Hi guys! I've been a lurker of this subreddit for about a year and I thought I'd share my story of how I managed to break free from my bad habits.
Consumerism got the best of me and at the end of 2020 I suddenly woke up and realized how bad I let it all get. Spending all the money I made in my early and mid 20s on pretty much nothing but clothes, bags, shoes, makeup. Like... a lot. So much I had ran out of space for shoes and clothes and half weren't even worn because who has time for all those? I went from wanting to own every bag in every color and building a closet just for them (thanks crigy YT videos for the idea) to being overwhelmed and ashamed with how much I had.
So I said "enough is enough" and decided a detox was needed. Perhaps a whole lifestyle change. So I decided to make 2022 my no buy year. No new clothes. No shoes. No new bags. No new accessories. No new makeup, skincare, jewelry. You name it. So what did I do for one whole year?
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First, for an entire year I focused on selling most of the things I never wore or bought on an impulse. I must have sold 50% of everything I had. I couldn't stand the feeling of being suffocated by my own stuff anymore.
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Learned to sew and repair rather than throw away and buy more. I fixed shoes with just some cheap plain glue made for shoes.
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As I was running out of make up products, I started to just use the remaining ones trying new looks with just what I had on hand and trying to get creative with what I had rather than buy was so much fun.
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Ran out completely of skincare products midway, so I just continued to use simple items like coconut oil as moisturizer, coffee and honey as scrub and that was a huge revelation for me! I don't think I'll ever buy skin care again except for sunscreen.
This year has completely changed the way I see certain things now. I'd definitely try this challenge again.
What about you guys? Have you ever tried the 1y no buy? Would you give it a shot?
January 15, 2023 at 12:53AM
