2026 No Buy

[Eatingmusselsfromashell]

I am planning a strict 2026 clothes no buy. I’ve tried in the past but the maximum I achieved was 3 months or so.
I’m sick of the cycle of seeing/ wanting / buying. I want to couple my No Buy with some other habit changes. I would like to limit screen time to one hour a day (except when listening to podcasts/ books and language learning). This is the year to brush up my Spanish and German for trips later in the year. I am annoyed at the hours of life I have wasted scrolling online sites.
I’ve tidied wardrobe in preparation and am ebaying / charity shopping anything which isn’t currently working for me.
Anyone else want to join me for moral support?

I use Indyx which is similar I believe. Shows me just how many clothes I already own. I can plan my outfits for a week or so and then assign them to a date in a calendar. I’m finding it very useful. It does take time to upload all the photos though.

I got this book today, thanks for the suggestion @TheOGCCL - it’s v insightful (so far - I’m only a third into it), one of the few books that actually discusses the psychology behind excessive clothing purchases.

I’m going for a low buy in 2026, so will lurk/occasionally post. My weaknesses are matte red lipstick (I hardly wear makeup) & accessories. I have a polished version of myself in my head, and it’s easier to buy something than lose weight for example. Yet it doesn’t matter how many lipsticks/accessories I buy, I’m still not happy with my appearance.

I’m in. My clothes buying has become excessive. What used to be expensive and a major treat has become normalised - now I’ll spend more on beautiful things, but also Vinted bargains. My wardrobe is groaning at the hinges and I have began to keep things under my bed in a box, which feels significant. I also have a small cupboard with shelves where I keep blazers and jackets. It’s just too much!

I’ve got so many beautiful things but I usually can’t find the thing I want to wear, and so often I repeat the same handful of clothes.

I did make an effort to wear a lot of my nicest clothes and not save them for best, once I stopped breastfeeding and my clothing choices were opened up again. I took photos of them and feel happy that I was getting a lot out of my clothes. I want to carry on with this as there are endless combinations I haven’t tried yet.

However I don’t think a no-buy will work for me. I’ve tried in the past and it was too radical.

So my pledge for 2026 is to buy one item each season, spring, summer, autumn and winter. Each new (to me) item has to be carefully chosen, definitely something I’ll wear a lot and treasure, and something I wait at least 3 weeks before buying.

If it helps you at all buying
nothing is quite the task and as you can see from other posters, one slip up and it’s game all over. I decided on a different approach for last year and it was I could only buy items when I had sold the required amount on vinted. This ensured I was being intentional and thoughtful about my purchases and not acting on impulse. When I considered the effort it took up be organised enough to upload the items, research and price them realistically and then package and head to the post office for a few quod. It really made me do a double take before pressing the “buy” button because I could equate the purchase with how much time and planning it took to save up my balance enough to buy it. Just a thought that may be helpful. All the best it sounds like you are a women on a mission-and we ain’t to be trifled with :)

Hi to everyone on the thread so far ☺️. I took delivery of (hopefully) my last thing for the last 12 months - a top from H&M I want to wear at Christmas. Other than that, I really don’t need anything else. Maybe new underwear next year, as I replace rather than just add to.
I have a lot of stuff I want to get done in our house, including new flooring which is becoming a money pit, so need to conserve money!

Christmas shopping finished and last Vinted purchase on its way so no more ‘stuff’ for at least the next 6 months. Realistically, I will have to buy Spring/ Summer clothes because I recently lost wait but plan to adopt @Thunderpants88 excellent strategy of only spending what I earn on Vinted.

Good luck everyone!!

Weight NOT wait!!!

I've downloaded Indyx and I'm finding it easier to get on with than Whering - thanks for that @narniabusiness . I hauled a pile of jumpers out to photograph and I've already found two that I'd forgotten I had and want to wear

I've never got on with Vinted which has probably saved me a fortune; I've bought a couple of things but they were both grubby and smelled stale when they arrived which put me off.

I'm going to aim for six months and then extend to a year, with the exception of the usual underwear and so on. Another thing I plan to do over the next few days is gradually unsubscribe from all the marketing emails I signed up for to get 10% off (and now wind up looking at when they send the sale ones).

Welcome to @Gymbunny2025, @Cantonet, @Ragamuffin8@circlesquarestar@Thunderpants88Thank you all for being here!

