What's on your no-buy list?
Old habits die hard but what a way to challenge your style and manage your impulses
I’m not going completely cold turkey with a no-buy year because I quite honestly think that would be too extreme. However, being intentional with my wardrobe, clothing and life meant a no-buy list rather than a general no-buy year was one way to keep myself accountable and on top of my shopping and spending.
We see so many challenges happen at the beginning of the year, from ‘dry January’ to no spend January’ the new year has always been a way to reevaluate our lives. I for one loved creating my no-buy list, not only am I hyperaware of what I have a lot of but I’m having to hold myself accountable and answer to myself when I even think of purchasing anything new.
Where to start? Go Kondo
Think or review what you purchased in the last 12 months and do a wardrobe inventory it’s imperative. To create an adequate no-buy list you need to start with knowing what you have. I’ve made a habit of doing this for some years and it’s easy to do this alongside your usual wardrobe switchover at the start of a new season, or when you’re doing a general clear out. If you haven’t done either of those things before - then that is the step, take note of what you have in your wardrobe but more importantly what you are keeping.
Japanese professional organiser and consultant Marie Kondo has multiple steps to follow that can guide you in wardrobe management and I mainly focus on the rules below:
Rule 3: Finish Discarding First.
Rule 6: Ask Yourself If It Sparks Joy.
If I have 10 blazers it’s easy to think that should go straight on the no-buy list. If however, 9 of those are ill-fitting and don’t spark joy then, I’m passing them on and it becomes a gap in my wardrobe that I may or may not need to fill. A wardrobe edit also creates a clear shopping list of things you need, focusing on your style and silencing the noise of external influences and trends.
My no-buy list
It’s best if you can create a list that isn’t a work in progress then you have less leeway to ‘alter’ it if things get too hard. With that said it’s natural that as you warm to the process and see progress you may start adding things to the list and that’s amazing.
My list below is sticking to Fashion but I have a comprehensive list that also includes homeware/home goods, toiletries and more. Let’s get into the list:
Dresses - Specifically going out and office-appropriate dresses
Blazers (so painful) - steering consciously away from Black blazers
Bags - Going out bags and bags for work
Wide-leg trousers and Jeans (another particularly hard one)
Work/ Formal trousers - especially black trousers
Boots - any size & length (The only exception is one pair of Uggs on my wish list)
Jackets and coats - Any and every style I’m good
Holiday/travel clothes - Letting go of the need for new outfits each trip
Rings - If you watch my YouTube channel you know I love jewellery!
Clothes on sale - If it wasn’t already on my wish list I probably don’t need it
Socks - So random but mine haven’t been disappearing in the wash so I’m good
Okay so where do we go from here - My Expectations & what’s next
Firstly, it’s no shock that the list comprises of things I love. We can expect this to be hard, and we may even have some setbacks and that’s okay! I hope to fall in love with my wardrobe all over again and stop purchasing items that ultimately compete with one another making my outfit choices harder and pushing some items out of sight completely.
A combination of creating your wardrobe wish list, no-buy list and playing around with what you already have means: better cost-per-wear, solidifying your style and most importantly saving more money!
A major tip and one I think will make a huge difference is - no more online shopping. Unless there is no physical store I’m challenging myself to shop in person (which I’m not fond of) because I believe it’ll reduce impulsive shopping and allow me to try things on and only buy what works. This works even better because the effort it takes to go to a store means I’ll automatically think twice 😂
A slower pace of consumption genuinely makes me feel better and doing this challenge I think will help me feel more in control which I hope is the same for you too. Ultimately you can do a slow-buy, low-buy or no-buy whatever steps or approach you choose to take remember to take it and make it yours.
🔎 Have a look at some of my YouTube videos and I’m sure you’ll see why some of the items are on my list 🤪.
🚫 And for further insight into creating your no-buy list, or how it could change things for you watch the below videos.