Sometime earlier this year I decided I needed to stop shopping. I don't mean stop grocery shopping (though I'd love to stop doing THAT) I mean stop bullshit shopping. Shopping was a hobby for me even when I had no real money to spend on things. I'd just go out to "look" at stuff and then come home with the perfect dress or shoes or whatever but perfect for WHAT? No clue.
I long used the excuse that I was always looking for work clothes. I'm one of the many office drones saddled to a "business casual" dress code. I usually work one day a week from home (usually Wednesdays) and of course on Friday (because Fridays are somehow magical) we can wear jeans to work which is easy. I know that every single person who reads this (both of you) are able to do that math, that means I need three days of biz casual clothes per week and the remainder of the time is mine to choose.
So how in the world could I possibly spend so damn much time shopping for 3 days per week of clothes? I have no idea. I think that when I first latched onto this idea I decided on a "uniform" for the year. During the cooler months the uniform would be black or gray trousers (the super comfy pull-on ones from NY&Co. that look like "real" trousers but are just smartly disguised stretch pants), a pretty cami from Ann Taylor (they have tons of them and get in more each season, they don't really look like your standard cami they look like a cute, professional, sleeveless top that goes with everything) and either a jaunty men's cardigan or one of those light "swing" jackets.
Summer would mean wearing lightweight summer dresses or skirts. Easy (and those things are usually fairly inexpensive as well).
As summer is drawing to a close I realize that I've done pretty well with this plan. The best part is that it's EASY. I hate having to actually THINK in the morning about what to wear to work. I don't have time for that shit. I wanna jump out of the shower and into something presentable and run out the door. I don't iron, I could, I don't; which means making sure that everything is wash and wear (it is).
So now that I've stopped shopping as a hobby I'm realizing how great it is to NOT shop. Sure I definitely have more money in my bank account. That's the first obvious benefit here but pulling in a close second is the time I now have to do things OTHER than shopping. I'm not kidding when I say that I'd get up on a weekend and if it was crappy out (meaning no playing outside, no bike ride) I'd have to hurry out the door to go…shopping. What a friggin' waste of time, right? Here's the thing, for many things that I need to buy I'm now buying them online because it keeps me OUT of the stores and keeps me focused on what I actually NEED to buy. I'm easily distracted in a store…"ooooo, I want this and this and this and this…" but if I don't go into one then I'm not distracted.
Here's an example. I need printer ink cartridges, I could buy them online or I could buy them at Target but if I buy them at Target I'll BE IN TARGET! And frankly that's a dangerous temptation for me. I'll have to check out the sale items and poke around the seasonal crap and buy a few tank tops because look, they're marked down to $3.99!
Another benefit of this plan is that I've taken the time to go through my closet and dressers and more than once to weed out shit that I just don't wear. It's been liberating. I can now easily flip through the clothes in my closet because my closet is no longer jam-packed with shit I bought and never wore or wore once or twice. It's gone. Just gone. I'm feeling another purge coming on me soon.
Look, let's do the math here. Taking into account my 5 weeks of PTO, my work from home days, my 10 holidays/yr, figuring in roughly 104 days of weekends/yr, I'm thinking it all boils down to needing roughly 132 business casual outfits per year and you can slash off 20 weeks of those 132 days (roughly 3 days/wk * 20 for 60 days off of those 132) for summer skirts and dresses which are for me easier than pants (mentally) but even if we look at it as 132 business casual outfits per year, that doesn't shake out to really NEEDING all that many clothes. There's no need to make a fashion statement at the office, you need to look professional and reasonably well-groomed. So even if I actually went out and purchased 132 business casual outfits it still wouldn't have equaled all the crap I amassed over the years in my closet and dresser drawers.
One of the things for me was that I was always chasing the elusive item that looked and fit great and I'd settle for something that did one or the other but not both and then I'd regret it but still try to wear it. I can't tell you how many pullover sweaters I've bought in my life that never really made the cut but there they sat in my closet just waiting for their chance to "wow" me; or trousers, OMG they are the BANE of my existence (until discovering the ones at NY&Co) they'd be cut to high on the waist…or too low. They would be too long or too short, too tight through the butt or thighs or not tight enough but I'd keep trying and BUYING and the buying part was the WORST.
But what was I missing out those crappy days when it wasn't a day to go out and "play"? What else is there to do when one isn't going shopping? Duh! Howzabout just staying home? Just hangin' with the fur kids or reading or, WRITING? What about doing that? I would literally wake up on a weekend day and try to figure out how quickly I could get in my car and head out SHOPPING. Now I don't do that. Instead I linger over a bowl of cereal on the deck with the fur kids lounging around me or I'll plop down at my computer (like now) and dash out some words while sipping lukewarm coffee…with the fur kids draped over sofas and dog beds and me. Oh yeah and I listen to the radio again. Real radio is my favorite thing in the whole world and always has been. Radio where someone actually plays what they want and puts together sets of music that go somewhere (Vin Scelsa, Mike Marrone, Meg Griffin, I'm lookin' at you guys). Sunday morning on Sirius/XM, The Loft is programmed by Mike Marrone and is amazing, it makes my heart sing. It feels like old-timey (1970s/1980s) NYC radio full of long sets of connected music and artists.
So I guess I'm not exactly boosting the economy these days but the personal gains are so much better, I'm boosting my spirits and my quality of life. I'm slowing down to smell the roses, or in my case I'm smelling the fresh basil, mint and thyme growing on the back deck.
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