You wanna know what? I want to shop. I want to buy tons of stuff. Like these boots. I want to buy these even though I don’t wear the boots I already own.
And I’m pretty sure I need these brown boots too. Because they’re two-toned (which is unique) and have the zipper thing and the V-Shape thing and on the online reviews a person said they made her calves look thin. I need these.
Part of me wants to go back to my old ways of just getting what I want when I want it.
I kind of want to end the month with bag fulls of new things and 30¢ in my account.
I kind of want to do that.
And, I kind of want to say: “Shit. Screw It. I’m going shopping!”
Instead, I’m going to go against my impulses and I’m going to focus this “need new stuff” energy into organizing a Clothing Swap.
I really don’t want to do a Clothing Swap. I want to shop. But. I guess I want to stay out of debt more and this is a way to get some “new” things without spending anything.
This is how the Clothing Swap is gonna go down.
- Ask a friend if we can use her living room or apartment community room since my living room is too tiny.
- Send out an email.
- In the email I’m going to tell my friends to tell their friends that we’re going to do a Clothing Swap and it’s probably going to be awesome so they should come and bring stuff to swap.
- Everyone brings 10 things to swap. Like, 10 GOOD clothing items. Not 10 shitty things. Stuff you would give your sister or best friend after you’ve gotten sick of it.
- Then everyone will come together on the night of the swap with their items (and maybe a treat too for potluck sweets).
- And then, once everyone arrives all of the items will be on a table or two and then the swapping will begin!
- Then, people will try on some things and find new things and then those new clothes can stay put in those stores and our money can stay in our accounts and we’ll get to have some new goodies for the Fall and Winter and then maybe I’ll stop day-dreaming about those boots up there.
- Bring 10 items. Take home 10 items.
P.S. Looking to declutter and minimize? CLICK HERE to learn about the Fearless Minimalist Guide
Sounds awesome!!! I wanna come ….. I live in Denver ; )
p.s. Your blog rocks!
I have a friend who does this once a year – she gets the best jeans this way!!!
That's a great idea. You should check out unpretentiousteacher.com, she's doing a Retail Detox for a 100 days. As hard as it may be, I am going to try it.
Im so glad i read this post.
I went on an impulse shopping trip over the weekend (after about 4-6 months of refraining) and spent about $200 for which i have been feeling extremely guilty for and trying to decide whether or not to return the stuff or just keep it. The purchase included 3 beauty items (which i will keep because they are acne treatment) and 8/9 tops (with no bottoms). Since then, I've tried them on about 3 times already to look for an excuse to return them, but obviously some of them are sooo peerrrrddyyy i couldn't get myself to return them.
Alas, after reading this, tonight, again, i shall try them on for the 4th time and definitely decide on only keeping two tops and will return the rest.
Thank God i read this.
the swap is happening! you all should come! http://www.andthenshesaved.com/and-then-she-saved/the-1st-ever-and-then-she-saved-clothing-swap.html
Clothing swaps are awesome and soooo much fun. I end up with items I would never even look twice at in a store. Small difference with ours, you take as many as your bring – no need to bring ten. Three is fine. We draw straws if two people want the same item. We allow clothing and accessories (but NO underwear). All of our leftovers (no hard feelings) are donated to a women’s shelter or Dress for Success program. Make sure you invite enough people to get a good mix of sizes and styles.
When I was in college, our dorm floors had occasional clothing swaps. It absolutely stinks when you’re even mildly plus-size, though – 95% of the clothes that show up are way too small, and the other 5% consists of rags that the plus-sized girls apparently bought in moments of self-deprecation. It’s a little awkward standing in the middle of all of that and being all like, “I’m gonna just take this XS t-shirt and use it to dry my hair with. Y’all can have the rest.”
So shoes, accessories, jewelry, even random furnishings like throw pillows or French bulletin boards or microwaveable bowls (because Ramen is a girl’s best friend), are totally encouraged. Begged for, actually.
And yes, T-shirts are great for drying your hair. Just sayin’.