Clothing shopping ban – 5 months on

6 months ago, I wrote an article of how I was going to implement a clothing shopping ban for myself in 2017. Since it’s almost mid-year, I thought it would be good to provide a mid-year review of this exercise.

The verdict so far…

Yes, I have stuck on to my shopping ban. In fact, I haven’t bought a single piece of clothing for myself this year. 

Am I really surprised by this? Not really, because I guess I did make a conscious effort to stick by this rule. And most importantly, I didn’t feel like there was anything that I was particularly lacking nor required.

In particular, I felt that this exercise has generated quite a few positives. Here are a few for starters:

1. Save money. Enough said. Well female clothing isn’t exactly the cheapest thing out there. Granted that there are really affordable brands out there, but then again, it’s still money spent. By imposing this ban on myself, I think I have managed to save quite a bit of money – money which would have otherwise went into buying clothes.
2. You learn to improvise. Well, you would be more conscious of what you have in the wardrobe for one thing. However, as I had previously mentioned, I didn’t feel like I needed to get anything because I didn’t think that I was lacking. One of the main reasons was improvisation. Make do with what you have and you will be surprised with how creative you can get.
3. It becomes natural. Due to the shopping ban, I haven’t been entering female boutiques, since I had a “if-I-am-not-getting-anything-what’s-the-point-of-stepping-in” mindset. As such, I realised that I have stopped stepping into boutiques to check out clothing and it has become quite natural for me. Even with stores smacked with huge signs shouting “Moving out sale” or “90% discount”, I am immune to them and it doesn’t quite affect me that much anymore.
4. You don’t have to deal with extra stuff. Well this is kind of self-explanatory. When you purchase stuff, you have more stuff and well ladies, a huge wardrobe is somewhat a problem for us in first world countries. I know of friends who have difficulties closing the doors to their closet because they simply have too much stuff. But by not getting anything or getting less stuff, you avoid that problem, and really, you do not need to declutter that often since you have less of clutter piling up.
5. Spill over effect. I mentioned in a previous post on an estimation of the number of clothes that our children really need. When I implemented the shopping ban, I didn’t do it just for myself. I extended it to Ally as well. Despite being a growing toddler, Ally could still fit into many of her existing clothing, and although I did not buy her extra clothing, we do receive them as gifts from friends and family so I never quite had to spend money on them. Except for a new swimsuit that I got for her earlier this month (as she is outgrowing the current one) and some new undergarments (as she is toilet-trained), I haven’t bought anything for her this year.

All in all, I am enjoying the benefits of the clothing ban. Do I feel like I am missing out anything? Not really. I am looking forward for it to last until the end of the year.