I can’t believe it’s already been four months into my low buy year! With 1/3 of the year over with, I wanted to check in with my progress and compare my consumption patterns from last year with this year’s so that I could see where I can improve on my shopping decisions for the rest of the year. I started off by looking back at my closet update posts from last year, back when I was still doing them monthly. I counted how many items I added to my wardrobe in each category. Gifted items have been included in the count.
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Here’s the breakdown:
JANUARY 2019:
+ 1 everyday capsule
+ 1 shoes
FEBRUARY 2019:
+ 4 everyday capsule
+ 2 shoes
+ 1 loungewear / gym capsule
MARCH 2019:
+ 1 everyday capsule
+ 1 shoes
+ 4 loungewear / gym capsule
APRIL 2019:
+ 8 everyday capsule
+ 1 shoes
+ 1 loungewear gym capsule
– versus –
JANUARY 2020:
+ 0 items
FEBRUARY 2020:
+ 1 loungewear / gym capsule
MARCH 2020:
+ 5 everyday capsule
+ 2 loungewear / gym capsule
APRIL 2020:
+ 3 everyday capsule
+ 1 loungewear gym capsule
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– total counts –
2019 (JAN. – APR.) — 30 PIECES
+ 19 everyday capsule
+ 5 shoes
+ 6 loungewear
2020 (JAN. – APR.) — 12 PIECES
+ 8 everyday
+ 0 shoes
+ 4 loungewear
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It looks like I’ve already reduced my consumption by a little more than 50% already in this first part of this low buy year! I’ve already filled 11 out of the 12 spots I had set out for myself for my everyday capsule. I’m going to try to stick as close as I can to that magic number, but I’m also going to give myself some grace if I go over a tiny bit (we are in the midst of a pandemic after all!). I definitely have been finding myself loosening up the purse strings a little bit over the last few weeks and this reflection was just what I needed to check myself and keep myself accountable. Even so, my overall goal has been to lower my consumption this year by at least 50%. Last year, I ended with adding a whopping 42 pieces: 12 secondhand, 21 brand new, and 9 gifted. And so it looks like I’m well on my way! Yay!
It’s also been six months since I’ve made the decision to change how I work with brands. I think now having to pay for part of the gifted piece makes me think really hard before I accept a partnership and add those pieces into my wardrobe. It also makes me feel better that I’m able to support them during this difficult time where small businesses are struggling. This March, I was so lucky to partner with three of my favorite ethical fashion brands and add pieces from Sotela’s, Tradlands’, and Eileen Fisher’s beautiful Spring Collections. Both Hanna from Sotela and the team at Eileen Fisher have been extra generous this season, but I’m happy and feel so good about the direction that 2020 is moving towards.
With May 30 x 30 starting on Friday, I’m going to also try my best to not shop during that challenge so I can truly enjoy all the new goodies along with my old faithfuls without any shiny new distractions.
THE PLEB LIFE 