Intro
Over the years I have gotten more and more overwhelmed with how much stuff I own. As a result, I have worked on decluttering and such. Sadly, I definitely am not anywhere close to where I want to be. When I read My Year of No Shopping in the New York Times I decided that yes, that is what I needed in 2018.
What Does it Entail?
When you read the article, you can see that she mostly talks about clothes, handbags and makeup. She excludes essentials like food. Still it resonated with me. Yes, even if I don’t buy handbags and makeup anyway. Still I decided that I loved her idea. I would start it this year with my own arbitrary rules. Since it is not as much a rule-book, but a philosophy.
It fits in my philosophy of
Less Things, More People, More Travel!
Two examples of today: I returned an LL Bean sweater which had issues ( I love their return policy ). Instead of replacing it with the same or a different sweater, I took the money and applied it towards debt. Next we went to a jewelry store which had a wicked sale. There I saw many items that I drooled over for a moment until catching myself. ‘Yes, I can save $600, but I don’t need or even want to spend $300.’ It felt good. Heck, I am enough of a math genius to know that it would really be ‘Spend $300’ as opposed to ‘Save $600.’
What About Feeding Your Family?
I still shop for groceries and home goods, but it is nice not to be swayed by a good sale. I know I too often have fallen for the ‘Wow, this is such a steal’ reasoning. Instead I will reason ‘Nope, don’t need it, I don’t care if I want it.’ This year, I will envision the Trevi Fountain in Rome, how we threw in coins so we would return. I’d rather spend my money that way! Especially if this results in a $1,600 travel credit.
The Plan
I am going to live a year without shopping in 2018. Next step is going through my stuff at home and getting rid of more and more of them.
Of course, the best laid plans of men and mice… Read my Year Without Shopping update and my Best Green Gifts if you need to shop for someone else.
And of course, it is always better to Make Money than to spend it!
Comments
10 responses to “My Year Without Shopping”
Did the same a while back. I got rid of so much furniture too. I buy a couple things I want, but it’s not much at all, and usually on the cheaper side. Good job!
Thank you, Andrew! Yes, that’s what I ended up doing. Turns out I couldn’t do 100 % without shopping, but I sure have tuned it down to almost zero. And if I buy stuff , I do it more mindfully for sure. It is a good feeling.
I have reached this stage also. “Stuff” matters less than experiences and memories. I don’t want clutter any more and this is one of the reasons I love travelling in our camper. We only have the essentials with us and life is simple.
Thank you, Jane! I would love to travel in a camper, but it doesn’t fit in our current family situation. Once our youngest graduates high school in four years, we will be more free to follow our own wishes 😀
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I went through a period of not buying things and it actually felt really good. Because you use what you have and you don’t end up getting what you don’t need!
Yes, Nicole, I had the very same experience. All the times I thought I needed something new, I somehow still made do with what I already owned.
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[…] is impossible, other people have done it and found it very useful. I will share my experience about my year without shopping. What went well, what did not. After that I will invite you to give it a […]
My best thing ever has been – to go shopping less often. Stuff is what it is all about (not)! and actually taking the time to “double think” pays dividends!
True! I like the idea of just not going shopping, not even going into stores. And that will give you time to do things that don’t acquire stuff, yes, I like it!
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[…] Maybe instead of buying more stuff on Amazon, consider more travel or at least a Year Without Shopping […]