The last seven weeks have been so mentally draining. Every day is such a roller coaster. As a very type-A planner, the inability to plan virtually anything has taken its toll on me. In an attempt to take back some feeling of control, I decided to switch things up for the month of May and do a Low Shop Challenge!
Now, I totally understand that in this funny little job I have, I definitely shop more than your average person, especially for clothing. It just comes with the territory. I am still pretty conscious about only buying things I really like, and being transparent about what I do or don’t keep. But with the current climate of COVID 19, I just have been feeling so torn between the feelings to shop or not to shop. We all know it helps the economy while also putting so many others at risk. Instead of being fun, it just feels really heavy for me, personally.
My wardrobe has been overwhelming me, all at the excuse of “this is my job.” It all just feels so excessive, especially during this isolation period where I only want to wear pajamas and joggers. When I start wearing the same things over and over, I know I have too many things. And as time moves forward, I just feel this push to do something a little different. A challenge, not only in controlling my own shopping impulses but in continuing to be creative and sharing value with you guys without it being all “Try On This” and Try On That.” I just need a moment to let me closet breathe. Marinate. And reach its true potential.
I started cleaning out my closet when I found out I was pregnant at the beginning of the year. I was super sick very quickly, and couldn’t really bring myself to finish the job. I had big plans for closet sales and charity donations, but between miscarrying days before traveling to Disney World and then Covid 19 immediately hitting New York, I just haven’t had the capacity to tackle it until now.
My friend Karla Reed has done many no shop months in the past, and Kate from WhatKateFinds did an entire year of only buying five items each month. If isolation has taught me anything, it’s that these “hard things” are not actually that hard. There are so many ways to do a no shop, or low shop, but I wanted to set up my own guidelines for what I am expecting of myself! After chatting with Kate a little bit, she recommended I switch from a no shop to a LOW shop. She says it is a lot more intentional and joyful to change your shopping habits vs completely depriving them.
MY GOALS
If you want to join me, I highly suggest you take a few minutes to map out your own goals for what you would like to achieve from this month. It will help you keep your motivation and slow down those impulse purchases.
- EDIT MY WARDROBE – I keep a pretty edited closet, to begin with, at least compared to your standard bursting at the seams closet. But with the change in seasons, I want to go through the clothes I have in my closet and pull out summer bits from last year and decide what is still worth keeping. Get rid of any stained or torn clothing, focus down excess pieces I don’t wear, and narrow in on my style.
- ORGANIZE – My closet is a little bit of a mess. It isn’t terrible, but having both winter and spring/summer clothes has made it a little haphazard.
- NARROW DOWN MY LIST – I have a pretty lengthy shopping list of things I am searching for, like the perfect classic trench. I want to take note of my closet my list, fill in any gaps in my list, and remove any items I am not excited by anymore.
- GET CREATIVE – I want to still work on sharing one style session a week as I have been doing. I rarely buy anything to create these, so it shouldn’t be too hard to do!
- UNSUBSCRIBE TO STORE EMAILS – Any time I get an email from a retailer, I am going to hit that unsubscribe email. I have enough noise coming in and want to minimize the temptation to take advantage of something just because it is a good deal.
- GET SPENDING IN CHECK – Can we all just agree that the recession is something we are all stressed about?
MY RULES
What your rules are may be different than mine. Create a few guidelines to follow that will keep you accountable and help you meet your goals.
- LIMITING CLOTHING AND SHOES – I am focusing this low shop on clothing and shoes. I don’t buy a ton of accessories on a regular basis, so I am not worried about keeping that in check. You can include whatever categories you’d like for your own low shop such as makeup or home decor, but I will be focusing on clothing.
- THREE PURCHASES – Yes, I am allowing myself three purchases in the next 30 days, which can be a clothing item, pair of shoes, or accessory. IF it is from my hunting list.
- DATES – I am going to be starting this on May 1, 2020, and continue through May 31, 2020.
This is honestly probably the easiest time to do a no shop. There isn’t any mall walking or window shopping happening for most. There is very little on anyone’s agenda that may warrant a wardrobe change. If not now, when?
You don’t have to feel pressure to join in on this. Everyone is in a different place mentally, physically, financially, and emotionally. And all of these factors play into joyfully and successfully completing a no or low shop challenge. I think this could be a fun challenge for us to do together if you would like to join me.
This won’t change my content much, other than that I won’t be doing any store try ons. There will be lots of style sessions, talk of favorites, and sharing plenty of fashion content.
Have you ever done a no spend/no shop challenge before? This will be my first and I am truly really excited!
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