one in, one out: october 2014

for each clothing, shoe, and accessory purchase i make this year, i am donating/selling/recycling a comparable item in an effort to better manage my closet.  check out my "one in, one out" tag for more of these monthly posts!

last month i mentioned how i was going to go on a shopping freeze during the month of october, and i'm happy to report back today that i did not make any clothing, shoe, or accessory purchases!  like i mentioned in that post, not a month has gone by in the past 4 years in which i haven't bought something, so this is a huge accomplishment for me.  i feel really proud of myself for setting this goal and sticking to it--and it was a lot easier than i thought.  i had to just immediately delete all of the store emails i received without even opening them, and this worked just fine.  there was one day when i thought i would make a purchase at oldnavy.com because their jeans were on sale for a decent price and i had a gift card i would have been able to use, but i didn't want to find other items to add to my shopping bag just to reach the free shipping quota and end up spending money on items i didn't need (all i really needed was the jeans).  so, i let that one go since i know jeans go on sale pretty regularly at old navy.

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last month i spent $138.73 on a wintery patagonia jacket.  mid-month, i saw that the price dropped to $89.73 online.  i immediate re-bought it and returned the other one.  i am so glad i noticed this price change because $40 is a big savings!  i also added a skirt i purchased from anntaylor.com back in september for $17 to my spending spreadsheet.  it did not fit when it arrived and i thought i would be able to return it until i re-read my receipt and realized it was a finale sale/non-returnable item.  so, for now i'm hanging onto it.  finally, my sister bought me a pair of $1 halloween socks from that dollar spot area at target this month.  i included them in my spending tracking sheet that i keep for personal use because it is a new clothing item i brought into my closet this month (yes, i keep track of everything).  i tossed a pair of tights in return.

looking ahead:  i'm not sure if i want to challenge myself to anything the remainder of the year.  if anything, i'd like to be wiser about the purchases i make online...  and i think having this month off from online shopping will definitely help with that.  it is so easy to browse, fill your cart up, and justify something as being a good deal.  this is definitely a shift for me as i used to have this same mentality when i shopped at the goodwill.  i'd fill up a basket and justify the items within due to their cheap price tags.  neither methods of shopping are healthy.  even if it's taken me four years, i'm glad i've finally realized this realization!