Shopping Ban || Counting my Clothes

Instead of updating you once a month like I initially stated, I thought I'd give you a play-by-play on all the ups and downs of this journey. It's been 10 days since I started the shopping ban, and not to trivialize their struggles, but I think I have some grasp on what addicts go through now. The first few days were the absolute worst! It was a forbidden fruit and everyone knows how that story goes. My mind was racing every time I drove past the thrift shop:

Okay, it's the first of June.. what if I just take down the blogpost from yesterday and pretend like I never started this ban until July? Uhhh should I get off at the next bus stop? I mean, I totally deserve to.. I had such a long day at work. Ugh, but I shouldn't. Yes, I shouldn't. I already know what they have in there, I was there last week with my mom. Oh man, but they could have new sweaters and summer dresses.. oh my god, it's the very first day get your shit together!

And so I did. I got my fix of shopping by grabbing some healthy vegetables instead. This went on for a couple of more days but I've been feeling significantly better since.

Not having counted the items of my wardrobe helped (this was a condition of the ban before I could go and spend my $25 leeway budget). I was quite hesitant to tackle this matter because I read about minimalists trying to keep it under a certain number, and while minimalism is not about competition, I didn't want my number to discourage me and where I was in my minimalist journey. The results are in and I don't think it's that bad.

Tops - 43

Pants, shorts, and skirts - 33

Sweaters, sweatshirts, and cardigans - 23

Dresses - 40

Coats and Jackets - 13

Not included in these numbers are nightwear, bras and underwear, socks, and athletic items (gym shorts, ski jackets, etc.), putting me at a total of 152 items. While minimalism shouldn't be about numbers, and instead regard only keeping items that spark joy, this number served as a benchmark for where I currently am and where I want to be. Going through and touching every single piece of clothing I own and realizing that some of them hadn't seen daylight in a couple of years made me realize how unnecessary it was for me to shop. I don't need to go to a secondhand store because there were plenty of clothes in my closet waiting to be rediscovered.

This was such a positive exercise for me - will you join me in counting the items in your wardrobe?