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?

Joining. 2025 was better than 2024 but still bought way more than I need or even want. Total no buy for clothes/shoes/bags for me in 2026.

I'm in. I want a no-buy really but I already know I'll fail so I'm setting a limit of one shop. It's a small one so not a never ending flow of new things each week and it's expensive which will automatically limit me. I don't need anything so I'm contented from that perspective. With my rule it feels like curiosity to see what I'll have bought by the end of the year, if anything. If I said strict no-buy it would feel like denial and I'd instantly have the urge to panic-buy everything.

I followed last year's thread, and definitely stuck to my low buy target and I plan to do the same this year. I'm making mindful purchases, quality over quantity, and that's what I will continue to do. Following this thread is great motivation for me. Stay strong, ladies! 👊

I’m also starting in January and, if it isn’t too tedious for everyone, keeping myself honest by posting my S&B spending on this thread on a regular basis. Otherwise, I will drift back to scrolling and buying stuff I don’t need!

I browsed sales on COS and rapanui this morning but then thought about this thread - no purchases!

I was going to start in January but I’m doing really well already so I’ve started early! I’m sure this thread will help.
As a family we are also going to do a ‘no Amazon January!’ I’ve no idea how that will go (they all roll their eyes when I mention it!) but we’ve got to do something because this year we spent over £3k on Amazon which is utterly ridiculous.

I would like to be able to get through the year without buying new clothes, in an ideal world I will loose another 5kg and fit back into a lot of lovely things that are currently too small.

I started writing a sort of Project 333 list but I just have way too much stuff so will need a different strategy. Might try wearing something different every day and figuring out why I don't wear that particular item at all. TBH I think a lot of the reasons will be I have too much stuff and it gets buried.

I managed til mid May in 2024. Will try again in 2026 but I am on a mission to lose another 1.5 stone so will hopefully need to buy smaller things. We are away in April but hoping my old holiday clothes will fit. May treat myself to 2 new things for that though.

I'm in for this year.

A lot of last year's self imposed low buy was because I was spending £££ on driving lessons and frankly couldn't afford it. I've passed my test now (yay!) so that brake is gone.

However I think like a muscle that gets exercised, saying no to buying things you don't really need gets easier the more you do it. I certainly found it less taxing just to not fill up that basket, delete that discount email, unfollow that account towards the end of the year.

Welcome @Netcam, @IndianSummer78, @outofideas2, @LivingDeadGirlUK, @ErmThisOneand @NutButterOnToast. Brilliant to have you here and looking forward to sharing the highs, lows, hints and tips which will keep us motivated towards whichever type of style and beauty consumption break we have each decided on.

I think in general I'm a lot happier with my winter wardrobe which is why things fell apart much more at the end of summer last year.

I will be joining you all. I will probably need a new rain jacket in the summer of 2026. I have a few stone more to lose and plan on buying a decent one that will last for a long time. Shoes I am OK for. Undies, I have Snag knickers and have 3 pairs in the next size down. I should manage a few months before I need a new size bra. I sew and knit so that us helpful as I have fabric to make garments.

I’m planning a version of this.

I have £75 a month that I can spend on whatever I want - skincare, clothes, makeup. If I want anything more I must top up my budget by earning money. Whether that be overtime, Vinted or paid surveys.

Thanks for the welcome @EatingmusselsfromashellI am committed to 100% no buy of clothes, shoes, bags as I just have so much of everything that I have built up over the years. It's all good quality stuff that I like and any additional purchase would only be some kind of impulse buy that is totally unnecessary.

I never find I have nothing to wear, it's more of too much choice of what to wear. I have been terrible with sales over the years and couldn't resist decent quality clothing on good offers. Now I just have too much of it all.

I like wearing my clothes, they are mostly basic items rather than fancy stuff, although I have things to wear if I need to dress up occasionally. And I have plenty of choice of outfits for the days I go to the office or go out with friends.

But I also have a lot of wool, which doesn't need that much washing and I WFH mainly so am quite happy to wear the same wool jumper for a couple of weeks. So even wearing each wool jumper for one two week period in a season is a challenge and they are all lovely so I don't want to get rid of any of them. Hopefully they will last a long time, particularly as I hand wash many of them.

