Dear reader,
Are you ever bothered by your clothes? Specifically the amount you own or the amount you buy?
It’s something that has been on my mind a lot lately.
I haven’t bought any clothes since September 20, the day I went on a quest to find something red and came home with a red leather jacket and 5 other items. I think I’ve worn 1 thing so far, which bothers me.
Another thing that’s been bothering me are the 4 garbage bags of clothes that I decluttered from my closet over a month ago. I find that I “declutter” things only to have them live in purgatory in my storage room. I even call this my “purgatory pile”, but this implies that they will eventually go somewhere.
I guess they eventually do. Kinda.
Sometimes, I put the really special pieces into a storage box for my daughter (with her input) to enjoy when she grows into them. Sometimes, my mom goes through them when she visits and then I’m able to donate the things that she doesn’t want. But I wonder if I do this because they’re now in “storage” somewhere else.
Can I finally let them go because I know that I can get them back if I want?
For the past 5 years, my overarching goal has been to have a truly minimalist closet. To only have the clothes that I love and wear. The problem is I’ve been treating the “love and wear” as 2 separate entities.
Thus, my closet consists of both - things that I wear and don’t love and things that I love and don’t wear.
The sweet spot is where these 2 entities intersect: the things that I both love and wear.
My relationship with shopping is very nuanced. I really enjoy clothing and how we can use it to express ourselves. But I also can’t fully shake the constant need to buy stuff, while I already have so much stuff, a lot of it not being used.
When I look at the clothes that I own, but rarely - if ever - wear, I’m reminded of all the time and money that I’ve spent trying to be fashionable. And I say fashionable (not stylish) because when I was in the very active stage of my shopping addiction, I was visiting the mall every day and never leaving empty handed. I was buying whatever items were being presented to me - aka, whatever was trendy.
And I think about the credit card debt that I acquired to buy clothes and how I laughed about credit cards being free money until the bill came. A bill I could never really pay off until I was faced with the harsh reality of my behavior.
I’m also reminded of influence. A lot of the clothes that I own now are the result of being active on social media. When I started posting on Instagram in 2018, I had become interested in ethical fashion, which eventually evolved into sustainable and secondhand shopping. I bought clothes that the people I followed were wearing and I bought clothes just to have something to show to my followers.
Eventually, I stopped buying the exact things that I saw others wearing, as I started primarily buying secondhand. If I saw something that I liked, I would add it to my “thrift list”. And for a while, I never felt guilty because I was buying secondhand.
But shopping is shopping. I replaced an addiction to buying new clothes at the mall with buying used clothes at the thrift shop.
As I look at the bags of clothes, some mine, some from my daughter’s recent declutter, as well as some home goods (bedding and baskets) that I no longer have use for, I actually feel a little disgusted at the thought of again, having to figure out where to bring all of it so that it doesn’t end up in a landfill or some other country.
No Buy Year
After mulling the idea over for the past month, I’ve decided to do a no buy year. I want to live slowly and find contentment with the things that I already own. To stop adding more material things to my life, unless truly needed.
I’m ready to get off the hamster wheel of consumerism.
Our current level of consumption is unsustainable. According to Fast Company: “We are using up the planet at a rate 1.7 times faster than it can regenerate. At this rate, by 2050, resource use will have tripled in the 21st century alone.”
While I acknowledge that the greatest change can be affected by governments and corporations when it comes to the depletion of natural resources to make more stuff, I’m not sure how quickly that will happen when there’s so much money to be made. As long as we continue to buy, they will continue to produce.
I also acknowledge that my little no buy year won’t make a huge difference to the health of the environment but I’m a firm believer that every little bit helps.
My No Buy Rules
This is my accountability post. I’m putting this out there into the world as a way to hold myself accountable during this challenge!
The items I’m not buying for the next year:
Clothing, new or preloved.
Shoes and handbags.
New or preloved jewelry.
New brands or types of toiletries or makeup beyond what I already use. I will replace them as needed.
Items that do not fall under the no buy:
Pattern or fabric purchases. I do have a fabric stash currently which I plan to work through first though.
Consumables and experiences. Consumables - coffee outside of the house (no disposable coffee cups); Experiences - movies, concerts, dinners and museums.
Home improvement materials.
We have a family trip planned for 2024. Sometimes I buy a piece of jewelry or clothing as a souvenir. If I find something special on the trip, I’m permitting myself to buy it.
I will be fully transparent with anything that I buy for myself for the next year.
