Enough is enough: Day 1 of my shopping ban

STOP THE PRESSES! I'm (supposedly) going to be the first woman to say it: I have enough shoes and clothes. I don't need to go shopping. 

My wardrobes (one double, two singles) are packed tight. I have clothes and shoes I've never worn, others I've barely worn. I've donated clothing to charity shops with the tags still on. I've bought new clothes and then completely forgotten about them. I could probably wear a different skirt each day for a month and I can pack a clean pair of undies for every day of a two-week holiday without seeing the bottom of my underwear drawer. 

I'm a legal secretary so I'm not bringing in the big bucks. I also now only work four days a week so my income has decreased while my appetite for shopping has remained steady. Not surprisingly, I have less money in the bank than I would like (no two week holiday this year) and a credit card balance that's higher than I'm comfortable with, even though I know it's tiny in the grand scheme of things. I could pay it off in less than two months if I didn't have to pay rent.  But I do have to pay rent and plenty of other expenses besides. 

I have more than enough shoes and clothes, too much debt and not enough savings. The sensible solution is to stop buying shoes and clothes, so that's what I'm doing - starting today for the rest of the year. I want to break the desire to acquire. I want to see my savings grow and my debt shrink to nothing. I want to make the most of all the awesome clothes and shoes I already own and love.

To make this easier, I've unsubscribed from two dozen or so online shop emailing lists so I won't be tempted by sales. I've unfollowed them all on Instagram as well so I won't have to look at their pretty, pretty things. I've checked out a few blogs of other women who've gone on shopping bans to help motivate myself. 

I also suggested to my boyfriend that we have a wager on whether I can last seven months without shopping and he scoffed and said, "I've got that bet won already", which is motivating enough without anything at stake!

But wait! There's more!

Thinking about overcoming my shopping habit got me thinking about other bad habits I would like to break - spending too much time mindlessly scrolling online when I'm at home, looking at my phone for ages after I go to bed, and sleeping too much on weekends. 

Combined, these habits mean I waste a lot of time that could be spent doing more worthwhile, meaningful, soul-enriching things. Actually living. Being more mindful and more present. Interacting with people in real life. Reading more books. Giving my full attention to television shows that interest me, instead of watching with one eye and half my brain. Sleeping when I should be sleeping. 

I have enough, but I want to do more, live more. 

Apologies for the rudimentary blog design. I only decided Monday to take a break from shopping and I set this blog up today, but I wanted to start posting on my first  no shopping day. I'll knock it into shape in the next few days.