I’m a shopper. Not just any kind of shopper. I excel at shopping. If shopping were a sport, and some argue that it is, I would be an Olympic Gold medalist. It’s my superpower. I was born to it. I love shopping for others just as much, if not more, than myself. I love just wandering shops, long city streets full of stores, quaint villages lined with boutiques and strolling in and out door after door, shop after shop, finding gifts, necessities, treats and more. It’s my favorite way to pass the time, besides sitting on my sofa napping with a cat. But I realize as I get older (yes, it has taken me til 53), that I have too much stuff.
As I spent last autumn cleaning out the “panic room” in our house. It’s really just a storage space upstairs off one of the tiny bedrooms. I filled up giant trash bags full of clothes, shoes, bags, and more. I hauled them to donation bins all over town and felt instantly lighter. Then I started looking in other places and realizing just how much stuff we have. And we buy more every day.
As I started the long, arduous process of decluttering, I told myself I would really try to curb my shopping addiction come the new year. I vowed to not buy anything in January. I’d start with one month and then see how I did and try it again the next month.
When I say buy nothing, I mean no new clothes, shoes, accessories, and only buy things I run out of as far as beauty products go. And to be more cautious with my grocery shopping, as well. Often I buy too much, cook too much and throw away food and it’s wasteful.
So how did I do? I did pretty good. For one, I didn’t step foot in a Marshall’s, TJ Maxx, Target, JCrew or Old Navy. Those are usual stops for me. I did go to Walmart because we need things like toilet paper, cat food, and my husband’s prescriptions are there. I did not, however, purchase any clothing, home decor, seasonal decor, or anything other than necessities. I didn’t buy any new clothes in January. I cut down my Amazon purchases greatly – just re-ordered some gummy vitamins and Atkins shakes with credit I had from returning some car seat covers that didn’t work out for the new car.
Today was my first time in a Marshall’s in a month and though I looked at clothing and shoes, I didn’t purchase anything new. I went there for dry shampoo, makeup remover wipes and rice cake snacks that I like and that’s all I bought. I’m pretty proud of myself.
I have a stack of nicer clothes and shoes that I will be putting up for sale on Poshmark and figure if I need anything, I will start with thrift stores first, to be less wasteful. Funny, despite my efforts not to shop, I still acquired new (to me) clothing. A friend and coworker gave me some pants that didn’t fit her anymore, and they are perfect fits for me and pretty fabulous, so I still had a tiny bit of a ‘fix’, per se.
I’m taking the challenge again for February. Stay tuned for a report on how that goes.
