What happens when you stop buying new clothes? For two years?

What would happen if you were to just stop. Stop shopping.

I know, it sounds crazy. But hear me out.

Yes, you can still buy the necessities. No, you do not have to make your own toothpaste and laundry soap from scratch (but you could).

And get this – you don’t actually have to stop shopping. Or stop replacing things that are unfix-able. First of all, we all have lives to lead, and not everyone has time to take up the craft of furniture building or sewing clothes from scratch. Also, we don’t necessarily want to take up these new skills.

So, what if you were to just stop buying new things? Above all, what if you were to stop buying new clothes?

The Resistance

For a lot of people, the prospect of purchasing second hand or previously used items is confronting. And while it would be easy to jump to the immediate assumption that this is due to a societal obsession with materialism, this is not always the case. Of course, sometimes it is. But when addressing the topic of why buy second hand, it’s necessary to appreciate that not everyone has the same experiences.

An example is that for some people who come from a background of poverty, second hand might have a negative association with charity. Or for others, access to quality second hand items is an issue for people living in communities that are less supportive of reusing.

Why does this matter?

Having the ability to chose what, how, and where we get our ‘things’ from is privileged. It’s a sign of our privilege to be able to shop carbon neutral. Purchase high quality second hand clothing. Or live in a community where there are active organisations such as The Buy Nothing Project. These are all good things. But not everyone has access to them. And that’s something we need to acknowledge when preaching the benefits of a minimalist no-waste carbon neutral ethically purchased lifestyle.

Such as I would like to do here, and share with you my story 😉

Here’s What Happened When I Stopped Buying New Clothes for Two Years

When I started decluttering my physical space, I gave myself the space to grow in other areas of my life.

Published on Thrive Global by Kristine Peter, September 30th, 2019.

Where it all began

Over two years ago now, I had just returned to Australia from a trip home to see my family in Canada. There is something about being home and surrounded by the comfort of familiarity that inspires a bizarre sense of materialism.  Which is nothing short of strange considering I moved to Australia with just two backpacks. But every time I came home for a visit I was filled with an overwhelming urge to collect things. While some of personal or emotional significance, a lot of the time it was just clothing. Shopping. Things that were ‘just not available’ where I lived.

But really… they were. Maybe not exactly the same. But why did I really need it to be the same. Did I actually feel closer to home wearing a t-shit adorned with a maple leave.

Honestly, some days yes. I do feel closer to home when I wear clothing from home. Like today wearing my Hockey Canada shirt. It causes my neighbour to call me moose, and that makes me laugh.

But I don’t need an entire extra suite case of clothing every time I return home, just to make me feel closer to the place I’m from.

What I realized

For those reasons, it took me awhile to work it out, but I did come to a conclusion. Certainly, when I visited home, I shopped out of fear. Not fear I wouldn’t have enough clothes or trinkets. But fear I would regret not purchasing something. Fear I would miss out. Even if it was something I didn’t need, and possibly didn’t want. Because I couldn’t just go back the next week if I wanted it, the fear of regret would cause me to make a buying decision.

As a result, I stared reflected on the all the travel I’d done. And all the random clothing and trinkets I had collected. Maybe this fear of not being able to second guess by decision not to buy was causing me to purchase things I didn’t need. Hence, the more I dug into it, the more I realized this was not limited to travel either. I  was having the same reaction to the sale rack at a favourite store. An online sale that made it’s way into my inbox. Urgency and scarcity are the cornerstones of marketing as they are what cause people to make a buying decision.

And I was falling for it, every time.

So I stopped

In September of 2017 I stopped buying new clothes. There were a lot of reasons for doing so, as well as a few unexpected benefits. I addressed those in this piece for Thrive Global.  Of course there are some things I buy new! Come on now, I think we can safely agree my consumerism was not caught up in new undies.  But I don’t go ‘shopping’ any more. Most noteworthy, after I stopped I was surprised at home much time I had actually spent doing it.

To avoid repeating myself I’m going to leave it there and let you read the rest on Thrive. Consequently I have just one question to leave you with:

Do you shop because you need to, or do you shop out of habit? Is how you shop is intentional, or is it just a habit?

That was two questions 😉