Mindfulism: Cutting Spending= Cutting Shopping

We live in a world with an over abundance of inexpensive things that we like but don't really need.  In other words, we all have too much stuff because it's just so darn easy to get it.  Add to that the fact that everywhere we look there are ads encouraging us to buy more, more, more and it can feel impossible to escape a consumer based life.  But, it's not.

Part of my plan to keep my home clutter free is to cut spending, which means identifying my shopping triggers.   For me, it's boredom and the internet, with boredom being the catalyst and the internet being the supplier. In my own life, I have noticed when I'm out with friends, on a trip, or having some kind of adventure, I'm not thinking about internet shopping.  I'm happy being in that moment.  On a busy day at work, I also don't think about shopping.  It's when I'm bored that shopping calls my name.  I need a plan for success and here's what I'm going to do.  I've set myself a No-Buy challenge for the next month.  But, that also means a no-internet challenge, because even when I just sit down to do a blog post, Oh! Wait!  I need to get the shopping info for this post, and then I'm browsing and the cycle begins again.   And it is a cycle, specifically it's part of an addiction cycle that many of us are caught up in without realizing it, but mindfulness is the first step in cutting any addiction.

But, before I begin this challenge, I printed out two calendars for this month and started tracking my spending AND my shopping.  So, every time I shopped in any way, I marked it on my calendar and anytime I bought, I marked it on my other calendar.  A pattern emerged.  Stressful or boring days triggered shopping and shopping triggered buying, usually in a pattern of 1-2 days of shopping and then on days 3-4 I would return and buy something I had seen.  Clearly, I am not the kind of person who can just look; if I wanted to cut spending, it had to start with cutting shopping.

How do you cut shopping?  Well, if you're like me and use it as a coping mechanism, then all the tips and tricks people suggest like going for a walk, meditating, etc. aren't really helpful when you're stuck at a desk all day and you can't leave or sit there with your eyes closed or even listen to music, but you can shop on your phone to alleviate stress.  What now?!  Well, I started slowly by unsubscribing from about 90% of the newsletters that I receive.  In between all this, I had to finish working on my house because spending is spending and shopping is shopping and one kind of shopping always leads to another.  Next I deleted apps off my phone and left chat groups that talked about fashion, because even those talks were triggering.  The final thing was to start bringing books and small embroidery projects to work so that in the stressful moments, I could take a second to skim a few lines or get in a few stitches.

Now, in this moment, I want to note that when I am not constantly buying new things, traffic to my blog takes a dive.  Readers/People aren't really interested in seeing me recycle a piece of clothing over and over, the dopamine-craving centers of their brains want something new, new, new just as much as mine does.  And so, you see, the very act of having this blog has in its own way partially fueled my problem.  Ultimately I am responsible for the content of this blog, but I have felt pressured at times when I saw my numbers nosedive. 

Part of my reason for blogging less has been that I have been busy renovating my house. The other part was that I have been trying to avoid some serious shopping triggers, which is also why I decided to give away my clothes instead of selling them.  Whenever I would check to see if I had any offers or orders, I would invariably browse.  And, of course, selling something on Posh and having that sale as credit to spend also made shopping so much more tantalizing.  So, I decided to give it all away and bless others with some beautiful things while avoiding my temptation to shop.

 So, for the month of October, I have not and will not be buying anything new.  I have even asked Mr. Bleu to do all the grocery shopping and all the home renovation shopping, so I won't be tempted.  I think he's fully on board for me spending less.  I will be writing down any time I shop, and I have decided to make a point to check the bank account daily as that gives me a lot of accountability into our finances.  I hope to be 100% successful, but I plan to keep at it and keep trying no matter what.  Two weeks in, things are going really well, but I will keep you posted.

Outfit Info:  Dress is by Universal Thread, Shoes are by Bettie Page