How I am setting myself up for success:
Step 1.
The first thing I need to do is figure out what to do with all the clothing I’ve already decluttered. Aside from a few items, such as clothes I’ve made, most will be divvied up and brought to consignment shops, charity shops (home goods) and the homeless shelter (anything that aligns with the needed items on their website).
Step 2.
Create my fall capsule wardrobe. In past years, I would have already done this, but my clothing storage situation is not ideal at the moment. All of my clothes are currently residing in a spare bedroom in the basement. I enjoy having all of my items together, but I want them to be all together in my closet, right off my bedroom.
My closet has had a few different purposes over the past 3 years but I’m ready for it to be a functioning closet again, which it hasn’t been since 2020. It’s also one of the projects that we need to do if we ever plan to sell our house.
I’ve been wanting to add a PAX wardrobe system for years and I finally ordered one last Sunday night. I tried building my own but eventually came across one that I could order directly that was perfect for my needs:
The current plan is to store off-season clothes across the top 3 shelves in storage boxes. The left of the unit will contain knitwear on the top shelves and boots/shoes on the bottom shelves. Dresses and skirts will hang in the middle. Shirts, blazers, pants and vests will hang on the right side. The drawers will contain tank tops, t-shirts, and jeans, primarily.
However, once the unit is ready for clothing, some of these plans may change.
Jackets and coats will not be stored here. They will live in our front hall closet during the colder months and go into the spare room closet when they’re not needed.
Step 3.
Declutter the clothing that doesn’t fit in the wardrobe (and storage boxes). I have a few things that didn’t make it into the last declutter that I know I can let go of.
I really think that putting a limit on where my clothes can live will help me to achieve the minimalist wardrobe that I’ve been chasing for the past 9 years!
Final thoughts.
I feel like this is something I should have done long ago. Instead, I keep finding excuses and I don’t change my behavior - “this is such a unique item”, “I really liked this the ONE time that I wore it”, “people really liked this when I posted it”. And I’m honestly sick of the narrative that keeps playing in my mind.
I feel like I’m in a good place to put limits on buying clothes. I haven’t bought anything in 3 weeks and I have no desire to shop. So telling myself that I can only keep what fits in the wardrobe will help me achieve my goal. But, allowing myself to make clothes if I wish makes me feel less confined, and it doesn’t stifle my year of creating.
I know I’m starting this challenge at a weird time - October 14th - but I didn’t want to wait for a new month or a new year. I think we should start chasing our goals when we feel like it and not wait for the “perfect time” because the perfect time doesn’t exist! And with the holiday shopping season coming up (and all of the advertisements we’re about to be bombarded with), I feel like I’m insulating myself from some of the marketing.
If you’re someone who’s overwhelmed with the amount of clothes that you own, or you continue to buy things and want to stop, please consider joining me. I know that a year can feel daunting, but how about a month? That’s a pretty good place to start. I’ve done a few separate “no buy months” and I think they’ve given me the confidence to finally try a year. You can also try a “low buy year” where you set a certain number of items that you will buy for the year, such as 1-2 items per month.
And if you have no interest in doing this at all, I hope you find these posts entertaining 😀
Hi Gillian, how amazing is this - I am doing the same challenge! I started on October 1st ✨ I completely agree with your whole post, there is nothing like a step back and reflect about what we have. The most sustainable item is the one we already have!
Gillian - I'm joining you on this. Reading your article and the one on 'being influenced' has resonated deeply with me. I had never considered the "fantasy me" aspect of this and it hit me with a whammy. I've noticed that I easily move from see to click to buy without really considering what I'm buying, not to mention the cost of what I'm buying.
I do love the anticipation of the delivery of said item, but more often than not, it gets tucked away and rarely sees the light of day.
I clicked and bought without much consideration, some clogs that someone on insta was showing off. I thought they looked cool. Thought they would make me look cool and also thought that I would likely wear them a lot. Not much thought outside of the above went into the decision. Even when I saw the shipping cost to get them to Canada there was no pausing (and it was a lot). Purchase made and off I went. It may have taken 5 minutes in total (and I had to go get my credit card to boot).
$500 for one pair of clogs. (I'm cringing). Next day, buyers remorse. And then I read your post and sent an email back to the vendor and asked to cancel my order (win for me).
Time to dig in and see what drives the purchases - unfollow the influencers I enjoy following, but who have definitely tweaked the FOMO in me and try to get this handled.
If you have reccos of reading materials, videos that can help me on this journey, I'd love to dig in!