Everything I didn't buy in January
A No-Buy Experiment
I am not a minimalist. My home decor style is “everything I like, everywhere you look.” I have next to no Object Permanence and when things are put away in their proper place, they cease to exist to me. Instead, I live my life in piles. There are piles of books. Piles of clothes. Piles of mail. Piles that mean nothing to anyone but me, and even then, they really only make sense to the version of me who created the pile in the first place, a version of me who forgot to leave instructions for future me, who periodically looks around her home and thinks, “I want to turn this entire place on it’s side and empty it like a dumpster.”
I like to think of myself as a fairly conscious consumer (and influencer), but don’t we all? I don’t have stacks of identical, unused items. I don’t have outrageous credit card debt. And I really only ever promote a short list of items that I’ve used and loved for a long time.
But still…there was just so much stuff around me, and no shortage of stuff that I wanted even if I didn’t want some of the stuff I already had.
I needed a reset.
So in January I embarked on a No Buy month; something I haven’t done in ages.
Instead of coming up with a list of hard rules for myself (and I do love hard rules!), I turned to one of my favorite tools: The Notes App.
For years I’ve used what I call The Want List to put some friction between myself and my spending: if something is over $100, I add it to The Want List, a note that has a three column-table: what I wanted, where it was, how much it costs.
If I still want the thing after a month, I go for it. And if I don’t, well, I get a dopamine hit from seeing the money I didn’t spend.
But for January 2025: the rule was that anything I wanted went on the list, no matter how cheap it was.
The Want List: January 2025
We’ll go through the list in order, and I’m including the prices as they were when I added them.
Katie Kime Holiday Jammies, $60 (I love her shirts and dresses!)
Studio Roof Paper Bird Kit, $55 (my friend’s daughter - a first grader - had this in her room. It looks beautiful and fun!)
Multi-necklace connector, $20 (so I can take my necklaces on and off without them tangling up).
A vintage printer’s cabinet, $650 at a local vintage store. I have been wanting one forever, and my friend Beth found it and texted it to me and I HAD TO PASS ON IT!
House of Intuition 2025 Candle, $26. I love their candles and I love being Lightly Woo, okay???
Chunks Hair Bow Pin, $17. This was great targeting, instagram. GREAT JOB!
Le Bonne Shoppe Railroad Stripe Pants, $125 at Local Nomad. Couldn’t I justify this by shopping small??? Nope!
Maybelline Teddy Lip, $10. A softer version of my favorite lipstick??? Do you know how hard this was to resist!!!
JoyLab Tennis Skort, $25. Do I play tennis? No. But only because I don’t have the skort! Which I could use for PICKLEBALL!!!
Nike Blazer Lows, $76. One of my favorite shoes. Come onnnn. But NO!
Gap Sweatsuit in Gray, $100. I have this in pink and in navy and I love it so much and regretted not getting it in gray. Too bad!
Barbour Cape, Tuckernuck, $390. I don’t think I would have ever actually bought this (it’s full price!) But I did click the ad, so I added it to the list because it did hit my Wanter.
Bread Dough Container, King Arthur Flour, $23. I’ve been baking (GF) bread, and my (chef) sister in law has this.
Red and White Checked Dress, Etsy, $39. This is a different print of my most-worn (and complimented) dress of 2024.
Wild Fable Swimsuit, $25. This color looks SO good on me, especially with a spray-tan.
Boss Dog Button-Up, $65. One of a kind!!!!! UGHHHH THIS ONE HURT!
Sorel Sandals, $48. 60% off!!! AND IN MY SIZE!
Darning Loom, $24. *Something* ate holes in all of my cashmere sweaters and I’m going to visibly mend them!
Men’s Oxford Button Down, $45. I look so good in men’s shirts! I was wandering the mall while my kids were locked in an escape room and also spotted…
Teddie Heart Sweater, $45. It’s cotton and so cute. Too bad so sad for me.
Le Creuset 4.5Q dutch oven, $390. Again, not something I was going to buy (I WILL find a better deal!) But I browsed because I guess my bread wasn’t turning out because my dutch oven is too big?
Commesi Pajama Pants, $195. I was served this ad in Mexico and thought, surely they’ll be cheaper in USD. NOPE! That’s the real price?!!!!
- had this on our trip to Mexico and I was coveting it.
So now what?
It’s February, the experiment is over! It pushed me to use my Libby app and read a lot of books. It pushed me to finish craft projects I’d meant to start ages ago. I went through my entire closet, culled things that don’t actually fit, and found things I had forgotten about. That’s basically like shopping!
It did help that I had my phone Bricked1 for much of the month. And the experiment meant that I didn’t spend OVER TWO THOUSAND DOLLARS.
I don’t think I would have actually bought all of these things, but I would have bought plenty of them without thinking twice.
And now that I look at the list…I don’t actually want most of those things.
I’m going to pull the trigger on the necklace connector (it’s only $16 now, and I’ll use it every day), and the sandals (because my size is rare and I know I’ll use them this summer). I went to Target ready to buy that Teddy lip only to find it sold out in every shade! But everything else? I can live without.
I’m not going to make any big declarations or any hard rules about the coming year, but I’ve started my February Want List, so I guess I’m going to keep it going another month.
xo,
Nora
PS - Annual Memberships are 25% off for the month of February. Transparently, we’ll only do one more membership sale this year (20% off in August) so this is the best deal you’re gonna get!
use code NORABRICK for 10% off!
I’m telling you, you DO need the teddy lip. It’s magical. Coquetteish is the shade I got and it’s so flattering and gorgeous.
A few years ago I made a similar New Year's resolution, but limited it to no new clothes/shoes for the year. I got the idea after reading a book called "7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess." That and I am very big on reducing waste and the fashion industry is certainly a component of that. I managed to go the whole year without buying any new clothes or shoes, with the exception of buying a pair of cycling shorts for a biking trip my husband and I were doing that summer. By the end of the year, all I really looked forward to was replacing a bra that I had been wearing where the wire was coming out and kept stabbing me in the chest. Since then, with the exception of purchasing a few new bras, a pair of wool clogs to replace mine where the wool was separating and letting snow/rain in, and a pair of flannel pajama pants this winter, I think that's all the clothes/shoes I've bought in 3 years. My hope is to mend and repair the clothes I already own, so, the loom thing was pretty interesting to see. I wish we had more mending classes locally.