travel, work, and keeping myself going through a busy spot, there wasn’t the creative motivation (nor time) to really dig in and figure out what I want my new planner to look like. I still want to take the time to make it look cute and use up what I have, so that I have a base structure figured out, and then I can add a bit of flair as I go.
Overall, I had ideas that would have worked out had there been a bit less busy-ness, but considering it was for mostly good reasons – and not at all due to procrastination – I’m not worried about it. As I mentioned above, I’ll do a mid-year review on the 1st, and then July goals will follow on the 4th. Thanks for reading!
I feel like this month has flown right on by, but I’m also doing my review a bit earlier than usual. Anyhoo, let’s get into it:
Clothing:
I’ve managed to wear just about everything that I’ve set aside as my visual cue for not being worn yet for shirts and dresses. In keeping up with my tracking on a semi-regular basis, I’ve noticed entries for earrings and a few pairs of pants I hadn’t worn yet – which allowed me to experiment a bit more than I probably would had I only been focused on shirts and dresses. Fun bonus, two of my outfits of unworn items got compliments at work – even though both were outfits I’d been hesitant about wearing (hooray for perspectives other than my own!). The items I haven’t gotten to wear are not season appropriate – two burgundy/red dresses are much more fall/winter, and one frilly black and white dress is too late spring for the rain we’ve been having.
Books:
Finished both of them in about two weeks, and now I’m slowly getting through the Matisse book from the same series. Reading before bed has been the easier choice for now, though I suspect if I maybe put my phone down more during the day, I might be able to squeeze in some reading time, too.
For Fun Money:
Without messing up my budget, I’ve found ways to have fun – well, in the future. I booked a flight to go visit with friends from university during the summer in the US, and then take advantage of attending a Just For Laughs show while I’m in Montreal for the rest of the summer. These both factor well into my budget, and I managed to squeeze in a bit of “treat myself,” with a stop at bulk barn after going to the bank, and stocking up on some of my favourite chocolate. All in all, goal well met.
Next week, I’ll have my May goals ready for you – and depending on my workload, I just might dip my toes back into some psychology and shopping. Thanks for reading!
With the first quarter done and the sun’s warmth returning (kinda), I feel as though I’ve gotten a seasonal boost of motivation and I’m ready to get back into what I was working on before March’s hiatus.
Clothing:
The average temperature through to the end of the month is supposed to be around 12C, so I don’t think I’ll be pulling my sun dresses out just yet. With this being the last month before I do the seasonal swap out, I’ll mirror my February challenge of finding things I’ve not worn yet – but with a focus on unflipped hangers, rather than remixing combinations. It’s mainly tops and dresses that fall into this category, which shouldn’t be too difficult to pair with the rotation I have for trousers and skits for work. What I’ve done so far is separate the unworn from the worn items and placed them at the middle of my closet so they’re easier to see – and with the 20 or so items, I should be able to wear each one at least once by the end of the month, especially if I plan what to wear either the night before or at the beginning of the week.
Books:
I’m going back to picking my own books now that I’ve finished reading the last of my library loans (digital and physical). I’m going to read at least two art history books, one about Friday Kahlo and the other about Marc Chagall. I know a bit about both, and I’ve seen Chagall’s works in person, so I think it would be easier for me to get invested in their stories. The books are also visually pleasing and roughly 110 pages each, so it should be easy enough to get into.
Using What I’ve Got:
With the prospect of travel back on the docket, I’ll focus more finishing up my bottled body care products that wouldn’t be allowed through security – as opposed to alternating between bottle and bar soap. For planner stickers, I will finish working on doing a memory spread in my planner of my two weeks away in March, especially since I have pages of stickers dedicated to travel, dinners, and other fun plans. I haven’t got anything specific in mind for yarn, nor for writing and stationery supplies, but I’m keeping an open mind if something crosses my path.
