**I am kind of proud of this collage/video I made in Canva of my girls weekend in Boston with my two oldest besties. 11/10 recommend.**
Happy almost end to the longest month of the year. I don’t understand how this month is the same length as most of the others. It just doesn’t make sense. Anyway, for those of you who are doing a no buy year and for those of you who are no buy curious, I am breaking down what the first month of a no buy year looked like, how I approached spending (or not) and what I do for kid birthdays.
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Let’s break it down…
What I did not buy in January
I’m going to be honest with you, the first half of this month almost went totally off the rails.
For the first few weeks of this month I went down a black hole of online shopping. I don’t know what came over me, but I had this urge to find very specific things on the internet, which, looking at my eBay watchlist and thredUp favorites was all over the freaking place. Long dresses, bathing suits, Dale of Norway sweaters, striped AYR shirts, linen pants, white corduroys, jeans, I think you get the point.
Late December/early January I did a pretty extensive closet clean out, and realized that I have been holding on to a lot of stuff that just doesn’t fit, or I never wear. This sent me down a rabbit hole that I couldn’t seem to get out of. I felt the need to replace what was gone.
I guess in some ways I was also looking to solve a problem with shopping. A Dale of Norway sweater will make winter feel less miserable, a bathing suit or a flowy dress will get me excited for summer, white corduroys would make me more cool, etc. etc. Let me be clear, I think we all deserve to have clothes we love, that fit, and that we feel good in. But that wasn’t really the case for me. After all the searching, saving, and favoriting, I realized I didn’t really want or need any of it.
Initially I felt annoyed that I had spent so much time searching for a bunch of stuff I never ended up buying, but I think it actually was an incredible revelation on a personal level. I didn’t waste money on stuff I didn’t want. I didn’t waste time on things I had to return. I had already spent an entire year doing a no buy, so I didn’t actually end up purchasing any of the stuff, and then I just moved on.
What I bought in January
I’ll just cut right to the chase, I bought one thing this month. My blue light glasses broke and I really liked them. Since I know they fit well and it’s not something I can find second-hand I bought a new pair (they were not fixable unfortunately). Craig wears the same ones and they happened to be doing a buy one, get one free. I normally wouldn’t buy final sale but I was replacing a pair I loved so I’m fine with it. Total cost for two pairs of glasses and shipping was $40.
My personal concept of no buy is mostly related to personal purchases of things like clothing, home goods, shoes, accessories, etc. I did go on a girls weekend to Boston with my two oldest besties (hence the photo/video collage above) and while I don’t count this type of thing in my no buy year, I wanted to share because I think it is so important to continue to have experiences. Obviously no buy years look different for everyone, but on a personal level, it’s a chance to really lean into spending money on the things that really matter to me.
I can not tell you how restored, rejuvenated, and deeply whole I felt after a weekend away with my two oldest friends. We ate, we laughed, we cried (or at least I did when our waiter gave us the best advice about raising daughters), we went to the spa, we called a psychic late night (she didn’t answer, lol), we were total weirdos and it was so much fun. Here’s the itinerary I created if you’re interested.
I also bought two second-hand dresses on eBay. One for Marin and one for my niece. We are going out to visit my California-based family in April and Marin is SO excited about it. She also loves matching her cousin, so she helped me pick out the dresses (below) and they’re adorable. One was $30 and the other was $18.
Let’s talk about birthdays
Marin and my niece both have birthdays in February. Other than family members, I pretty much do not buy gifts for kids birthdays. In general, almost every kid (and adult) birthday party in our community is a “no gift” party. Honestly I LOVE this. It’s equitable, it’s easier on the parents, and NONE of the kids ever seem to care. They make cards for each other and it’s very sweet. I don’t know if this is the norm or not with kid birthdays, but I basically decided I’m not doing gifts for kid birthdays unless it’s an immediate or close family member.
For Marin’s birthday she wanted a party at home with her closest friends (like mother like daughter). She didn’t ask for anything for her birthday but she loves dresses so I bought two second-hand dresses from eBay, and Craig bought her a puzzle and a subscription to Highlights Magazine. We are going to Florida at the end of the month so I bought her sandals from Target because she is picky AF about shoes and I know she’ll wear them.
For her party, we are doing a “winter wonderland” theme and making paper snowflakes for decorations. For an activity she wants to do sugar cookie decorating and just play with her friends. For decorations she did ask for a “number” balloon and honestly she didn’t ask for anything else, so I am happy to oblige. We’re keeping it pretty simple and honestly, it’s so liberating.
Now you tell me, how did your no buy January go? What did you notice? How did it make you feel? Are you still curious but haven’t started yet? It’s never too late! Let me know in the comments.