New Year New You Style Challenge (Shopping Ban October)

New Year New You Style Challenge

Hello, my little spring chickens! Did you enjoy the first month of spring and all the #SeptemberSpringFun prompts? I know I did. Mixing some winter textures and pieces for a spring outfit was really enjoyable. I also really needed that wardrobe clean out. About 3 bags of clothing was donated to the Salvos from my closet. How much did you get rid of? After cleansing our closet’s we then explored the new spring trends and experimented with a few of them. Which were your favourites? I personally really like the pastel nautical stripes, lace up tops and dresses and I’m ever a fan of florals! You can never have too much floral in my opinion. Below are some of the outfits I came up with but head on over to September’s Instagram Round Up for more.

Shopping Ban October

Ah the warm weather! It just has a tendency to cheer me up so much! As soon as I start to feel that beautiful sun on my pale, pale skin everything starts to look a little more positive and doable. Maybe that’s why this month I’ve decided to take on… bum bum buuuum! A shopping ban. While part of me is currently yelling at the screen as if I was watching a horror movie where the characters are about to do something stupid that will get them killed, the other part of me is kind of excited to try and break my shopping addiction if only for one month.

Now I realise that one month of no shopping might not seem like a challenge for some but I don’t think I’ve gone a month without buying something for my wardrobe in a very long time. Who knows though… if it goes well maybe I’ll try for a year. Now that’s a challenge! Who’s with me? So the deal is no shopping for wardrobe items at all! That includes clothing, accessories, jewellery, shoes, handbags, swimsuits etc… Nada!

Tips for Surviving a Clothes Shopping Ban

So to help us (mainly me) on this scary shopping ban endeavour, I have compiled a list of tips and tricks to make this month as painless and easy as possible so I don’t go into shopping withdrawal shakes on the floor. Jokes… (not really).

1. Clean Out Your Closet.

Now if you have been following along with the #NewYearNewYouStyleChallenges you will have done this just last month within the #SeptemberSpringFun style challenges. If you are only just joining us or were slack and didn’t complete the Spring Clean Your Closet week, then go back and do it! Seriously do it! It might seem counter intuitive to get rid of clothes right before you go on a shopping ban but by getting rid of all the items that no longer fit you either size-wise or style-wise, you are making it easier to see what you have that you love. If every time you open your drawers you see items that you love, you won’t feel the need to go shopping. At least that’s how it should work theoretically.

Whereas if you don’t heed my advice every time you open your drawers you’ll be bombarded with things you don’t want to wear, you will quickly come to the conclusion that you have nothing to wear and then you guessed it… off shopping you go and that’s not what we want. At least not this month. While you are at it as well why not organise your wardrobe as well so that it makes it easier to see what you have. An untidy closet will make it hard to see what you have and therefore more likely to buy items you think you need but might just be hiding behind a dresser somewhere. By having a clean up you might find something you had totally forgotten about.

A really great way to organise you wardrobe and never forget you own something ever again is to get yourself set up in a wardrobe organising app like Stylebook. I am absolutely obsessed with it and just love coming up with killer new outfits with pieces I already own whenever I have a bit of free time.

2. Unsubscribe.

This is something I need to do too. Go through all your emails and unsubscribe from all the boutiques and online clothing stores that send you promotional material. It’s also a good idea to avoid fashion magazines and actual clothing stores as well. This will get rid of any temptations for you to splurge on items you don’t need because who needs extra temptation headed your way. Even when the challenge is over I feel like promotional emails aren’t needed. They lead to impulse purchases which more often that not end up being the mistakes in your wardrobe. They aren’t bought with forethought and therefore don’t necessarily perform any real function within your wardrobe. Instead plan exactly which items you want to buy and go shopping with those items on your mind. This will lead to a more cohesive closet. But that’s once the challenge is over of course.

3. Cherish What You Already Own.

When you cherish what you already own you take care of it! That means iron any pieces that need ironing, get things taken in that need taking in, wash them properly as to their instructions. This will help them last longer and prevent you from needing to go out and replace anything. If you aren’t willing to look after something the way it requires then get rid of it. It’s taking up valuable space in your wardrobe and will only make you sad when you see it there. It’ll sit there not being worn because you need to iron/hand wash it.

4. Find A New Hobby To Do Instead Of Shopping.

Not everyone would classify shopping as a hobby but it certainly can take up a fair amount of your time. Without that time spent shopping you will more than likely have spare time. Why not find another healthier hobby to do in it’s place. By filling the spare time you would have spent shopping you’ll miss shopping less and be less tempted to do it. I don’t know about a lot of you but I often shop when I’m bored or trying to waste time. Instead this month, I’m going to fill that time working on the blog. Hopefully I’ll be a lot more productive.

5. Come Up With Outfits With Your Existing Wardrobe.

Set some time aside for yourself, go through your closet and put together some new outfit combinations with the items you already have. The Stylebook app makes this very easy and will store them away for you to wear when you get particularly unmotivated in the month to come. Otherwise why not save photos of the outfits on an album on your phone which you can scroll through each morning when trying to find something to wear. Another great option is you can get clothes hanger hooks so that you can store your clothes together in outfits.

6. Put What You Would Have Spent In Savings.

Every time you are tempted to buy something this month, why not write it down. Write down what it is, why you were tempted and how much it is. It’s a great way of reflecting on why you buy the things you do. At the end of the month put the money that you would have spent on clothing into savings instead. A nice little reward for all your hard work resisting temptation.

7. Don’t Just Go Wild Once It’s Over.

When the shopping ban comes to an end, don’t just immediately go out on a massive shopping splurge and destroy all your hard work. Use your newly found self discipline and be more mindful of your buying habits. Take a more planned approach to your clothing purchases. Only buy things that a) go with at least 3 other things in your wardrobe and b) fill a gap that you had in your wardrobe. This will keep your wardrobe clean and full of items you both use and love.

There you have it.
The rules and tips all at
your disposal.

Despite my jokes, I am optimistic that this month will be a success. I’ll let you know how it goes and how much money I saved by refraining from shopping for a month on next month’s Instagram round up. Hopefully with all my spare time I’ll now have, I’ll be seeing you on the blog a lot more often. I’ll try and catch up on all the blog posts I’ve had on the back burner for awhile now.