30 Day No Buy Challenge Week 3: Re-shopping your Closet

This weeks challenge: "re-find" a piece (or multiple pieces) of clothing in your closet that has/have been neglected too long and create a new outfit!   

The Halfway Mark 

Week 3 is upon us and with that, you have made it halfway through this 30 day 'no buy' challenge! By this point, if you have been honest with yourself and have truly refrained from buying everything outside of essentials, you might be getting to the point where you are craving a retail fix. We all know it... it's that dopamine rush you get right when you buy something. The excitement of having something new and the act of purchasing it can take control over our rational thinking. This weeks challenge is meant to help direct that need in a new direction and to uncover something "new" in a different way.

We are neglecting our clothes 

We only wear about 20% of the items in our closet. That means that the job of the other 80% of the clothes is to simply sit in our closets. Maybe they are occasionally worn but most of the time they are being neglected. This becomes a huge problem to our habits in this consumer society, since we constantly want 'more' and 'new' while we are simultaneously we are not appreciating the items we currently have. I'm sure you can think of a handful of things, right now, that you don't wear a lot ... Or maybe not because you have so many items that you start forgetting about most. Just take a moment and become a bit more conscious about which kind of person you are. Do you know you have things to get rid of but can't seem to let them go, or are you unaware of everything you have and the way in which the filled stuffed closet adds stress to your life?

Our closets fill up with new pieces, the older items are neglected, and we constantly feel like we have nothing to wear! Sound familiar? When there is too much stuff, we have a hard time identifying what we really like, especially when close to 80% of the stuff isn't your favorite (at all). When you can eliminate the excess from your closet and minimize it down to the basic favorites, you will always have something to wear. Additionally, you will be more picky regarding the pieces you bring into your closet, ensuring that you are absolutely in love and need each one and that it adds to your overall style.

Craving a Retail Fix? Shop your closet this week! 

If you are craving a retail fix and are wishing for a stroll through the mall, but are maybe nervous of actually going in case you end up wanting to/actually buying something, go for a stroll through your closet instead. Find an item that has been neglected and try putting it into a new outfit. Maybe you can find a new combination that will re-spark your love for that piece again. Pretend you are at a thrift store of unique and special items, and perhaps an item will attract your attention in a different way.

This weeks challenge: "re-find" a piece (or multiple pieces) of clothing in your closet that has/have been neglected too long and create a new outfit! 

Share your new found outfit on Instagram or Facebook with me using the #30daynobuychallenge!   

Bring in Some Decluttering 

This basis of this weeks challenge is not to make you declutter, but it might end up coming to that. If you pull out a piece of clothing for this challenge that you haven't worn in a while and it doesn't fit right anymore or you don't feel amazing in it, that is a sign. It's time to let go of it and free up space in your closet, just for the purpose of having some breathing space. This exercise will not only help, at least partially, fulfill that retail therapy craving but it will also help you identify what your favorite pieces are while encouraging you to eliminate the rest.