Can’t Stop Mindlessly Buying Clothes? Maybe You Need a No-Buy Month (or Year)

I quit shopping for a year. Here’s how I knew I needed it.

February 2020 was the last time I did a big online shopping spree.

I bought most of it on sale to justify it, but still, I ended up returning 90% of it without ever trying it on.

The 10% I didn’t return? I sold the one remaining activewear set to a friend about two months after I bought it.

Why?

When the packages arrived the dopamine was already long gone and it was time to pay my credit card bill.

I bought it all when I was battling an eating disorder and living abroad. I felt trapped and I didn’t want to comfort myself with food, and I don’t drink anymore, so I reached for the next most accessible thing.

Cheap clothing. Cheaper accessories. Beauty products. And shoes (of course). All made in dubious conditions (because how else could it be so cheap??).

What I REALLY needed was to save money so I could do all the things I came abroad to do.

This particular shopping spree was a form of self-sabotage.

I learned a lot from that — it marked the beginning of the end of an era.

How I started shopping

Think back to how you fell in love with shopping.

How did you learn to crave it? How did it become a hobby or a habit?

My mom passed down her love of shopping to me as a pastime like baking or knitting. It was time well spent with her, but I don’t know if I still own a single item from any of those excursions.

My first pay cheque was a golden ticket to the world of snagging “cute” jeans and eyeshadow palettes. Shopping was my Saturday or Sunday afternoon filler and reward for all things good and bad. I always took it for granted because of my privilege, and because I didn’t understand then that cheapness always comes at a cost.

After living out of a backpack, I realized I needed less. When I arrived home after living away and looked at my drawers of clothes and forgotten makeup products after a year away, I cried. My parents had no clue what to make of it. I was overwhelmed. So much of my hard-earned money and wasted time sat there for an entire year getting stale.

It was a jarring wake-up call.

You can hit the pause button anytime. I wish I had known that sooner.

How I knew it was time to stop shopping

I was not in a position to put a bunch of sh*t I didn’t need on my credit card at the beginning of 2021. My body was changing as I focused on healing. I always knew I needed therapy (which I did not have the $$$ for at the time), and so did my relationship with clothing and accessories.

Did it help that I started my challenge during the pandemic when malls were closed?

Yes.

Does that mean you need the same conditions to start?

No.

What do you want more than instant gratification?

From my experience, a really good reason or a solid goal is everything you need to stop shopping, and start a challenge like this.

And maybe some rules.

What is a no-buy challenge?

Here’s how Joshua Becker, one-half of The Minimalists, defines a ‘no buy’ week/month/year as:

“Cutting out extraneous purchases in order to reset your spending habits.”

I believe the goal of any good challenge is to do something short-term that will impact your behaviour or thinking long-term.

I called mine a shopping ban, but some people might call it a ‘low buy year’.

I allowed myself to mindfully browse but not buy (keyword: MINDFULLY). I let myself buy things that were truly inconvenient to go without (like pants that fit and shoes I needed), but I bought them secondhand. I accepted gifts and hand-me-downs, but also simultaneously edited my closet down to things I only loved.

If you want a prescribed set of rules from an authority other than yourself or me, search ‘no buy challenge’ on YouTube and you’ll get the answers you’re looking for.

After the year was up, I wasn’t running to the mall. I had changed and so had my shopping habits.

Do I need to do this? Isn’t there another way?

I get it, a shopping ban or low-buy period isn’t exactly the funniest thing to consider doing.

It’s not a day at the waterpark. It’s more like a trip to the dentist.

It worked for me enough to sit here and tell you it’s worth doing a low/no-buy challenge or shopping ban to see what aspect of it will stick.

Here’s a counter-question for you: what is it costing you mentally, emotionally, spiritually and physically to continue shopping or spending the way you have been?

Only you know that for sure. But if you clicked on this, I suspect there’s a part of you that wants to explore the possibility of less.