No buy or low buy 2023

[TheOGCCL]

Starting a new thread for the new year. I really must do better. Pretty sure I am in need of nothing after my 2022 spending spree.

Ironically I think this board sets me off a bit.

I’m better with a blanket no spend but how dull. Still thinking about my ‘rules’, eg set a budget or an item limit.

I need to avoid the sales as many mistakes happen there.

All welcome who want to cut down for environmental or ethical or financial reasons, or simply the satisfaction of buying second hand, or the ease of getting dressed when you have less stuff.

I can recommend Lauren Bravo’s book How To Break Up With Fast Fashion.

Its a bit like eating meat, if we all collectively did it a bit less, the world would be a better place.

@Ginlette in what way is it a trap. I’m interested. I’ve been selling on eBay and wondered whether I’d be better using Vinted instead because there are no seller fees.

@AnnieSnap I read your post & sympathised. I've also been an over shopper in the past. I've had loads of clothes sitting in my cupboard with tags on or barely worn. I try to eBay now at least twice a year. It's better earning some money than nothing. Good quality items sell well. In fact, I listed several items yesterday & 2 have sold already.
Incidentally I'm much more considered now since utilising the Whering app. I'm obsessed by the % of my clothes i'm wearing. I've discovered most of my favourite summer dresses are several years old. But I still have a major urge to buy multiples & new pretty things 🤦🏼‍♀️ However I also can't bear clutter & a packed wardrobe. Plus, with 4 kids finances are tight.

@Noodle421 I've had some lovely messages from ebay buyers too. Both with regards to perfumes & clothes.

@Cantonet I’m so impressed you are using the Whering app, at the moment I can’t be bothered setting it up but it does sound as though the time investment is worth it in the long run. Would you agree? I’ve been taken aback by how much I’ve enjoyed selling unused items. The money I’ve spent on my ‘new’ smaller, more considered wardrobe is entirely guilt free as it’s all £ from recycled sales. It’s taken me a year to sort out my wardrobe properly (deliberately slow). I’ve identified gaps and ‘hunted’ for specific items rather than browsed and anything unintentional that has caught my eye goes on a Pinterest wish list for further consideration. These approaches have really helped me to massively reduce impulse buys although of course the temptation never entirely goes away. I’m stopping now as the eBay £ has run out. Taking a slow approach has also helped reduce the crave for a dopamine hit which can come with impulse purchasing. I got quite a few of these tips from watching various YouTubers.

@AnnieSnap I feel the same! With the added complication that I have a fair number of garments that I'm about half a stone too heavy for.....and letting them go is moreorless an admission that I won't ever lose the weight.

There are some things that I will never wear again, if I'm honest with myself, and those are easier to let go of. I've had a purge recently.

One purchase made last week, paid for by eBay sales, and it was a bit of an impulse, but I fell in love.....a linen maxi skirt from Next. Haven't taken the labels off yet.

@Noodle421 I really do think the Whering App is incredibly useful for me.
I've recently archived all my Winter clothes and I've been gradually downloading my Summer items. It's fascinating seeing which things I'm reaching for repeatedly. I've realised that the colours i've bought so far this year are olive greens / oranges / beige. All earthy autumnal colours & neutrals as attached. I'm an autumn/soft summer colouring. And the older dresses I wear the most are similar shades. In as much as they're all colours I feel instinctively good in & are consequently easy to wear.
I also hang my clothes on my wardrobe door now with the tags on for two weeks. As much as I love it if I haven't worn it over that time period then back it goes.

I started with a ruthless wardrobe sort out yesterday. Knitwear, gym and nightwear. Put into piles for charity shop or Vinted (never sold there before, but might be less hassle than EBay? I'm sorting one wardrobe and shoes later.

In interests of honesty I bought a dress (£3.00) from Vinted and some some socks last week. I'm buying cotton shorts from M & S this week.

Small purchases!