For Fun Money:
I want to be more intentional about treating myself for my efforts or if I feel like it, especially with there being a handful of new places to eat having popped up in town in time for spring. If the weather is nice and I just so happen to walk by the mom & pop smoothie shop, then why not support the local economy? But on a more earnest note, having felt guilty and hesitant about spending the for fun money while traveling because I forgot about it isn’t a feeling I want to carry forward. I need to get in the habit of being aware that this line in my budget exists and shouldn’t only be spent at the end of the year because I held out for 11 months. I don’t so much have a negative relationship with money (I’m quite fond of spending it, actually), but I don’t want to develop any miserly habits and miss out on little blips of fun for food and experiences in between the bigger stuff.
Later this week I’m dropping a spicy opinion storage bins, and then on Monday, I’ll be back at another instalment of psychology and shopping. Thanks for reading!
February has been a slump-ish month for me in the past: the shiny wow-factor of the new year is gone, the sky and slush are the same dreary grey, and the next holiday feels as far away as the sun – and when I was still a student, it usually meant that midterms were ripe to pop up. However, I want to go into this month with the mindset that I’m going to choose to make it fun, rather than let the shortest month of the year drag on (especially after a January that felt like being trapped behind someone standing on the walking side of a long escalator). The overall vibe I’m going for will be “fun and flexible” since I can’t predict what the month ahead holds, but I can choose how I want to approach it.
Clothing:
I found that in January, I would reach for outfits that I’ve worn before – or combinations that I’ve tried in the past, but this time with a different colourway. I want to challenge myself creatively to switch it up a bit with what I’m wearing. I work in person, so I’m not going to throw together something that I’d feel uncomfortable wearing, like a tartan blazer, striped shirt, and a polka dot skirt (I don’t think even the Emily in Paris wardrobe team could make that work). More so what I want to focus on is to not just wear the same outfits on rotation each week, and try to flip more hangers throughout the month. I’m not setting a specific number of specific pieces to be worn, but I want to try to do about once a week either something that hasn’t been worn yet this year, or not yet together. We’ll see, this is for the fun of it, after all.
Books:
So life got busy and I’m still only half done the linguistics book, though I will soon need a new bedside table read. I’m taking a second go at reading the Monet book for the month, but I think I’ll keep that more for day-time reading – since part of what takes me so long is that I just run out of energy at the end of a my busiest days and fall right asleep. Also, as fascinating as any topic is, reading nonfiction before bed feels far more like cramming for a test than reading for fun, so I’m much less motivated to reach for it. If all goes well, I should be able to line up finishing reading Monet in time for my hold on “Do You Really Need It?” by Pierre-Yves McSween becomes available. I found this ebook while browsing through the personal finance section of Libby. The humorous tone and straight forward approach (from what I’ve read in the sample) will offer a look through categories I struggle with, as well as categories I may not have even considered. Which I think is important – seeing another perspective about how to approach spending/what’s worth bringing into my home will be something to reflect on as I go through it.
Using what I’ve Got:
I’m starting the month with a new tube of toothpaste and bar of soap (side note: had you told me even two years ago that I would think the previous sentence was content worthy of sharing on the internet, I would have cackled and continued scrolling through the Old Navy sale page). I will start a second lip balm before finishing the small tin, but that’s because I’ve found it incredibly annoying to fetch it from my work things each time I want to use it while I’m home, and possibly forget it for work the next day. For yarn, I’m going to be making a few things for family when I visit in March, but beyond that, nothing else is on my radar yet. Finally, for planner stickers, I’m entertaining myself so far with seeing just how many stickers I can use on a monthly spread page, and still make it look like a cohesive theme. I’m not at all taking this seriously, and it’s more of a “funny because I’m doing it ironically” thing – as opposed to last-year me painstakingly lifting stickers off the page because I set it down at an 80-degree angle instead of 90.
I’m focusing on smaller, more bite-sized goals for the month with the plan to turn that into regular habits, rather than carrying too much throughout the month – which my guilt goblin thrives on (the name I’ve given to the second loudest critical voice rattling around in my brain).
