Over the last few months I’ve read countless articles from women from all walks of life who have given up spending for a certain period of time. Whether it be a week or a full year, all these ladies have made the decision to give up frivolous (or in some cases, necessary) purchases and reign in their mounting material possessions.

My wonderful Grandmother was convinced she was going to leave us at 93. I actually think she was slightly disappointed she made it to her 94th birthday. When she did pass at the grand old age of 97 she had minimal possessions and had spent the last ten years refining her collections down to the bare minimum. She only bought new clothing to replace worn out attire and kept her fridge stocked with only the essentials.

Now I know Marie Kondo takes a bit of a hammering bless her, but when I read her book a couple of years ago it definitely opened my eyes to the amount of unwanted possessions I was harbouring. However I didn’t realise until recently how much of it I’d taken to heart.

When I looked at my recent wardrobe purchases (or lack of them) it seems I’ve unconsciously been participating in some form of minimalism experiment too. In 2016 I became overwhelmed with excess; whether it be the piles of packaging that came with my online purchases or the unboxing of influencer hauls on instagram. While I was aware I spent a lot of 2017 paring back and refining and bringing a lot less ’stuff’ into my life, I don’t think I made an informed decision to cut back on my wardrobe. However in the last five months I have bought just six new items of clothing. Though Lisa and Becky’s recent posts are tipping me over the edge into doubling that number I have to say!
Some of this may be the result of finding a beauty routine that (almost) works for me and also the prospect of heading into my fourth year of capsule wardrobing. To be honest I only had a couple of gaps in my wardrobe and was short on money and time to fill them. I’ve made do. I am willing to admit I have found this far easier now I don’t have an office job to go to three days a week. So far I haven’t seen much drop in the shops for Spring that has templed me to part with my cash but that might be because it’s too ruddy cold to imagine myself in anything other than a jumper.

Obviously a long term lifestyle of not buying anything isn’t feasible. In a lot of the accounts where ladies ditch their credit cards for a while, find they can go without a premium moisturiser for the duration of the experiment but as soon as they’re reunited with the plastic they’re hotfooting it down to Boots faster than you can say ‘make mine a double’ after Dry January. However their attitude to purchasing does becomes far more considered and it doesn’t mean to say luxury purchases are abandoned, in fact from my own perspective I’m probably more likely to save up and buy one luxe item now rather than loading up my basket with lots of bargains I don’t actually need, hence the Heist tights I mentioned the other day. (Although I’m not going to buy them after the comments from you guys!) Fewer but better suiting my needs.

From my accidental dalliance with minimalism what have I learned?

  • Well I would say my relationship with shopping as a stress-reliever or emotional escape ended a long time ago, however I now see it as a purely functional activity. I no longer go somewhere new and think it’s not a successful day if I don’t buy anything.
  • I’ve become much more focused on giving gifting experiences rather than tangible presents. Some of my friends and I have stopped buying birthday and Christmas presents and instead treat ourselves to a slap-up lunch and a good natter which is far more valuable to me than another necklace.
    However I’ve become an utter pain in the arse to buy for. My in-laws aced the gift giving at Christmas though. My mother-in-law actually bought me an amazing bin for my bathroom (I’m all for practical and pretty) and my sister-in-law gave us a voucher for a chocolate making experience which we’re giddy to use at the weekend.
  • I’m saving money. Just a little bit but as a well known supermarket brand preaches every little helps doesn’t it?
  • Living more minimally means there’s less stuff to tidy but it sadly hasn’t turned me in to a neat freak. I’m still as messy as ever but the house is definitely tidier.
  • Living with fewer items means there’s less decisions to make. It’s merely a case of shall I wear the grey jumper or the pink one?
  • It’s made me want to pare back and purge in other areas of my life too and I really want to reduce the amount of waste I’m throwing away.
  • It becomes far harder to write blog posts when you don’t buy anything!
  • Does anyone else feel overwhelmed by excess? Has anyone else found themselves part of a minimalist experiment?