Sharing an update on my year of not buying clothes, and tips for making it work

April has rushed by, and to be honest I’ve found it quite an easy month! It probably helps that I was away for the first week, with fairly limited space in my suitcase. This did help me realise how easily I can stick to a ‘capsule’ wardrobe these days – turns out I don’t actually need that many clothes to feel comfortable and be able to put together outfits I enjoy wearing!

One challenge that April threw my way was my return to work. I was a little bit worried about how I would find enough clothes that were both work appropriate and actually fitted me. I’m lucky enough to work hybrid – I’m not in the office every day – and in a not very corporate environment, so I’ve actually found it much easier than I expected. Some clothes fit me that I didn’t think would, and for others I’m embracing new ways to wear them. I’ve got a post in the works looking at my return to work outfits, so watch out for that. I’ve found it quite fun digging back through my wardrobe for things I haven’t worn since being pregnant (and sometimes not even much then!), and it feels great to get back into the simple daily pleasure of styling an outfit.

April tip: Shopping is time consuming!

One thing that has really struck me since I stopped spending money on clothes isn’t just how much money I’ve saved: it’s how much time! When I find myself drawn in by an advert on Instagram (for instance), I can immediately click off again, and it has made me realise just how much time I used to spend scrolling through clothing stores online on my phone. In the morning when I’m waking up, when I’m supposed to be going to sleep at night, on the train – there are endless opportunities to waste time looking at clothes. This is made worse when shops have huge catalogues – a sign of fast fashion, and a way to keep you hooked! I remember thinking ‘gosh, there’s a lot to get through!’, as if it was somehow my job to look at every piece that was for sale. I would feel compelled to do this, worried that I might miss something I’d love. This is the weird hold that shopping had on me. Of course there are clothes in the world that I would love, which I’m not going to own. So strange to imagine that it was my responsibility to seek them out!

So the tip to glean from this is that if you feel yourself being drawn to shopping, just stop and appreciate how much time you might save by not shopping! Even if that’s more time just scrolling Instagram, that’s at least time that isn’t costing you any money!

Savings update

As we reach the end of the first quarter of the year, I thought it would be fun to look back over how much money I have theoretically saved by doing this no spend year. It’s going to be slightly painful, but I’m going to do this by looking back at the last couple of years and seeing how much I had spent by this point. So, here we go! It’s going to have to be slightly approximate as I’ll just go by bank details and shops spent at, but even a rough guide will be interesting!

By the end of April 2023 I had spent: $680.49.

By the end of April 2022 I had spent: $611.

Surprisingly similar amounts, and I actually most my spending last year was in April. But that was one massive shop, so not exactly ideal! However we look at it, I think I can say that by not spending money on clothes this year, I have so far saved about $600! Not a small amount by any stretch of the imagination. It’s super satisfying to see it laid out like this, and even more satisfying when I think what else I could be spending that on. Hear’s to another eight months of saving!

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Have you ever tried a no spend period, on clothes or indeed anything else? I’d love to hear your tips and experiences, so please share in a comment!