Sticking with what I got for 1 year

Day 112

It's been a while since I updated this but that doesn't mean I started to buy clothes. I'm 112 days strong of not purchasing any clothes! Here's a brief recap of the past 40 days (at least the things that are most pertinent to my project):

- I turned 25. Mary got me some clothes for my birthday, many of which were recycled clothes! Jenn also gave me a recycled skirt and a paramore t-shirt. My friends threw me a surprise ice cream themed party. It ruled.

- My mom and her friends had a garage sale to raise money for a catholic organization. She asked me to go through things I didn't want. I managed to let go of a lot of things, even a lot of clothes. It was very refreshing.

- Addison and I watched "No Impact Man". I HIGHLY recommend watching it. It's about this family that lives in NYC that tries to reduce their ecological foot print for 1 year by doing everything they possibly can to not waste or create anymore negative impact on the environment. Many of the things were pretty outrageous like not purchasing toilet paper, but I definitely think I walked away with how to change my lifestyle easily in order reduce my ecological footprint. Which leads me to..

- Addison and I made our first compost bin. Hopefully we will one day be able to create a sustainable garden.

- Many sports happenings have been currently surrounding me. Flyers (sorry guys), world cup, baseball. And for that, it's tempting to purchase sports paraphernalia and t shirts. But I've been able to hold back.

- I went to a local church's carnival 3 of the nights it was being held and spent a good amount of money on carnival games and food. I really do enjoy spending my money on doing and experiencing things over buying materials things. Plus the money I spent was supporting the church anyway!

- Mary and I got massages at the mall (again another experiential thing) but walked around while we were there. It's been really rare since I started this project that I've stepped foot in a mall. It wasn't all that difficult to look at clothes and not feel the need to purchase them. In fact, I saw this really retro looking dress at Old Navy that was super rad but I remained true to not buying anything. I didn't feel any remorse. Hooray!

- Addison and I went to the movies and saw Toy Story 3. It was nothing less than what I expected it to be...amazing.

I'm almost at my 4 month mark. Happy Father's Day!

Day 72

I have been receiving generous donations from people once they've been finding out that I gave up buying clothes. Then I started to realize that I might end up with more than what I started off with when I began this project. One of the main goals of this project was to move towards a more simplistic life. Though I have definitely been limiting my consumption, I still feel like I'm living in excess. So I decided to go through everything I had and see what I didn't need. I was able to "clean out my closet" and put together a garbage bag full of clothes I didn't need or didn't wear and donate it. And from now on, for every "new" item of clothing I receive from people, I will try to donate one item of clothing I already own so that I can keep the amount that I own consistent.

Day 69

RIVERTON TREASURE DAY.

For those who do not know, treasure day is Riverton's town wide yardsale. Tons of houses participate and it's so much fun. You can walk around street to street and find a bunch of houses having yard sales (which is why it is called "treasure day"). The weather was a bit overcast, so not as many people were selling things as last year, but I still walked around with my mom (and eventually Sami) on a quest to find....well, nothing in particular. But I did find this sweet little tea pot/cup:

Though some of the things I saw were more expensive than I would have normally paid at a yard sale, I figured I'd still get some things anyway for 2 reasons: 1) these "economic times" are rough and people can use the money they receive from their yard sales...so in mind, I was being socially just (as much as that doesn't sound altruistic). 2) this no new clothes project as also helped me not want to buy new things and instead, buy recycled things. It's way better for the envrionment. So even though I may have seen things that I knew were probably the same price if it were new at a store, I still purchased the used things instead of having factories produce more.

That leads me to reveal my new project I have in mind after this year of not buying new clothes is up. For one year, I plan on ONLY getting my clothes used: hand me downs, thrift stores, etc. It may seem ambitious, but I think after going through 1 year of not buying any new clothes, getting any type of clothes will be great (though it will be used to others, it will be new to me!). But, one project at a time!

Day 62

Today = 2 months of me not purchasing any new clothes.

Today was Palmyra Day. The towns miniature version of a street fair. Sami and I walked around and passed for teenagers who don't drive yet (seriously, one of the vendors asked if we were about to get our licenses). I suppose it didn't help that we were outwardly fiends for silly bandz and removeable tattoos. For lunch we met up with Sara and ate at Manny's. Sami convinced Manny to give me a Manny's t-shirt for free in honor of Palmyra Day and to promote Palmyra establishments. She's such a shmoozer.

We then went to Sara's house and she generously offered me some of her clothes she was trying to get rid of. I graciously went through all of it and selected a few items. Thanks Sara!!!!

Day 56

My mom and I just came back from a 5 day trip to San Francisco. I had a conference for work (I'm super spoiled) and my mom came along to keep my company. We had a little bit of down time during the conference, so naturally my mom and I walked around Union Square. The area was saturated with an eclectic mix of clothing stores. Foolishly, I suggested we enter a few of them just to "look" at things. I surprised myself with how well I managed to not want to purchas anything. However, my mom generously offered to buy me something for my birthday (which was a month away). So reluctantly (or not), I found one dress I believed to be versatile, both for work and for casual wear. I made sure that whatever it was my mom was buying me for my birthday was something I could really get a lot of use out of since I haven't had anything new in almost 2 months.

So with dignity and pride (and hopefully maintaing some integrity to my project) I chose this dress that my mom got for me as an early birthday present:

Day 42

This past weekend, Liv and I visited Jenn in DC for our annual "Asian Invasion". The weekend was jam packed with events Jenn so thoughtfully prepared for us. Among the many surprises Jenn had in store, she took us to Anthropologie for a mini shopping spree. She had found a $100 gift card on the streets of DC and feverishly attempted to find its owner (which those who know Jenn at all know that her heart is made of gold and of course would search for the owner instead of pocketing the money right away): calling the store to see if they knew who purchased the gift card and even googling who the card was made out to. After her long conduct search, she came up empty handed. The generous soul that she is decided to split the $100 with Liv and I, and allow each of us to spend about $30 in the store. At first, I was absolutely tempted to purchase a shirt or some sort of article of clothing (this was partially agreed upon by Jenn and Liv...the 2 other girls participating in the no new clothes project) since it wasn't technically our money to spend. However, I have never been to an Anthropologie before and quickly I came to learn that it is quite impossible to buy any clothes for less than $50. The whole store seemed like a giant gimic anyway, but I totally fell for it. I don't think I'll ever be able to come to terms with ever letting go of $50 in exchange for a shirt made from China.

In the end, the outrageous prices at Anthropologie was a blessing in disguise. My $30 limit most certainly made me stick to buying non-clothing items and stay true to my project. I got sweet coasters, a hair clip, and this sweet G that is now located above my bed:

Jenn, thanks for the awesome weekend (and shopping spree)!

Day 37

Time to bust out my summer clothes. Man, is it hot outside. Hopefully I still fit into last year's summer clothes...cause I'm stickin with what I got and not buying any new summer clothes!