We are also in the process of renovating our kitchen. Although we are doing it ourselves, it has still been expensive and so I want to save money elsewhere. Apart from the final things for the kitchen such as worktops, sink, taps etc. that we still need to order when we're ready, I want to have a break from spending money on the house too. It was an expensive year for the house as we had a heat pump fitted too.

DH and I are both getting a new phone for Christmas as ours are both quite old and need upgrading, so that shouldn't need replacing for a long time. So we are hoping in 2026 we can save a decent amount without any more large purchases.

So for me, 2026 is a strict no buy. And this year I am not going to be looking in the sales in the final days of 2025 for any bargain clothes before my ban starts, as I have done in the past! To be honest I'm not that interested in clothes at the moment since the kitchen renovation has been such a focus and I have spent most weekends over the past few months in my ancient DIY clothes covered in dust and paint.

So it's lovely to have a break over Christmas and I'm going to shop my wardrobe today for a nice wool dress to wear today when I get out of my PJs.

Oooh I’m in! Like others have mentioned upthread I really have had enough of constantly wanting something new, then the scrolling online to find it. Half the time I don’t end up wearing said new item anyway.

I’m planning on shopping my wardrobe for the year, and gradually putting things on Vinted that I don’t wear over the course of the year.

I've been talking to ChatGPT a lot about my situation and it's not recommending a no buy for me. I think this is because I enjoy shopping, do not make mindless purchases and wear what I buy (after a LOT of work on understanding what works and what I'll actually wear). I very much spend within my means too. In fact ChatGPT thinks I could live a little. I've tried no buys for the previous three years with varying levels of success and am keen to try a new approach but I think it's still low buy adjacent so I'll stick around.

My issue is more mindless online scrolling of an evening so I'll be trying out two strategies, one has already been mentioned up thread.

1. If I think of something I think I need I add it to a holding list and revisit once a month to assess whether I still think I need it
2. When looking online, once a month, I will have a list of eight retailers I can search for the item and if they don't have something suitable, I leave it there, I do not keep searching endless websites

Shopping IRL is permitted (as it's finite in a way online is not).

Alongside this I am more and more interested in buying quality, which is not easy to find on the high street but the allure of New Look and H&M is really waning. Following this logic I expect to buy less.

I will join but not a 100% No Buy . I have some ideas , some I already do :

I look in M&S and see something and usually go off and buy it online to give myself thinking time ,
Never buy online with the "it's all going back" mentality .
I do very few returns

Never buy clothes if I'm depressed or angry as that item will remind me every time I wear it

I tried a Rituals Advent Calendar this year to try new scents , but really prefer the Sakura . I'll use the others but won't re-buy them

I buy evening wear on eBay ( usually Monsoon or Phase Eight ) unless it's a real bargain. DH and I go on cruise holidays and I like the evening dress up .

My hair and skin care - I know what works for me so not going off piste .

I wear a uniform at work so don't need office clothes , just travel to/from.

I do need to do a cull ( there's a pair of jeggings that I need to get rid of , they slip down and give me a Builders Arse )

I love jumpers but I don't wear wool so don't see many that I want .

Same here!!

Im definitely addicted. I just popped on Vinted, spent £30 and I can’t remember what it was 😳

I would like to join. I have bought so many clothes in 2025 it really got out of hand. I have enough clothes to last me for years. I really think I am addicted to getting parcels (I buy online mostly). Good luck to us all!

I'm doing a low buy year (1 item per month) unless desperately needed. I'm following minimalist blogs. I have no marketing emails, they are unsubscribed straight away.

I've had to buy a lot of clothes this year following a big weight loss, I'm almost at goal and planning a big shopping trip of quality items once I get there but the clothes I have for now are fine, I have enough make up and toiletries to last the year.

Im in! I have done okay this year, but have sorted through all of my clothes and beauty products and sold/donated what i wont use, and have more than enough to last me!

@TheOGCCL I'm more like you, slimmed down rather than no buy.

I think I've plugged most of my gaps (though a pair of taupe trousers has been sitting on the list for 2 winters) and I've started rereading The Curated Closet. I feel a new mood board is needed.

Transitional footwear was a problem and that's now solved.

I’m aiming to not buy anything new in 2026.
extending beyond clothing to everything non consumable.

I can buy 2nd hand, or make clothing from my stash.

exceptions will be teens birthdays & they have a clothing budget they can spend however.