@Thunderpants88I do think it will be quite the task. I am going to try and avoid all or nothing thinking and if I do slip up (will genuinely try not to) I’ll try to get back on the (clothes?)horse immediately! Agree with @LadyClumberthat your Vinted strategy is great. I currently have nothing left to sell as have done a big clearout and am only left with stuff I really like. Thanks for your good wishes. I do feel that I am on a mission!
@circlesquarestaryour one item a season is an interesting strategy and one I might try out after initial no buy. Looking forward to hearing how you get on with it.
@TheOGCCLI’d also like to thank you for the Emma Edward’s book recommendation. I’ve been listening on Audible during my commute. She has some sensible strategies.

May I join too?
My aims:
Fewer clothes purchases (I love them though!)
Fewer Vinted purchases
Less scrolling
More reading

Ofc @Willowskyblue. Great to have you here!

You sound EXACTLY like me! But I don't think I could commit to nothing new. I admire those who can.
Bizarrely the book thing is easier when the weather is better, I found last year. Phones aren't easy to use in bright sunlight, while books are!

I'm keen to this. I've tried before but have failed so I might need to do it with a small caveat - a very small allowable budget or only second hand. The constant looking and the time wasted buying and returning etc.
I've already taken up some crafts which take all my attention and reduce phone scrolling.

Snap earlier this year! I've managed to reduce this right down but it's so addictive. I mainly sell now and withdraw my balance very quickly

I have a few items left to purchase to complete the capsule wardrobe I'm building but aside from that, I'm definitely signing up for the No Buy 2026 for all other clothes, footwear, bags, accessories etc... Underwear and hosiery will be replaced on an as needed basis of course. I've already managed to wean myself off my make-up addiction, I only really replace trusted favourites now, as have not only pared down my make up routine but also I now know what suits/ works as well as what I like and prefer using. Skincare is a bit of a weakness but I have calmed down a bit and now am more strategic with my purchases, in this area at least, I do generally tend to use up what I buy eventually, even if I have to force myself to do it. I'm good with perfumes as I only have a few I really like, so I stick to one or maybe two signature scents at a time.

I also plan to achieve make other goals/ resolutions for this coming New Year and like you, definitely want to reduce my screen time. The amount of time I spend scrolling places like Reddit , X, Facebook or even here is shocking, not to mention Amazon, Ebay etc... I did start to read books again this year, though only a couple, not anywhere near as many as I wanted to. What helped me was buying paperback books and I plan to read much more this year and so will continue to by more paperbacks. Again, this also helps cut down on blue light and screen time.

The other big ones for me are number one, exercising, the only exercise I do currently are chores and walking. I do plan on joining a gym at some point when I have some more free cash but it won't be January that I will be able to manage to do this. However I will order some weights and some other cheap(ish) home gym bits for the New Year, I also have a workout DVD and then there is Youtube for work outs too. I am not the greatest walker without a purpose and must admit I find walking without needing to get anywhere a bit boring, especially if without company but will try to walk a bit more where I can instead of taking the bus. Also maybe go for a swim locally once a week, to vary things and I also plan on getting a bike at some point as I used to enjoy going for a cycle.

I also plan to refine my diet even further this New Year, as I did manage to create healthier eating habits in 2025. I cut out a lot of stuff that previously I used to consume, such as many processed foods and soda/ cola. And I want to actually stick to my maximum calorie plan daily, so I can maintain my optimum weight that I prefer to be at, luckily though I put some on earlier this year, I've since lost it, even though I currently don't stick to my maximum allowance that I worked out for myself. But that's because on some "good" days I compensate for the bad over-indulgent days I guess.

Anyway, sorry for the long rambling waffle, good luck OP with everything and good luck to all reading this with any goals you set for 2026 whether No Buy or otherwise:)

I won't be joining in but, if you don't mind me intruding, I think the discussion about how time spent onscreen is squeezing out reading books is really interesting. I'm pretty sure it's affected my ability to concentrate on long pieces of text.

What I am considering is cutting out all Internet clothes shopping (apart from underwear and similar) in 2026. I'm reluctant to do it and may well decide against because the local high street is pretty poor. But it would mean that, if I wanted to shop, I'd have to leave the house, get some exercise, interact with real people and possibly make more trips to cities with better shopping.

I may compromise and restrict buying online to independent retailers.