Coming Up Next Week:
Saturday will be the next set of printables, which focus on productivity; Monday will have part two of my relationship to shopping, and Thursday will go into more detail about small changes and sustainable goals. Thanks for reading!
With the first month of my No Buy year finishing up, I thought it would be good for me to have a look at how things have been going this month. One month down, 11 to go!
No Buy:
I made it! I made it through the whole month without buying anything from my no-buy categories. I had a birthday gift to send (gifts are part of my allowed categories), and I took care of booking a flight to visit family (travel is allowed, and I didn’t want to not get a discount while it was available), but other than that, there were no other purchases outside of necessities. I feel good about making it through the month without really wanting to buy anything, and part of that has to do with doing inventories for each category, as well as my tracker for clothing and accessories. I think things will keep going like this for now, as I didn’t have anything on my wish list, and there isn’t anything that I’ve felt like I might “need” otherwise. There were a few new releases that I looked at online, but I walked away from the site knowing I didn’t need it, so nothing was purchased.
Books:
I forgot that I had a library book left to finish from December. I also tutor some students and I had to (re)read some classic titles to help them with upcoming essays. You can see where this is going, in that I likely didn’t finish reading both books that I set out to read – and you’d be correct. I was able to finish jut over half of the linguistics book, but the father of impressionism will have to wait a little while longer. I think having flexibility for this sort of thing is necessary, otherwise I’ll just be reading for the sake of completing a TBR, rather than enjoying the works as they should be.
Productivity:
I know this already about myself, but I forgot just how much more productive I am when I have my “perfect” amount of a full schedule. Granted, I’m getting a chance to express myself creatively while sticking to my goals, but I haven’t been at this level of “go” in a while. Knowing what had to get done – and things that could be pushed to later – allowed me to take on smaller bits of larger tasks throughout the month, rather than what I’d usually do, of setting out to do something big but not finishing it once I get tired. The clothing tracker is not 100% done, and I’m okay with that – I wrote in the majority of the categories I usually wear, and that matters more to me than a filled notebook where I can’t find where things are because I rushed the process.
Procrastination:
This was an interesting mix – I had some tasks that I’d hesitate to get started on, but others where I limited what I expected myself to complete, which made it easier to start. I also went back to using the 5/10/15 minute start rule (scaled up according to the task), where if after 5, 10, or 15 minutes of attempting to do the task, I still am not in the right headspace to tackle it, I stop and come back to it later. I find this most helpful when it’s for chores I like the least, as I tend to have a skewed perspective of how long something will take to complete (which I’ll talk about more in a future post).
What I will keep doing/what helped:
The biggest help? All the support I’ve had this month. IRL, my parents have been keen to check in and see how I’m doing, as well as lend an ear if I need to work through things – and my friends have been so willing to offer advice and feedback as I’ve been figuring things out. Online, my little community of other no/low-buyers sharing where they’re coming from, what their “why” is, sharing vulnerable moments – and offering support or another point of view has been so powerful to be surrounded by. Community is important to me in general, and being able to find other people in similar yet unique situations has helped keep the self-critiques to a minimum – and its hard to say I’m coming from a place of no judgement toward others and but then let the meanie voice run rampant for myself. So, thank you for the comments about how much something has hit home from my writing, to the dm check-ins, and anyone who has reached out in other ways – it has made a world of difference 🙂
What I will do differently in the future:
This month felt a bit like getting into university: a commitment to a long-term goal that has a fixed but flexible path to follow, with a lot of optional stuff on the side that I don’t have to do, but I sure tried to. While there’s no “wrong” way to approach a no/low-buy challenge, I do have a tendency to try to do more than there are hours in a day or I have energy for. Part of it has to do with the skewed time perspective, another deals with how competitive I am (in the sense that if I say I’ll do 10 more entries in the clothing tracker before bed, I would push and make it to 15 just to say that I could), and another part is pure curiosity for trying out different things. I think for February, I’ll focus on my planned content, as well as leave myself wiggle room for new ideas as they come up.
