So far this year I haven't made a single non-essential purchase - yes I know we're only 25 days into the year so I'm not claiming that this is a huge achievement, I'm simply saying 'so far, so good'. I've used the time to ponder what will constitute essential spending for my Year of Less.

I wrote about my desire to buy less, to be a more mindful consumer, in my resolutions post, but I hadn't got it all figured out. Essentials are obviously food, toiletries, and gifts for others. I also decided that I could buy clothes but only if I needed them, and the item being replaced leaves my possession.

Books are to be borrowed from the library when it reopens. That's if I need to - I currently have over 50 books on my shelves waiting to be read.

I'm adding seeds, and plants and anything garden related to the list of essentials. My garden and greenhouse have always been something I enjoy but they were an absolute godsend last year during lockdown. I'm not about to deny myself the pleasure of garden pottering.

Other items that I buy are usually house related. In 2020 I purchased photo frames, supplies for DIY jobs, two towel rails, a mirror for the lounge, and I feel that these are all justified purchases as they improve and enrich our surroundings. The thing to do here is be certain that I'm not acting on a whim.

Which brings me neatly to the subject of impulse purchases. I rarely give much consideration to whether or not I should buy something, so this year I've decided to write down all the things I consider buying and wait before making a purchase. I have six things on that list already, two of which I'll probably buy.

As you can tell it's not a total spending ban, they never work for me. The point is to limit what I add to my home. I'm definitely guilty of buying stuff in charity shops because 'it's nice and only a few quid', only to return home and never look at it again. Or to buy something I think I need on a whim only to discover I didn't really need it in the first place.

Which brings me to clutter. I'm not striving for minimalism but, despite decluttering many times over the years, I still own a lot of pointless stuff that just needs to go. 

I always feel better when it's tidy, the surfaces are uncluttered and everything has a home, it feels like I have more space to breath. It's time to be ruthless...

What would be on your essential shopping list?

xx

In April this year Glamour magazine wrote that on average we wear an item of clothing just 14 times in the UK (not that they quoted the source of the findings). In France it's higher at 30 wears.

30 wears is also the number that Livia Firth, Co-founder and Creative Director of Eco-Age, puts on a purchase, saying "The biggest message is every time you buy something, always think, “Will I wear it a minimum of 30 times?”. If the answer is yes, then buy it. But you’d be surprised how many times you say no. That should tell you something about how the current model in fashion is unsustainable - and needs urgent change." (source)

I started to keep a record of how many times I wore new and new-to-me items back in October 2017, so I could see the items that were worn 30 times or more, and how long it took me to do so. It'll come as no surprise when I say that I've become fascinated by the amount of times I wear an item of clothing.

As well as keeping a tally of the number of times I wear certain items, I also keep a tally of my spending on clothes, shoes, and accessories in A Buyer's Archive. This has made me aware of how much I buy, and spend, and how much either never gets worn or is worn only a handful of times.

I've been doing this since the beginning of 2016 and as a result I've changed my spending habits. The biggest, if somewhat gradual change, is that I buy fewer new items from the high street, preferring to choose used instead.

Not only that the way I shop has changed too. I'm much more aware of what's in my wardrobe, and what I'm most likely to wear time and time again. Give me a well fitting pair of jeans and I'll wear them until they fall apart. Give me a summer dress that has fussy sleeves, that I can't put a cardy over, and it'll languish in the back of my wardrobe for most of the year.

Before I'd never question how many times I might wear something, or how long I might hang onto it. When I hadn't worn an item for a while I'd donate it to charity or, on rare occasions, sell it on ebay. And there's nothing wrong with that, but I want to reduce my consumption as much as possible.

When I started this blog nine years ago, fashion was very much disposable to me, and it's not something that I questioned. But more recently I began to feel the need to question it, to make changes to limit my contribution to the damage the fashion industry has on the environment.

I'm pleased with how my attitude and spending habits have changed over the years, but there is always room for improvement. I still feel I buy too much, and don't wear what I have nearly enough.

Having completed a Wearing it All wardrobe challenge over the summer, I was made aware of exactly how many clothes I own, carrying on that challenge into Autumn highlights this further.

So, I'm pondering a limit of buying just one item a month for 2020, switching my focus to making the most of what I currently own, and getting more of my wardrobe up to 30 wears and beyond.

You know I like a challenge, and this would be my biggest yet.

