Days 1- 10 of 100 day No Buy Challenge

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Kristine Walker

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Happy New Year beauties!! Welcome to the first ten day installment of the 100 day no buy challenge. Share your tips, progress, achievements, breakthroughs on your journey. This is the place to ask for, and give encouragement.

  This is not about deprivation, this is about taking the time to truly enjoy and use all the pretty goodies you have.

 And away we go!

 
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I came home and realized the no-buy had started and internally flipped out a little, which I am ashamed to admit. I'm up later than usual my time and also am pretty sick so I'm feeling a little down right now, makes sense that the idea of not being able to shop freaked me out. I'm coming to realize that I use shopping like it's somehow a substitute for actually taking care of myself. 

My last purchase was a couple of days ago.  I've removed my makeup, had a snack, changed into pajamas, and am now going to go to bed like I should have in the first place instead of even realizing the no-buy had started. 

 
Happy New Year and Happy First Day of 100 Days of No-Buying!

My Mini-Goals for the first 10 days ARE:

Makeup:  Organize all makeup into "used" and "new".  Sort through all "new" makeup and decide what I want to keep/use, and what I want to set into a pile to give away.  Create a plan to add the new makeup I'm keeping into rotation.  I don't want to save any makeup for a "special occasion".  Every day that I wake up and am alive and healthy IS a special occasion!

Closet:  (I saw this on Pinterest, so not an original idea!) Take all of my hanging clothing, and re-hang it "backwards" (i.e. the hook facing out).  For the rest of the year, any time I pull something from the closet I will re-hang it the regular way.  At the end of the year, anything still hanging backwards (except formal gowns) will be donated.  This way, I will truly know what I wear from my closet, AND I'll make more of an effort to wear the things I like so I can keep them!

House:  Put away holiday decorations.  Put back all "regular" decor.  Pick one room (leaning towards dining room or office), and completely clean/organize.  Pick one project for the room (hang a new picture, add a centerpiece to the table, etc), and DO IT.

Job:  Pull out my resume and update it.  Ask a friend to look it over and critique it.  Research companies to apply to, and start working on cover letters for each company (actual applying will start in my second 10-day period).

I think that's good.  I may add/update depending on how much I get done!  I'm going to review these goals every day and break them down into tasks I can accomplish each day.  LET'S DO THIS.

 
I couldn't jump into the no buy pool, but good luck to all of you! I will be lurking in this thread for inspiration to keep the spending under control.

 
Love the idea to set some mini goals for this first set of 10 days! Here are mine:

  • Set up my monthly budget. I used to be really good about this, but I fell off the bandwagon during the holiday season, basically saying oh whatever we spend on gifts will work out. Well, lucky for us we have enough cushion that things were fine, but I certainly feel more secure having set limits! And since one of my goals for this whole thing is to start to reel back all of my spending, not just makeup, I think this will help.
  • Start tracking my spending again. Again, something I used to have a really good habit of doing, but definitely went by the wayside in the last 3 months of the year. 
  • Put the holiday decorations away. Admittedly this is more of a personal goal than anything related to makeup, but I think it will actually be helpful to get out of the holiday mindset and into the fresh "new year" mindset!
  • Do an at-home "spa" night. I'm going to actually slate it on my calendar for Sunday! Nails, bath, and face mask!
  • And of course, don't buy any makeup! I guess this one could probably go unsaid. :) /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />
And my reward for getting through the first 10 days will be getting one month of Hulu plus. I know that is spending money ($8), but I don't mind it so much since it is a "consumable" and not more STUFF that accumulates in my house. I have a few shows that I want to catch up on (and that my primetime on demand no longer has) that I can catch up on with one month of Hulu Plus (and then cancel!). 

 
I'm here for this! Not gonna lie, this past month has been an absolute blur for me - it was ridiculously busy and I honestly don't remember much that happened, but a plus side to all of the craziness was that I didn't buy one single beauty-related thing during December, which is awesome!

