Clothing Declutter
When the majority of my last house move turned out to be clothing that I rarely ever wear, it became glaringly obvious that when I’m having a bad day, I have a complete lack of control when it comes to retail therapy. The massive amount of clothing revealed a shopping addiction and an urgent need to take control! Not just because of the sheer amount of clothing, but for financial, mental, self acceptance and body confidence reasons. No longer having enough wardrobe and storage space to contain it all, was the final straw.
Why I Indulge in Retail Therapy and How I Stopped
The first step was obviously to remind myself that I AM IN DEBT! Something that I have been actively working on for some time, and constantly occupies my mind. I’m normally quite hot on looking for bargains, planning ahead, buying second hand and not making large, expensive purchases.
Yet it became clear that some how my, “popping into town and buying a few bits” mentality was letting money escape without being noticed on the debt radar. It seemed like a mental blind spot, or felt like maybe it didn’t count because I was stressed and “just grabbing a few bits on the way home from work” made me feel better. I often feel miserable and like feeling better, where’s the harm?
Just popping into town became a regular habit, and couple of bits here and there began to add up. This was a BIG problem! How can you scrimp and save on food and socialising, and then pop into Primark and blow a weeks wages without even thinking about it? Their clothes don’t even fit me properly! (Which was another issue to be addressed later). How can just buying a cheap pair of shoes, some socks, some leggings or a pretty top on the way home from work each day, become an unconscious habit and seem so harmless? A little treat that “doesn’t count, it’s been a crap day, it’s just a fiver” etc. etc. It may have only been a couple of quid here and there, but when I started to do the math and recognise that I’d been having far too many “bad days” and “little treats”, this guilty habit needed to stop immediately! Depression is something I deal with and know damn well must be faced and dealt with either in a healthy proactive manner or with professional help, you can’t just spend it away. I needed to understand and face the spending problem and as well as the causes.
Clearly step one was to stop shopping pointlessly with no aim or specific reason. I don’t go shopping unless I have a definite list of things I NEED, and (if I’ve been good and have the pennies spare) I may allow myself a couple of acceptable items or foods from the WANT list. It’s only okay to treat myself if I’ve been good, made efforts to save where I can and I’m not over budget! Items from the WANT list are a nice reward for taking care of myself, my mental well-being and my finances. I am big on achieving targets and goals, so if I can look after myself and not mindlessly buy crap, I’m heading in the right direction. I’m currently knee deep in a clothing declutter, so far: 14 bags for the charity shop/clothing bank!