So, putting myself on a total spending ban doesn't work.

I try, I fail, I try again. Again I fail. The story never changes.

However I have found something that does work for me.

At the end of 2014 I promised myself that I wouldn't buy any scarves or PJs for a whole year. I had more than enough already and even though I threw away some PJs that had seen better days, and donated several of my scarves, I still ended 2015 with ample amounts of both.

I did buy myself a pair of Christmas PJs at the very end of 2015, but this was to keep up my tradition of wearing new PJs on Christmas Eve. And they were glorious! I think they're my favourite PJs ever.

That aside, I decided to continue this for 2016, possibly even forgoing Christmas PJs this year too.

In doing this I came to realise that I simply didn't look at either item online or in shops, it's like they no longer showed up on my radar which I found very interesting.

Now all I have to do is identify the other things I think I have plenty of and strike them from my shopping list.

Blusher is certainly one of them. Lipsticks too. As for clothing items, I think I've got knitwear covered, and summer trousers. Although I think these last two will be more difficult than scarves and PJs, but it's worth a try.

This didn't stop me spending last year but, who knows, maybe this along with my capsule wardrobe - more on that in another post - will make me think twice about what I have (and need) before making a purchase?

Do you find it easy to control your spending? And if you do, how?!

A little on the late side but here are purchases for Feb. The month went by so quickly that I didn't really get my shop on... that said I still managed to buy nine items! I had a wardrobe cull and found plenty of things to donate to charity, so I don't feel too bad - my wardrobe still has slightly less in it than at the beginning of the year.



Dress, £6 in the sale, TU and jumper, £12, George
Both were purchased as I dashed around food shopping, they just caught my eye. I haven't worn the dress yet but the jumper has been worn a few times - I love it - the stripe of neon is just the right amount, it's going to be the perfect Spring / Summer knit.

Charity shops finds - grey jumper (TU) £3, cardigan (M&S) £4 and top (Warehouse) £2.50.
The jumper and cardigan have been worn a few times, both are great for layering but the top is rather summery so hasn't been off the hanger yet, I love the colour though and think it'll look fab with some cute black shorts.

Wedges £19.99 New Look, I've been looking for something like these for ages. They're from the wide fit range and are SO much more comfortable than standard fit. I wore these almost immediately.

I also had some credit on my Very account so I'm not counting these in my monthly budget but I picked up some fab dresses...

Vero Moda dress
Worn to Somerset House, The Style Lounge and Sonata Lingerie Fashion Show during LFW. (If you're interested in reading more about them you can do so here, here and here). It's an easy shape to wear and very comfy but the sleeves are a little nondescript so I'm going to have to alter them in some way.

Swallow print dress
The pattern and mix of colours in this are the reason for this finding it's way into my basket. This may well be my dress of choice for a stage show in London at the weekend.

South stripe maxi dress
This is definitely one for summer but I couldn't resist, I love stripes and it's so, so soft!

February total £47.49 - £10 under budget.

Do you have a clothing budget? Any tips for sticking to it? I have been seriously tempted by many new season items recently...

Love

I know. Weird, right?

Having looked at what I purchased last year, I was shocked by the fact that 33% of new purchases hadn't been worn (or maybe only once). So I made myself a promise to reduce my spending in 2013 and actually wear the clothes that I have (I know I've said this before, but bear with me, I'm fighting against 20+ years of bad spending habits here).

I'm not going to impose a spending ban (it invariably has the opposite effect and sends me into a spending frenzy - my biggest monthly spend last year was September after a spending ban in August). Instead I'll be trying to stick to a monthly clothing budget. In the light of my clothes spending being over £1,700 in 2012, I'm going to try and limit it £700 this year. This gives me a budget of £58 (ish) each month.

So, how did I do in January?

The top four items pictured below are the result of an eBay frenzy in early January (before the monthly budget was introduced) and totals £19.78. The two scarves on the bottom row fed my scarf obsession and led to the realisation that reducing my scarf intake was going to be tough! The khaki shirt is something I have been keeping my eye open for. These items totalled £34.99.


In all I spent £54.77, and four of the items are pre-loved, so I'm pretty happy with that and I LOVE my new scarves!

In order to succeed in this I think I'll definitely have to avoid eBay, the thrill of winning an auction is too much of a temptation. One day I'll share my most ridiculous eBay purchase with you and you'll see what I mean!

Love