Hi - I’m a longtime lurker on MN and signed up today just so I could join in/follow this thread. I would love to reduce about the amount of time/money/energy taken up by online clothes shopping (which is always pretty meaningless but somehow seems so important at the time) and also want to cut scrolling time and increase reading time. I used to read in every spare minute I had, and I find it very sad that the phone has somehow taken over.

I will join from January. I have managed to go a whole year without buying anything before. My only exception is for bras and socks.
I need to lose some weight and that will likely take me a whole year at my age, so I don't want to buy anything now anyway.

I'm ìn, although I did fail this year, clothing i find hard as I love clothes, going to not buy any cosmetics creams only replace when something is empty, try to buy less clothing and less black clothes.

To add, when on Instagram stop buying things bloggers recommend , that are rubbish.

@TuxedoCat99 I know what you mean about the energy it takes for online shopping! In theory it's such a easy thing to do and thankfully it is as my local high street is absolutely diabolical but the packaging, the returns the paying for returns the taking to various lockers/shops to send off is such a effort!

My targets

• make a genuine considered effort to shop from my wardrobe. I will only purchase when I genuinely have nothing that fits the job. I have lost a fair amount of weight this year so I am finding I struggle for occasions.
• considered purchasing. If I can spend £30 on something that will "do" I can spend £50 on something "perfect".
• work out a clothes storing system that's better than my current.
• my clothes budget gets put into a slush fund that's just mine. I am aiming to build it up rather than spend it.
• this might be altered between now and 1st January.

@ChipshopPickledEggI find clothes storage has a big impact on my consumption habits. I definitely buy less when my wardrobe is organised and I can see what I’ve got. I’ve ebayed 60 items this year, bought new hangers and at the moment it’s looking tidy and streamlined. I stress the ‘at the moment’ as I am naturally very untidy and have to fight myself all the time to maintain. I can cause such chaos within a very short timeframe. Hoping that the knowledge that those clothes are all I have to work with for the foreseeable will help me to keep it tidy.

@lindyloo57Hi. Thanks for joining . Instagram recommendations can be a trigger for me so I know I need to unfollow a lot of clothing accounts

@Holluschickiegreat to have you here. Would be good to hear insights from your former year of no buy.

@TuxedoCat99Hi and welcome! Our goals seem very similar. I’ve started a new book today as am on a long train journey. Enjoying feeling the paper, but as you can see I have picked up phone again. Back to book when I finish posting!

@FloismeThanks you for being here and contributing - not intruding at all. I definitely think concentration is like a muscle and that reading endless short form content does us no favours cognitively. Interested in hearing on how your potential online no buy or reduced buy goes.

@miniriotHi! Great to have you here. Like you I’m going to only replace trusted favourites in terms of makeup/ toiletries.
Seems like a lot of overlap in terms of our goals: less screen time/ more books and more exercise very important to me.

@coolcahunaHello and welcome. Caveats are no problem. Delighted to have people join me whatever the extent of their no buy.

So this week have had to squelch a tug to buy some jewellery that my reptile brain was trying to convince me would look brilliant with several tops I have. I’m heading away for the weekend to spend time in another city with a friend and have the tops in wheelie case but no jewellery which is a minor victory for self control. Instead I went through what I have and have picked up something else to take and kept reminding myself about this thread and a pledge I made to a good friend that I was on a strict year’s no buy. I suspect that there will be many such self-negotiations as I adjust to this new normal for the year. I am sure there will be a lot of people reading this who think ‘well of course it’s easy not to buy’ but I do feel that I get obsessed in a very unhealthy way with how clothes/ accessories etc can transform how I look / appear. I think it is fair to say that it is a case of battling addictive thinking. And I do also appreciate that there are moral issues with this overconsumption.

@Eatingmusselsfromashell well done on not buying the necklace. It's the kind of thing in a week, you won't want it. I send myself links all the time to stuff and forget them after. It's so hard. I've was tempted by an outfit in the sale..realised it doesn't suit me at all and not my colour.. what am I doing! Stepped away! The other thing I have done is started crafting again which keeps me off my phone.

I nearly brought my favourite perfume channel coco when boots had 30% off, it sat in my basket online for 3 days, then I thought about the expense and how I had 3 bottles of other perfumed to use up, one being channel No5 , so I didn't buy, I'm sure it will be on offer another time.