@Noodle421, @Cantonet, I am finding the Whering App useful too. I can see that I have loads of clothes and really don't need any more. It has do far kept me from buying any more since 23rd March. I can shop my Whering App instead. I have put all of my clothes on it (apart from bras, pants, socks snd nightwear). And it is interesting looking at what I wear most and price per wear. It will be even more interesting after a whole year having been through all seasons.

@Netcam interesting. Why does having it on an app make clothes selection easier? Why can’t just looking into an actual well organised slimmed down wardrobe work just as easily? Mind you, I’m guessing it’s helpful if you do have a lot of clothes - I have a fair selection but not too many.

@Noodle421, I guess it depends where your starting point and what your aim is. I have built up quite a lot of clothes over the years, I'm 53, they are decent quality in natural fabrics, not fast fashion, so I want to keep them.

I have a lot of merino wool for both summer and winter wear including multiples of some things I really liked and bought in sales. They might even keep me going for life with a few occasional top ups.

My aim is to not buy any more unless it is something I really need to replace. So the Whering App helps me to not buy any more and to see what I have, as I don't often really go looking through my wardrobe or drawers. It also makes me consider things I haven't worn much out of habit and reminds me to wear them so they get some use.

I suppose if you have either always bought few clothes or had a big clear out and now have a capsule wardrobe it would not be used that way. But low or no buy does not mean you have to get rid of clothes you want to keep and wear, it means not buying much more.

@Noodle421 I love vinted! My advice would be to start with half a dozen things then add a couple every week. I find the first week of the month is the best for sales. Price items a fraction higher than you expect to get as people do offer less. The pre paid postage is the winner for me.

No clothes bought in the past 4 weeks or so, but I did buy a suitcase.

@Netcam thanks for your reply. That makes absolute sense and I can see how helpful the app must be. I’m a little older than you but I don’t have a similar stash of good quality staple clothes that I was happy to hang on to. My clothes were good quality but most didn’t suit or fit me properly. Very little went together and it was hard to make proper outfits, so I’ve started from scratch building up to what amounts to be a little capsule wardrobe of high quality staple items which I’ll add to gradually - fun accessories to alter the look of the staples etc. In short, although I have a reasonable number of items (enough to make it time consuming to catalogue), I don’t think it amounts to enough to make the app useful for me, so that’s really helpful to know.

@Cyclingmummy1 thank you for replying. It’s good to know that Vinted works for you. I might give it a try. I’ve sold a few things on eBay. Please anyone correct me if I’ve got this wrong but eBay take approximately 10% of the sale but also seem to swallow up the buyers postage contribution too. The buyer pays the postage charge which I set and this appears to be taken by eBay. So I’m getting clobbered 10% and then pay extra for postage on top of this. I now therefore now only charge the buyer just a small amount of postage to make the sale more attractive because the amount I set doesn’t make any difference to me. Please anyone correct me if I’ve misunderstood. Having said that, I sold something the other day to someone from USA. I was puzzled because my settings specify UK buyers only. Within 10 minutes, eBay had cancelled the entire transaction including pulling the listing from the platform because it was a fraudulent buyer. I was sent detailed instructions as to what to do next and why. I felt totally safe and protected from feeling vulnerable and felt my 10% contribution may be money well spent ! Does Vinted have the same level of vigilance/ protection ?

I have a Victorian Gentleman's wardrobe that's bursting at the seams. Most of my Summer Stuff is years old cotton/linen midis & maxis. They're all still in excellent condition, but it's tricky to sift thru' everything.. The Whering App means I'm wearing & utilising things that haven't seen the light of day in years, as I have such a plethora of cotton/linen knitwear.
I have a Winter Capsule & my cupboard looks minimalistic then but sadly not a Summer one.
Noodle tell us about your Summer Capsule if it's not too outing?

Personally, I'm on the fence re: Vinted. I have found it much harder to sell things than eBay, and people constantly beat you down on price, so I end up feeling I'd sooner pay eBay to sell it for me. Also, I like the weekly auction set-up on eBay (sales end Sunday, package up Monday, trip to Evri depot Tuesday). Buying on Vinted is also fraught with risk because of the lousy descriptions/photos and non-existent filters. Prices are good, though.