Okay, but here are the goals I have for these first 10 days:

  • Make any last purchases I was planning on making - there are a few items I've been eyeing over the past few months and they're all special items out for the holidays, but I'm not going to get them all. I'm giving myself a price limit on what I can spend and I think $50 is reasonable. I'm giving myself these 10 days to decide what I want and get them, after that, they're off limits for the other 90 days.
  • Decide what kinds of mini project pan challenges I want to do during this time and pick out items for them. 
 
Happy 2015!! Made my last purchase yesterday. I kinda felt panicky...been trying to send a lot of sales emails to the junk folder. So far, looked at a website but put the phone down and walked away....

I'm going to add to my rules: I can get something new if somebody buys it for me...my husband occasionally buys me a new lipstick, and we don't have shared finances yet, so I'm not buying it...I know, a work around.

I'm going to try to rediscover what I have. I'm also going to keep all my empties for the month...

Take it day by day ladies. It's an addiction...

 
Happy New Year!

My first goal for the first 10 days are to organize/inventory my makeup so I know what I have and so I can track what I use up over the 100 days. My other goal is to go through my clothing and get rid of everything that doesn't fit/is worn out. I'm working on Project 333, so I need to pick my new 33 items for the next 3 months anyway, so it's the perfect time to do this!

I'm so inspired by all the great ideas I've seen on this board! That's what prompted me to join you all!

 
 So here it is, Day 1. My goals for the first ten days:

1. Wear a full face of makeup every single day, even if I'm just staying in the house all day.

2. Focus as I apply each product! Do I love this? Not like, not OK, not meh....do I love it?

3. Sanitize each thing I try but find I do not love. After sanitizing place in my CS stash.

4. If I love something, try to discover why. Is it just the color? Texture? Both?

5. Do my loved products actually flatter me? This can get hard, sometimes I love a color that actually does me no favors. If it doesn't flatter me and suit my coloring, it needs to go. I can indulge a color love in a way that isn't on my face.

6. Spend time each day searching for dupes within my collection. If I have a cheaper dupe, there is no need for me to repurchase the high end product.

********

After applying these products today, I sanitized them and placed into CS stash : NYX Stay Matte but Not Flat Powder Foundation, a Pixi Lip Balm in Coral, and sample tube of UDPP Anti-Aging.

 
My goals for the first 10 days are:

1. To finally do a makeup inventory. I am terrified, but hopefully seeing the numbers will help me not buy anything else! The lip products and eyeshadow numbers might give me a heart attack. Those are my weaknesses.

2. Finish up a lip gloss. I have one that only has a few more uses in it. I want to focus on it and get it out of my collection!

3. Wear makeup on at least 5 days. I know it doesn't sound like many days, but for me it is. I usually only wear it when I go somewhere, but if I'm not going somewhere then I will just try out new products/new looks at home. This will let me see how they wear for the day and see if I like them. Since I'm trying to pan one of my palettes, this will be a good way to try out new looks using my palette, too.

 
here we go.  I am ashamed to admit it  I have so much the thought of creating an inventory is just too overwhelming.  My goal for the next 10 days is to really focus on using stuff up and obviously don't buy any beauty related products or clothes. 

My second goal is to start to really track my spending to create a true budget esp for food and other misc items.   

I can really relate to all of you when you said you bought stuff to fill a void I am  also going to use this time  to reflect and get to the bottom of the WHY I do this... 

I am hoping by the 100 days I will be able to continue and get to a place that I buy things when I really NEED them..

 
My goals for these 10 days are pretty much the same as everyone else's:

1) Go through my makeup/skincare and find out what I actually have and sort and separate used and unused items.  I know I have lots of things in my stash that I haven't used or thought of in forever.

2) Wear full makeup at least 5 days. (I usually only wear mascara and touch up my eyebrows or something along those lines)

3) Sort through my clothing. I just finished going through my summer clothes and cleaning out my room at home and I have three bags full of things to donate.  Hopefully, my dorm clean out will be as successful.

4) Don't buy anything!  I just bought my last two textbooks, so (other than groceries) there shouldn't be anything I need to purchase in these ten days.

Edited: Sorry I'm the worst at run-ons. I corrected three and I'm sure there are more.

