After giving 5, yes FIVE bags of clothing twice to the local second hand store last year, and a good portion of that clothing having been bought in the last 2 years, I was disgusted. Disgusted at my lack of better judgment that, “No, I do not need that shirt in 3 colors.” Often when I shop I just look at something, pay for it and move on. Most of those purchases have about the same attention span in my closet. I started to wonder why I always had so much laundry to do when I wear close to the same three-five things every day.
As 2008 rolled in, I took about a month to decide what I would do as a new years resolution. It had to be something big, and something that would be so hard that it would always be in the forefront of my mind.
I decided I would not buy one article of clothing for a year. A WHOLE year. Think about all the money I could save by not buying. The first 4 months were really hard, and then as more time passed it became less of a desire. I even went out with friends and didn’t give in. It has come to the point that I don’t know if I’ll ever buy something for myself again as far as clothes are concerned. The best thing this has done for me is to make me a really discerning buyer/browser. I recently heard that one should not buy anything if they wouldn’t be willing to pay full price for it. I think this is great advice because even if you get it for a steal, with that mentality, the piece of clothing will have such a happier and longer life with you and your adoration that it could just stay in your coset for years without ever losing its thrill.
I have to say though, I’ve been looking for a fabulous WARM coat and these coats from Victoria’s Secret have been the closest I’ve gotten to breaking my resolution. Stay away nasty coats, how thy beauty doth tempt me to buy you!
