Three Habits My Clothing Shopping Ban is Teaching Me About

As of May 1 I’ve completed one-third of my year-long clothing shopping ban.  Through this experiment I’m learning quite a bit about my shopping, wearing and purchasing habits.  Any of you out there who might be trying to curb shopping, reduce spending or just be more mindful about your purchasing might find what I’m learning helpful.  

1) Shopping Habits:

As expected, I continued to notice during the first few months of not shopping how strong my celebratory shopping urge strong was. Because I was so aware of that urge going into this experiment, I’ve not had too much trouble shifting to using other ways to acknowledge and extend a celebration, such as calling or texting someone to share my good news.  

In the first couple of months I was genuinely surprised though by how many times I caught myself wanting to “just pop in” to Nordstrom Rack when I was in the proximity of the store.  This wasn’t about celebrating anything or needing anything.  It was about satisfying what I can only describe as an intense short-lived “itch.”  As I paid attention to this itch I realized how often I had probably shopped at the Rack just to scratch it.  

I’m not condemning shopping itches.  I’m encouraging you to become aware of them and to consider how scratching those itches plays into your overall shopping habits.  As I built awareness, I learned to tell myself that I didn’t have to scratch that itch anymore. It’s actually been quite liberating.  When I drove by the Rack last week I noticed the itch was replaced by thoughts of how much time I’d wasted over the years in their shoe department, shopping for what I didn’t really need.  

2) Wearing Habits:

Knowing that there isn’t anything new coming into my clothing universe in 2018 I’m paying more attention to
what’s in my drawers and closet and as a result wearing my “special clothes” more often.  Maybe you know which ones I’m talking about, the ones we hold back for special occasions or events.  For example, I’m currently wearing my special marathon socks.  No, I’m not participating in a half or full marathon today.  Historically though that was the only time I would wear these ultra cushioned and supportive socks. Today they’ll be worn on a four mile walk and around the house and that’s ok.  My husband has taken note and has also begun to wear some of his “special clothes” around the house, which has resulted in him releasing some of those older, shall we say less-than-flattering around-the-house clothes of his past.   Who’s to say today is not special enough to wear your special clothes?  

3) Purchasing Habits:  

When we were in Florida this winter I found myself in “need” of a hat.  I forgot my baseball cap that I sometimes wear on afternoon beach walks or bike rides.  My husband suggested I just go buy one.  That didn’t feel right though given my no-shopping commitment.  Instead, I added “hat” to my list of stuff to take to the beach next time and we chose to stay out the sun during the heat of the day and read.  I’m sure my dermatologist (Hi Jen!) would be pleased with my skin-healthy choice. 

Today’s BUY! BUY! BUY! culture doesn’t encourage it, but we can think around purchases. Can you modify the situation so you don’t need to make the purchase?  Can you borrow what you need? Can you do without? 

What About You? 

Have you been paying more attention to your shopping habits this year?  If so, what are you noticing?  Do you shop to celebrate?  Do you shop out of boredom?  Do you shop to satisfy an itch? Anything special hanging in your closet that you might want to wear this week?  How has paying attention to your shopping habits translated into changes in those habits?  What kind of shopping experiment could you design to learn more about how you shop?  

I’ve got another eight months of experimenting ahead of me and look forward to sharing another update this fall.  Thanks for reading.  ~ Andrea