This Closet is Clothed

After my last post, I really had to take a step back and evaluate why I spend the way I spend. As I re-read the last post (I went a little crazy buying new, unnecessary furniture), I realized I not only have a clothes shopping problem — I have a shopping problem. Period. The goal of this resolution was to halt my clothes shopping for a year. Mostly because I was wasting money, but also because fast fashion isn’t great for the environment. I’m still on track with this — awesome. Now it’s turned into the realization that I waste money, not only on clothes shopping, but on  anything . Clothes, furniture, books, makeup, candles, jewelry, FOOD.  (Pecan crusted pork chop from Green Chef. Paleo, gluten free, dairy free, delicious.) Yes, food. Now I’m spending all my money on food. I love food, so this is no surprise. I love to go out to eat. I love to cook. I love grocery shopping. I love finding recipes to try out on Pinterest. I love baking. I love when others cook f...

Over two weeks have passed and I’m still chugging along with this New Years resolution of mine. No clothes or shoes have been purchased! Ok, I take that back, I bought a few items at the thrift store... but rules are rules! No new clothes or shoes have been purchased. I found myself a never-worn pair of knee-high black riding boots for $8 and an amazing gray fitted dress for $6 (big thanks for whomever donated these things!). I wanted to buy more but settled on these two items and was actually thoughtful about my choices. More baby steps. (Mud room/sitting area inside my front door. That amazing heavy vintage metal mirror on the wall was a score from Old Orchard Antiques for $30. And the floor lamp came with the house when I bought it!) One thing I’ve discovered is that even though I can’t buy clothing, I CAN buy other stuff. And by other stuff, I mean new furniture. My shopping disease has crossed over into a new realm:  wayfair.com.  If you’ve never looked at Wayf...

Six days down! One big thing I did was unsubscribe to all the clothes emails I receive – Lulu's, Nordstrom Rack, and Victoria's Secret are the worst. And yes, I have done some online shopping (no clothes!) and I took my first excursion to Target and TJ Maxx (two huge weaknesses of mine when it comes to cheap fast-fashion clothes). Let me just say, this whole situation is so strange! I never really realized that clothes shopping is such a big habit of mine. ( Outfit for church and brunch on Sunday: Polka dot sweater from Bargains Unlimted Resale Store, gray jeans from Ecology Sports in Sister Bay, and red flats from Target, all items that were already in my closet.)  My online purchases included food from  Thrive Market  (an awesome place to buy items if you have dietary restrictions at amazing prices and with free shipping),  L'ange Hair  (this blond needs her violet shampoo!), and Amazon (I needed to get new bedding and pillows for my Airbnb rental). ...

I did the unthinkable. I sat down today and actually added up what I spent on clothing in 2019. I poured through credit card statements, Target transactions (if you’re a Red Card holder, you can go on the Target app and see exactly what you’ve purchased... which is terrifying), and bank statements and came up with a number. Granted, it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be (there are definitely years I spent much more!) but it’s still a decent chunk of change. And I’m not sure how accurate it is (hello cash purchases), but it’s a good number to motivate me and I’ll settle with it.  (Target lots all your purchases if you use your Red Card.) So far I’ve come up with $4,788 spent on clothing in 2019. The majority of this spending is in the last 6 months of the year, as I was neck-deep in hospital bills the first half of the year and wasn’t shopping much. This does not include shoes or clothes I bought for Chris, but it does include thrift shopping. As I stood in my closet trying to f...

I’m not really sure what I’m getting myself into. All I know is that I have a problem with buying clothes and shoes. And not just any clothes, “fast fashion”.... clothes that are new, inexpensive, trendy, wear ‘em once-and-done.  The definition of fast fashion is:  inexpensive clothing produced rapidly by mass-market retailers in response to the latest trends. I love fast fashion. Old Navy. Target. Lulu’s. Nordstrom. Zara. H&M, Amazon. I love it all. Moto jackets, graphic tees, stretchy jeans, tank tops, sweaters, leggings, flowy dresses .... I have enough fast fashion clothing in my closets and dressers to last me a year without duplicating a single outfit.  I’ve come to realize that I waste so much money on clothing, most of which I never even wear. I recognize that this is a common issue, especially among women, which is why I’m addressing it. I constantly tell myself not to buy new things, yet I can’t seem to stop.  (My NYE outfit last night ...