Later this week, I’ll go into detail about what exactly my February focus will be – as well as dropping some new printables for you on Saturday. Thanks for reading!
To quote a song that I quietly hum to myself while hunting down the perfect read, “having fun isn’t hard when you’ve got a library card!” Today, I want to talk about both ideas from the quote – libraries and fun (… for free).
While I’m lucky enough that my local library has a curb-side pick-up option for physical books and other media, I don’t exactly want to venture out into the cold just so I can read. Assuming that you may also be in your coldest season, too, I wanted to talk about the two library apps that I’ve been using to keep up with my hunger for fiction, audiobooks, and graphic novels. Don’t have a library card? I’ve got you in mind as well, and I’ll talk about a non-library option later on.
Hoopla
Hoopla has a bit of everything, whether you’re looking for comics, e-books, audiobooks, movies, TV shows, music, or quick guides to popular reads. If Hoopla has it, you can borrow it. The borrow period is fairly standard (21 days, unless otherwise stated), and there’s no limit as to how many people can borrow the same piece of media at the same time. There’s a limit to how much you can borrow per month, which may vary from one library to another. Where Hoopla shines is in their audiobook selection and their quick guides. The audiobooks are sometimes the only format available for a given title (or maybe that’s just my library), but I personally like having the variety of going back and forth between what format my books are in, so it’s not too much of a trade-off. The quick guides fill in the gaps for major titles that they don’t have available to borrow as an e-book, but likely have as an audiobook. While the app doesn’t have a sample-read function, this fills that gap (but it will take up one of your allotted borrows for the month).
Pros: Audiobooks aplenty; no wait time – if you see it listed, you can borrow it Con: Selection might feel a bit limited depending on the format of media you prefer to consume
Libby
Libby functions more like a traditional library, in that you’ll have a wider variety to choose from (they also have magazines!) but you also have wait-times for popular media based on the number of copies available for a given title. Borrowing periods vary according to how new/in demand a title is, though they might have more than 2-3 copies of a title if it’s particularly famous. If a title is in the public domain, they will have unlimited copies, so feel free to go wild on some Wilde. The app itself feels a bit fancier (for lack of a better word) and offers a different reading experience as a result. They also have curated collections that pop up on your homepage – some of which are seasonal, while others are a reflection of what’s on everyone’s reading lists. Though I led with pointing out that you’d have to put a hold on titles that aren’t currently available, the app does have a section dedicated to titles that are ready to check out immediately. Lastly, this app will allow you to sample the title (I’ve only tried this with books and audiobooks), so you at least have an idea if it’s worth your time to wait weeks (…or months) to place the hold.
Pros: Wide selection, curated lists, magazines with no wait time Con: Depending on title popularity, you might have to wait a few months before you can access the title (but at least the tell you the estimated wait time)
To be clear, I use both library apps, and I use them to their respective advantages. My library has other apps and services that are available with the card, though I haven’t taken the time to explore them enough to comment on their content or qualities. For now, I have plenty to select from between the two apps and my stack of books at home.
The Gutenberg Project
Not forgetting those of you who may not have a library card (no judgement, I only got mine last September), I want to talk about the Gutenberg Project. If a title has entered the public domain, the Gutenberg Project website will have a copy of it – meaning that a bunch of classics will be available to read online or download immediately. Their selection is, understandably, older titles, but if you’ve ever wanted to read the “classics” that you Coles Notes’d your way through in high school, or just want to visit other titles from authors you’ve sampled from the same category, then this will meet your needs. I’ve read a handful of titles online through the website when seeking out specific novels, though I’m sure that perusing their expansive selection would offer more than enough. The novels and other works have been digitized, meaning that you’ll be able to read them online as text, rather than relying on scanned copies (as far as I’ve seen). Lastly, I want to point out that the works they have available are not only in English, thought the amount of e-books (and other media) will vary from one language to the next.
