how to shop.

My friends and I in Chicago were talking about shopping and how we shop. One of my friends broke up with shopping for a WHOLE YEAR ( I am seriously so impressed, she lived a few blocks from lots and lots of shopping). She had a few rules built in to help make this happen. She could use ebay and consignment, new pajamas and unmentionables (obviously),  and she could buy shoes. She just finished and her take aways were that she did miss buying certain things more than others (hello stripes!) and that she was wasting a lot of time filling online shopping carts. She also loves to travel and is currently in Paris so I am betting that money is being spent more wisely! I have 3 friends doing a three month shopping ban and so far one friend said that she misses shopping most on bad days because it was easy to buy stuff to make her feel better. I will let you know how it goes!

My other friend has a much more realistic plan. She keeps a list of items that she wants and items must be on her list for three months before she can buy it. It keeps her from wasting on impulse purchases and since she's a lawyer she doesn't need as many casual clothes.  What I  like about this is that you can tell that her purchases are thoughtful and her closet is very her.  I  love this simple plan so I cleaned out my closet last week and started my list.

Things I got rid of: Some really old cardigans and sweaters, tops that were too big/long but not worth altering, and pants that I never wear because of the fit. Almost all of the things I got rid of were impulse purchases!

Adding to my list: (some of which have been on for awhile so I will probably be making a j.crew order soon!). Fall Shorts, distressed demin, a cute pullover, a saint James shirt, a cotton lilly dress, comfy fall pajamas.

Do you have any ways to make sure you don't impluse shop?