Reflections After No-Spend January
At the start of 2024, I opened up the Notes app in my phone and wrote out each of the 12 months. Instead of setting a resolution for the whole year, I decided to focus on a small, manageable goal each month and make it a theme. Admittedly, after a crazy December of gift shopping and perhaps a reckless amount of buying for myself, I decided that January needed a hard reset. It was deemed “No Spend January.” The rules? No new clothes, no new accessories. No jewelry. No shoes. No spending on anything that I could wear out the door. I know that I have plenty of clothes, and the objective for this month was the wear what I already had and see what I could style with it.
This turned into so much more than an exercise in budgetary discipline. It was a little psychological experiment, a creative outlet, and believe it or not, an audit of my entire wardrobe. As you can imagine, I have several takeaways.
Here’s What My Closet Taught Me
I am a person who relies on neutrals and updated classic silhouettes to get me by. I try to diversify the types of clothes I have, but I am not one to buy the same thing in a million colors or have 50 different versions of the same pants. I counted out my most-used winter “capsule” and arrived at the number: 43. That’s how many total shoes, pants, dresses, tops, sweaters, and accessories I keep in my most reached-for rotation. Did I wear all 43 pieces? NOT EVEN CLOSE.
I have colorways that I stick to religiously.
Camel and black, ivory and grey, black and white, and lots of beige. I am definitely a neutral girlie, and I could probably afford to branch out into more colors (if they are muted, they’ll go with everything). I feel most confident in an all-black outfit, and I’m pretty sure nothing would ever change that!
Gaps in my wardrobe would be bridged by more/better accessories.
I realized that I would probably be able to take outfits further with better accessories. I am thinking that my next chapter in my capsule adventure will be to invest in some accessories, especially bags, jewelry, scarves, and possibly some shoes. At one point I became fixated on the fact that I had no good wintertime sunglasses to wear! So, there are a few additions I need to make. I am a little more trend-aware and likely to indulge in a “trendier” piece if it is an accessory. I’ll pick something colorful, I will select a trendier look, and I’ll likely cycle it in and out of rotation if it is a shoe/bag/accessory. I don’t spend big money on accessories and don’t invest in designer often for this reason.
My shopping instinct kicks in during a sale/discount.
So, basically, I am a sucker for marketing. I am very intrigued in the psychology behind this. I was very seriously considering breaking my No Spend January for a few pieces at Abercrombie because they were on sale for a good price. I looked into some coats, snow boots (it snowed), and accessories (explained in the point above). I started to become cognizant that I was browsing/casually “looking” at clothes online around Day 19. I think that I started to note what I needed to buy vs. wanted to buy, as well. I know that I certainly got bored of outfit repeating…but…
Getting dressed in the morning was noticeably easier.
Less clothes in my rotation = less decision fatigue. Yes, I probably wore the same cashmere sweater 5 times within the month, but you know what? It’s a GOOD sweater and I felt great in it. It is made well, fits nicely and goes with everything in my capsule. I don’t know if I have mastered the perfect “base layer” but I definitely have gotten closer. A seamless black tee, black cashmere crewneck, beige cashmere crewneck, black jeans, white jeans and black skinny pants were my workhorses that I frequently wore.
I can probably afford to donate/discard many pieces in my closet.
At the beginning of my challenge, I counted up 43 pieces that I thought I’d wear. And like I said, I ended up wearing so many fewer pieces. Like, dramatically fewer. I didn’t fastidiously count everything, but I am certain that I didn’t wear a 2 out of 3 dresses. I didn’t wear a few blouses. There are certain things that I am probably holding on to for sentimental reasons, wishful thinking (“I hope I’ll fit into that someday”) or maybe because it was a costly piece that I feel guilty discarding. I definitely need to purge my closet and I think I am going to start with the 1 Year rule. If I haven’t worn it in the last year, it’s going to go.
Did I Break The No-Spend Rule? Yes.
Full disclosure. I broke the spending rule by $14. I found a pair of really fluid, soft work pants at Costco. And I have no regrets. I was going grocery shopping with my mom and it’s her fault - she dragged me in to the clothes section (😂). I knew immediately that they’d fit and they’d be perfect for all year round, and casual days too. I wore them 1 time in No Spend January and plan to wear them more.
I had a gift card to Amazon and stocked up on some of my skincare essentials that needed a refill. I also had secured an ambassadorship with a jewelry line which I am very excited for - I had a gift code to use and went over by $7.
So, my grand total spending for the month of January is $21. I’ll tell you what - I count this as a major victory. I know it’s obviously expected, but my credit card bill was SO low this month. It really was effective. I am considering taking the No Spend January into February, and maybe just extend it for the whole winter.
Conclusions & Favorite Looks
The following links are commissionable
Black Dress | Black Shell Tank | Seamless Black Long Sleeve Tee | White Jeans | Blue Straight Leg Denim | Cashmere Sweaters | Scarf | Striped Cardigan | White Tank
No Spend January wasn’t difficult - it was boring. If you can get past the repetitiveness, I highly recommend it as a challenge to help your style creativity and your bank account! I think that this is something that I will need to do at least once a season - for each “capsule” in my wardrobe. So much of what I wear stays in my closet year round, so this practice is a healthy elimination of what is superfluous — and even better, a reassurance that the classics and the high-quality are almost always worth it.
This experiment has left me with a renewed appreciation for timeless style and sustainability. If you take a step back (and stop scrolling) you’ll probably agree that we are all INUNDATED with pressures to buy, buy, buy. The truth is, you already have a good foundation. And if that isn’t true, you can build one with a very small but mighty arsenal of staples.
Follow along on Instagram for more style inspiration.
ciao, xo!