Pros: Immediate access to over 60 000 titles, and you can keep the download (depending on copyright laws in your country) Con: If it’s not public domain, it won’t be on the website.
What’s next for this week:
I’ll be working on using what I have from my yarn to crochet a quick something for myself, and then having a look at what products I want to focus on for empties for the next bit. Thanks for reading!
I love to read both fiction and non-fiction, and can lose a whole weekend if a book captivates me. I also enjoy shopping for books, my collection steadily growing shelf after shelf. “Collection” is an appropriate word for my personal library, as I have indeed bought many books of a series or of the same theme, without making a dent in the To Be Read (TBR) pile. A major theme throughout my TBR are topics that I didn’t study in university but still care to learn about: mythology, ancient civilizations, art history and architecture, and social/cultural topics. Mythology and ancient civilizations were less a “need to have now” purchase to complete an arbitrary list I’d set, and more a reflection of what I was interested in at the time or where I was visiting. The art history and architecture books, on the other hand, were all bought within the same year while they were on sale – which is how I ended up with 25 of them. I won’t set an arbitrary expectation that I complete all of the art books in rapid succession to read them before the year is done, as I’d much rather read them as I’m drawn to them. Much like the goal for the year is to approach what I’m doing with intention and balance, I’ll be starting off with picking two books per month: one art/architecture history, one from any other category. This may change throughout the year, but for now, this works for me.
Book 1: The Study of Language
This was a swap from a friend who studied linguistics, and I’ve had the book for almost a year. I’ve flipped through it a few times, but haven’t yet committed to reading it. I like learning languages and learning about languages, so I feel like this textbook will act as a roadmap in understanding the linguistics building blocks. If nothing else, I want to finish the book so it find its way back to its rightful owner.
Book 2: Claude Monet – Taschen
Impressionism hold a special place in my heart, having been fascinated by pointillism while in high school, and most often drawn to this art period when strolling through art museums. The art from this period tickles my brain for how you need to take in a piece as a whole to see what the artist saw, and when you stand too close, it loses the bigger-picture meaning. Granted, if you stand too close to any painting, it too will lose meaning, though a pear in a still life is going to keep looking like a pear from most distances. I’ve soaked up what I could from museums and survey-level art history books, and I think I’ll be in for a fun read to go into more detail about the leader of Impressionism.
What I’m working on this week:
I’ll be tackling my clothing inventory and flipping my hangers around for the new year, which will be written about in Thursday’s post. If you’d like to see what I’m up to in between posts, you can follow my Instagram account, @ladywithless . Thanks for reading 🙂
The purpose of a No Buy or Low Buy is to reduce how much you are purchasing new things. You set parameters for yourself of what you are limiting (whether entirely or capping), and for how long. You make the rules for yourself according to what your needs are (i.e., it would be incredibly difficult to purchase nothing an entire year if you included essential categories like food and rent), as well as what exceptions you have for your rules – or what you are indeed allowed to spend money on that may not be considered to be essential by others.
My Categories
I chose my categories based on where I spend the most money: clothing, accessories, shoes, crafting supplies, tea, and body care products. Books are also on the list, but are being treated a bit differently. For clothing, I have more than enough seasonal wear, and I know what colours and styles I like to wear most – and I know that I don’t need more. Accessories – earrings, other jewellery, bags, scrunchies – are just as plentiful as clothing. Shoes are a bit different in that I have a lot, for different events/purposes, but many of those events are not currently taking place, so they are not in use. Crafting supplies is likely the broadest category with stationary, writing tools, stickers, yarn, washi tape, scrapbooking paper, and about par for clothing in sheer volume of materials. For tea, I like(d) to buy in bulk with DavidsTea having moved to being almost an entirely online store, so I have around 1.5 kilos of tea, and I certainly don’t need more. For body care products, I amassed so much of everything from shopping sales, buying in bulk, or thinking that I would need more than I reasonably use. A single person doesn’t need five tubes of toothpaste, but that’s what I got from Costco six months ago. For books, I have a healthy To Be Read stack that I want to complete without rushing myself. Books are a bit different, then, as I’ll still be going to the local library, but I won’t be buying new books.
