I’ve run into several readers over the past few weeks and the first thing they’ve asked me was if I’m still doing my year without shopping. Which was a reminder that I haven’t updated you all on my progress. I’m happy to report that I’m four months in and still very much so committed.

So far I haven’t bought myself any new clothes, shoes or bags. I’ve been gifted a few items.

 Summer is going to be the biggest challenge. My wardrobe is light on summer clothes. It will be interesting to see how it pans out. I’m hoping to put together a few capsule wardrobes. 

Here are a few things I’ve learned so far during my year without shopping and how I would grade myself in this process. 

Report card: A-

Learning to love with less

After several trips to Goodwill over the past few months, I’m learning to love living with less. The slow purge of items has been tough but also rewarding. Last weekend a friend and I tackled my storage closet in my condo and it was amazing what we uncovered. I found old things from college that I hadn’t seen in years. It’s a great reminder of memories that were attached to items but somethings we had to let go. We saved practical items like photos and things that I could still use.

Prepared to do a massive unsubscribe on email lists

Two months into this challenge Google notified me that my email inbox was full and I needed to delete unread emails. Which was a red flag to me that I needed to delete several emails. Most of my inbox was left with unread sales emails. I receive easily 1,000 promotional emails a day from retailers trying to cross me over to the dark side. Lol! I have to thank Google for their new in-platform unsubscribe and snooze features. It’s definitely come in handy. 

Feeling completely in control of my finances

For the first time in a long time I finally feel in control of managing money. Having the extra money in my account that could have been used on clothing has been comforting and helpful when trying to pay down debt.

Contentment with everything left in my wardrobe

For the first time ever I feel happy and content with everything in my wardrobe. It’s nice to be able to wake up every morning and walk in my closet to easily pick out what to wear. I’ve also discovered a few staple pieces that I’m loving like the jean jacket pictured above that I can dress up or dress down and wear throughout the week. 

The next few months: 

I plan to continue in the same manner for the rest of the year. I’m hoping to share more of what I’m wearing on a daily basis to work here on the blog. Stay tuned! 

Thank you for your support during this journey!