When the date finally rolled around for my one year of not buying clothing to be up, I thought there would be this great feeling of freedom. However, the weeks leading up to the end, I was overcome with incredible anxiety. My thoughts were not necessarily on the clothing I was going to buy, it was focused on something totally different. The question that kept coming up in my head and is still coming up is... have I changed? Is one year really enough to break the habits of habitually and compulsively shopping? The honest fact is no. I can better cope with some of these desires, however, that old creeping feeling is still there. It was always there, really.
Throughout my one year, I gave myself plenty of lee-way. I could buy shoes and accessories and I could indulge in buying tons and tons of fabric. Little did I know, all of the hardships this year would hold. This journey did not look at all like I thought it would. It is weird to have expectations, but I really did. I thought I would have all this time and energy to sew. I thought I would be able to have one of my credit cards paid off. However, this journey was more about personal growth than sewing skills and paying off debt.
In the next coming weeks, I will share some hard life lessons I learned this year. I also will share some incredibly helpful style lessons I learned this year as well. This journey was hard, and it is such a joy to share the things I learned about myself with my readers. I know I say this often but it really cannot be said enough, You. Are. Amazing.
ohh I can't wait! I can completely comiserate with those feelings. I've come to realize the only way I can get over my shopping is to really like who I am as a person. I'm not really there yet. I have my moments of self-pity, but getting rid of the compulsion to shop is more about learning yourself and less about having unbelieveable self-control (although it helps).
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I'm looking forward to your next couple posts!
Can't wait to read all your life lessons and styling tips you gained from this experience. And you did have quiet the intense year, I'm sure you've grown in more ways than you can even see now. - Katy
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to your reflection posts, Alyson!
ReplyDeleteI'm really looking forward to reading these. Honestly, I'm considering doing this for the new year. Just trying to think if i can really do it, you know?
ReplyDeleteI think One year is definitely enough time to break bad habits. i bet everytime you pull out your wallet when purchasing something you're asking yourself, do i really need it? maybe?
I just found your blog, and I'm truly inspired. I was recently vowing to not shop for one month, and then seeing how long I could go from there. But now that I found yours, I think I can do more than one month! My blog is all about style on a budget too, so thank you for the inspiration to try and keep going.
ReplyDeleteI'm looking forward to seeing your post shopping ban posts, haha!
ReplyDeleteI have thought about doing this no-shopping thing for so long, and this year MAY be the year to do it, out of necessity. I can't wait to read what you learned from your experience, and I am really impressed that you could pull it off to begin with!
ReplyDeletexo
Laurel