My Rules
Broadly, the rule is to not purchase anything from these categories. I know that I can easily make it through the first half of the year without having to think about replacements for anything. That being said, I have thought ahead of what to do if I do need to replace anything (in order): 1) go without for a two-week span (unless it’s related to personal hygiene, like toothpaste or body wash), 2) if after two weeks, I still feel that I need the item on a daily or multiple-times-per-week basis, see if I can find it second hand (preferably from a local thrift store), and 3) buy new from a local/Canadian retailer. I will be spending on groceries, monthly phone bill, and other necessities, and I have both travel (when it’s safe) and experiences budgeted in for the year so I can be intentional about where I’m going, what I’m doing and what I’m not taking back with me. I will also be purchasing gifts, which will include a birthday present for myself, but that’s months and months away at this point.
What makes this goal doable
I did a bit of a test-run last year to see how I would fare in slowing down my spending/shopping, and I was able to figure out what did and didn’t work. What worked was making sure I had frequent visual reminders, both in my agenda and on my wall calendar, as well as following content related to these topics. Shifting my thoughts towards abundance and gratitude as opposed to curating or scarcity have helped in how I see what I own. I feel like I’m ready to jump in headfirst and commit to a full year as I’ve just completed a daily habit for a year that I thought I could never do: gratitude journaling. I kept it simple and wrote at least one thing per day that I was grateful for, and I have at least 365 things listed in my journal – while all other attempts at journaling in other formats have failed. Quitting shopping cold turkey and entirely restricting myself doesn’t work for me at all. If I do choose to spend, then my limit of $0 can turn into $20 or $200 when there’s no reasonable limit – so it’s better that I set aside money for experiences, and that I keep a wishlist for myself. Between small lifestyle changes that I’ve been making throughout 2021 and the desire to downsized my stockpiles, I believe that I can do a no-buy for a year for the categories that I know I need to work on.
What will be tough about the goal
Avoiding sources of temptation will likely be my biggest struggle over the course of the year. Certain stores, like Michaels, DavidsTea, and Simon’s are full of stuff that I like (and that can stay out of my shopping cart), and avoiding them as a whole is my best bet. In 2021, I went to Michael’s twice, once with spending nothing (but I’d already been shopping at thrift stores that day), and the second time with buying more than I intended once I found something that would make a cute gift. I don’t need to say much about tea (see the 1.5 kilos remark above), and Simon’s is a catch all for cute clothing and home goods, and probably my number 1 targeted ad on instagram. I find that thrifting without a physical list has also led to buying more than I intended, and the rush from shopping for new items is the same as it is for thrifted items, with the additional layer of it being an unexpected find. To help prevent these temptations, I’ve already unsubscribed from all emails from these stores (and others) and I don’t follow them on social media anymore.
My philosophy
When it comes to what I’m going to do when faced with decisions of whether or not to purchase something, I want to have a much more intentional and slowed-down approach than I used to. I want to know what I have and what I need (which likely won’t be anything, at least for a few months) and be able to consider what it is that I’m taking into my home. If I don’t want to be in a space where I’m shopping, whether online or in person, I will need to be intentional about how I’m spending my time and what I do in a day. I want the time otherwise lost from online or in-person shopping to be spent on activities that are more meaningful to me, and I want my living space to not be bursting at the seams with stuff. I will be going into this year’s challenge with the mindset that the decisions I make are my own, and that there is no luck involved in the process; if I am tempted by an item, and choose to make a purchase, that is my decision. However, I also recognize that I do make mistakes, stuff happens, and what matters more is what I learn from my decisions and what I choose to do next.
What’s coming up this week:
I’ll be doing a paper-based inventory of my clothing (so I can keep track of number of wears per item), flipping my hangers over, and picking out the two books I’m aiming to read for the month beyond the remaining library book I have on loan.
Lady with Less 