I know I’ve written something similar to this in the past, but I fell off the wagon because I did too much too fast, so here we are with the ugly truth.
I love shopping. As a kid, I didn’t really get to go shopping very much for what I wanted, unless it was a special occasion or if I was with my grandmother. A lot of the clothes I owned were hand me downs from various family members, friends, or they came from a yard sale.
Aside from shopping for the perfect pair of jeans, shopping for me is fun and a great mood boost. As and adult with my own income, I’m able to shop wherever I want, try on whatever I want, and buy whatever I want. Being able to try on fun pieces that fit my body and sense of style is an exciting activity that I look forward to.
One of my favorite name brand stores is Maurice’s. I love thrifting, too, but Maurice’s is a place I’m willing to go to often. I have their store credit card, so if I see something I want, I can just charge it to my card and pay it off over time. I do this around my birthday as a treat to myself. This year I spend about $200.00 all together, both in store and online.
That’s $200.00 worth of things that fit me well and made me happy, but $200.00 worth of things I didn’t really need. $200.00 worth of more credit card debt. $200.00 worth of more clothes in my eclectic wardrobe that weeks before I tried to downsize. $200.00 worth of most likely unsustainable fast fashion, that while I love the pieces, I truly don’t know the manufacturing process or how long they will last.
I think there were 12-15 pieces all together. How many more things could I have gotten if I had gone to a thrift store instead? Or a yard sale? What if I didn’t act on impulse and put that money towards paying off my credit cards? I would have been $200.00 closer to being debt free.
Clothes aren’t the only thing I overspend on, either. While our pantry, fridge, and freezer are filled with food, I often forget to take something out to thaw for supper, so we’ll just go out to eat instead. that’s $20.00 to $40.00 we could have saved if I wasn’t lazy and forgetful after work. $20.00 to $40.00 worth of food that while it tastes good, is often fast food, or one step above.
I need to do better. I’m sure there are many other people who are in this rut. It’s an easy rut to get into and a long, hard one to get out of. The first step is admitting that it needs done, hold myself accountable, be transparent about my short comings, and make small goals to start with so I don’t get overwhelmed, inevitably leading to me giving up and going back to old habits.
I’ll be starting with two goals, and once I have them underway and I’m confident I’m on the right track, I’ll slowly add in others, one by one.
The first goal is to not buy anything that isn’t essential. No new clothes, shoes, or accessories. No going out to eat more than once a week to start, unless it’s for a special occasion. No grocery shopping unless it’s for essentials like fresh produce, milk, bread, or eggs. Our freezer has plenty of meat in it, so that should last us a good long while.
The second goal is going to be the most time consuming, and that’s going to be sorting through my wardrobe and putting it in a capsule. With is starting to warm up, I’m not going to need all my long sleeved shirts, cardigans, jeans, boots, and thick socks, so it will be easy to transition. There are lots of different ways to do a capsule wardrobe, but I think i’m going to come up with my own system to start and ease into it.
I’m going to hold myself accountable for all of this by writing blog posts, posting on Instagram and Snapchat, maybe start a YouTube channel, and other forms of social media as well. I’ll be doing lots of research, picture taking, and writing. I’ll be sharing my journey, as well as sharing others who inspire me along the way, be they bloggers, YouTubers, Instagrammers, or just people I know in person.
I know I can do this. I just have to take the first step, even if it’s a small one.
bigbeautifulbohemian 