Thrifty 2015

Could you go an entire year without buying any clothes from a 'regular' store?

I'm going to find out with my challenge,

So it occurred to me while I was pulling together piles of clothes to keep, and piles to donate, that I spent far too much money on clothing I rarely wore. I wanted to streamline the moving process and bring as little as possible with me. Now for anyone who knows me, I pretty much would split my spending evenly between Cotton On, Forever 21, and Blackmilk. The latter unfortunately rarely has sales. But it wasn't a shock to drop $50 on a couple pieces of 'disposable clothing' from Forever 21 (i.e. break/rip/shrink after a few wears) and not blink an eye. That's crazy! $50 is nearly a whole week of groceries for me alone, and I'm spending it on a tank top that has a stolen image of a cat printed on it? Ugh! What was I thinking.

I also began sewing more in 2014, and realized I have quite a passion for it. I originally started sewing so i could make myself some tops to go with my Blackmilk, but then I realized I could easily make my own leggings, dresses, skirts, etc- and not only get a sense of accomplishment from creating something, but also save a lot of cash in the process.

So then it donned on me. What if I broke the habit of impulse buying worthless clothing, and combined it with focusing more on creating my own clothing? Not only would I think a lot more about what I actually NEEDED, but I would be saving money, and widening my creative skills.

Here is the birth of 'Thrifty 2015", AKA a whole year I spend either buying my clothes at thrift stores, or if I want something really specific, I make it!

So for 2015 there is no more shopping at regular clothing stores. Thankfully Austin has some pretty fantastic thrift shops, and I've already been getting some great things! (I need to practice, ok?)

I'll be updating with my thrifty finds, outfits, creations, and whatever other knowledge I gain along the way.

Will it be tough? Yes. Will it be fun? Yes. Will it teach me a good lesson on consumerism in this country and teach me not to be a blind spending machine following along with every 'must-have' trend? Hopefully.

So wish me luck for 2015. I gotta stock up on some underwear before the year is over- because lets be real, that's one thing that you don't wanna buy secondhand.

Are you interested in joining thrifty 2015? Let me know! I'll be documenting on social media with #Thrifty2015, so if you'd like to join me in this challenge I'd love to see your thrifty finds!