@CointreauVersial this is exactly the impression I’ve formed but happy to hear other experiences and keep an open mind. My feeling is I come away with more in my pocket from an eBay sale of branded items even taking the 10% deduction into account than I would Vinted but this is just an impression as I haven’t had experience of selling on this platform. I’ve had 3 very good buying experiences from Vinted. Absolute bargains for top quality and new items.

Also, there is always a promo around on eBay - free listings, 60% off, etc.

@Cantonet Whering app sounds perfect for your situation. A way of getting more use out your stock of lovely clothes. In answer to your question about my summer capsule ( it’s a loose capsule - I’m just using a few principles which suit me) - before I started my wardrobe sort out I had to work out what I like and what I feel best in. I had no idea and was always asking for validation from other people. I started pinning pictures of outfits, individual items to a Pinterest board and discovered interesting themes emerging from what seemed a random assortment of pins eg . A lot of clothing I chose was made from natural fibres, often in earthy and tonal colours and very simple but slightly tailored silhouettes. I tried to hone down my style descriptors and removed items from my wardrobe which didn’t match and sold them on. I’m now buying clothes which I believe fit my style descriptors and which most importantly I feel good in. eg I’ve bought a couple of investment jumpers/cardigans from NavyGrey - £££ but beautiful quality which I hope will stand the test of time. I’d rather have one excellent jumper than 8 less good items. I’m a jeans and shirt person so I’ve bought 3 pairs of jeans I love. I have one skirt and 4 dresses which I love, all of them can be worn every day or dressed up depending on occasion. I’ve bought strappy, simply designed sandals in neutral colour which look good with jeans or an evening out. I have recently purchased a bag which can be worn crossbody or shorten handle to be worn on shoulder, again good for evening or every day. I have a handful of shirts/blouses different styles in cotton or linen all fairly neutral no pattern. Linen jacket. I realise I gravitate to liking beautiful, weighty natural fabric with texture. Simple plimsolls which go with everything and are in good condition. I’ve tried to make sure all the pieces are versatile and slightly structured in thicker fabric ( as I’ve got older I can’t wear flimsy fabrics so easily) . I’ve chosen some simple pieces of jewellery ( 3 necklaces) to help elevate the simple basic staple pieces I now own. The backbone and core of the wardrobe is now finished. From here on I plan to add slightly quirkier, well thought out items to add more of a personal touch and style to my basic staples. It’s taken quite a bit of time as I was coming from a place of not knowing my style. I’m getting increasingly confident at knowing what I like and I never now seem to need anybody’s opinion before I purchase. Well done if you’ve read this far !!

Sorry this was so long. Was getting a bit excited 😂
I’m actually looking forward to not having to think about my wardrobe - I’m a bit saturated with it all.

ebay fees are 12.9% plus 30p on whole price including postage so whether you charge £5 and £3 postage or £8 with free postage the fees are the same
some categories have slightly different fees jewellery is more books are less. provided you give a tracking number which you upload on day of posting you are protected from non arrival claims ( for small parcels tracked 48 bought online is cheaper than second class signed for)

Declaring a pile of long socks that I sort of needed (could do tights, but it is summer so...) and a skirt and hoodie that I didn't

I bought a pair of Havaianas at the airport when I realised I'd left mine home. Not a huge issue though, my old flip flops were years old and starting to crack so this was likely their last summer anyway. I also got a new eye brow pencil at the duty free, even though the old one isn't quite done yet. But I'm totally addicted to the Benefit eyebrow pencils

I'm on a low buy but have decided, having bought quite a few things last year, I have enough for this summer. I was tempted with a new dress but still have a summer dress that I haven't worn yet, one I've worn twice and one about three times. So hardly getting my wear out of them. I hate to see my wardrobe space crammed up with too many items. Been there and determined to keep it nice and spacious. Will see how long I last.

Wanted new bedding. Ended up with two skirts and tops and a pair of tights. Put back the shoes, the jumper and the other pair of tights. So half a win 😁