@Valkirie I won't say I was successful fully, but what kept me trying was space - or rather, the lack of it.
Now I've cleared out I have some space again, but the point of clearing out was to have the space and obviously I'll lose it if I fill it up again with purchases. I've definitely cemented the habit of thinking where I'll put something before I purchase it and if there's nowhere suitable, I don't buy. This has made a huge huge difference to my spending habits.
Last year I vastly reduced my hauls, buying fewer things each time and less often, just through willpower and wanting to change my ways.
I made really good progress with using up toiletries, particularly. I wanted to keep them all in the bathroom with no overspill to storage elsewhere. I also wanted the bathroom to look picture perfect and not like the bargain section of a discount store on sale day. That part is still a work in progress.
So that was my main motivation, my home, getting it looking nice.
I've been reading about minimalism, slow living etc which is slowly reprogramming my brain over time, into a new way of thinking. I've been decluttering (my home was bordering on hoarder levels, now it just looks cluttered). So not just tackling shopping addiction in isolation. It's all interlinked and rather than trying directly to fight it, which hasn't been very successful in the past, I've cut myself a huge amount of slack on the shopping side and focusing on the underlying thought processes that underpin the desire to shop. Slowly but surely, it's working. I'm aiming eventually for a one-in-one-out situation with carefully considered purchases and no need for regular big declutters. It's going to take me a few more years to get there though.
@Darklane thanks for the cashmere tip.
@Thedarkside1985 I suggest trying low buy. That panicked feeling about not being able to buy anything going forward, which made you go and have one last blow out, is the reason I'm doing low buy. I just feel that no buy would be counterproductive for me and make matters worse.
@CortieTat I hate how plastic is in everything now, even flesh. I don't think it'll ever stop unless governments across the globe ban plastic to some extent. They even pride themselves on making clothes out of recycled plastic bottles etc. We need to return to making things from glass, wood and metal. And making clothes from natural fibres. Looking around my home, I think my yoga mat (which is a kind of thin cushioned foam) and my TV, microwave, and car interior (because of condensation) are the only things I can see that wouldn't be better if they were made from something else other than plastic. I believe we should only be using it where it's truly the best option and there's no realistic alternative.
It's a weird one for me today. I'm allowing myself a bit of a lapse. I have some items on a wishlist that have been there 6 months and I haven't had the money for because they're not necessary and it was needed for other things. Now I have the money so I'm buying them. Counting this as neutral because I've been waiting 6 months so not an impulse buy, feels like progress from how things used to be. I don't think I've ever waited this long for something before, I'd have found the money and gone without something else.
I also bought a needed clear lipgloss yesterday and I didn't buy anything else at the same time (like piles of makeup, I mean) so I'm giving myself a ⭐ for that. I don't think I managed that once last year, always came away with at least one additional product.
I wouldn't say that January is going very well for low buy, but I can definitely see a difference from previous years of hitting up the January sales in a big way. Attempting low buy last year has definitely reset my mind a little because I'm not even feeling deprived at not going mental in the sales, which is a first. That feels a little odd, actually, a noticeable sign that I'm changing. To anyone struggling I say stick with it, because even if it takes a few years you'll eventually start to see a difference, like I have.