 
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I got my "hanging things backwards in the closet" done today.  While doing so, I realized that the floor of my 1/2 of the closet was covered in bags, boxes of stuff, scarves, stray earrings, etc.  So I cleaned it up.  I think all I have to do to get through the next 99 days is to recall my sense of shame when I found:

- My Sept 2014 Birchbox, entirely packed.  When I first recieved it, I opened it, looked at the contents, and popped the lid back on to "deal with later", and NEVER DID.  It had amazing stuff, like a Liz Earle kit, a Pixi Balm in the EXACT shade I "wanted to try for MONTHS" (Honey Nectar), and more shampoo/conditioner (I have literally been working through my s/c sample stash for SIX MONTHS NOW).  All completely untouched.  If that doesn't let me know I have too much stuff, I don't know what will.

-Incoco Nail strips.  I ordered several on clearance, and I love them!  They actually stay on my nails for about a week, and they have such cute patterns.  In fact, I ordered a pattern particularly to wear over Christmas - but couldn't find them because I had so much stuff scattered about.  I had another set (tiger stripes) to wear to watch one of the Bengals games (hubby is a huge fan), but couldn't find those either!  So finally, AFTER Christmas, and AFTER football season (I think they made it into the playoffs though, so I might still have a chance on those!) I finally find them.... yep, on my closet floor.  Yikes.

- So I did a trade awhile back.  I wanted the Ipsy October 2012 bag (just the bag!) SO BAD.  For YEARS.  And I apparently traded for it over the summer... and then promptly put the package (including the Ipsy bag) in my closet and FORGOT ALL ABOUT IT.  To the point where I saw that bag in a photo recently and was like "aw, I wish I had that."  I did have it.  On my dang closet floor!  Along with some amazing other stuff like a Butter London polish and a Mally eyeliner.  That I had absolutely no clue were in my possession.

This is totally reinforcing my no-buy.  I have NO excuse to buy stuff if I can't even keep track of what I currently have.  So I need to just slow my roll, keep my money in my wallet, and use all the pretties that I already have.  And if this story helps anyone else resist temptation, then sharing this totally embarrassing moment has been worth it.  Heed my cautionary tale!

(Also, I can see the carpet on my closet floor now! BONUS!)

 
@ Oh I can relate! I was gobsmacked to find a couple of full sub boxes as well, and a bag from Walgreen's in my bathroom closet with the makeup still in it.

   I have also bought items I already own because 1. I forgot I had it, or 2 Knew I had it but couldn't find it.

 
Well I can't exactly say my final moments of 2014 were so noble. I got the urge on the 30th and the 31st do some makeup shopping--any kind of makeup shopping--because I knew that today it would be over and that filled me with dread. You know the feeling...it's the way you want to savor a few pieces of chocolate cake the day before your diet begins because it's your last hurrah. I decided I was going to pick up a lipstick that I previously owned and purged because I hated the formula. Yes that's right, I was about to go repurchase a product I didn't like just because I wanted to buy something to make me feel better. The sickness runs deep, I swear to you folks.

Well, apparently the deities, or luck, or whatever was on my side because it ended up being sold out at one store and the other store I tried was overwhelmed with NYE makeovers so I left after a couple of minutes waiting for assistance. I could not be happier to be blocked from buying something.  I have more than enough crap I actually like to keep me going. I don't need something I hate taking up room.

For these first 10 days I only have a simple goal: Get my sleep schedule in order. This in turn will help me...

  1. curb my addictive shopping tendencies. I notice my addictive shopping nature comes on when I'm feeling miserable about the day, life, etc and I most often feel miserable because I haven't slept well the night before. I'm a night owl by nature with a boyfriend in a different time zone so my sleep schedule has gotten destroyed in the last several weeks. It's affecting every aspect of my functioning and most often drives me to want to go buy something at Sephora as a pick me up, the same way people drive to Starbucks for a cup of coffee. If I could just get to sleeping a decent amount of hours per day, I am confident my desire to buy, buy, buy would be decreased tremendously.
  2. actually use the products I have. I haven't been wearing makeup to work lately because I'm so doggone tired in the mornings that I'd rather sleep in. If I could feel rested enough in the mornings that getting up a half hour early to slap some makeup on my face wasn't such a chore, I would actually start getting good use out of these products. 
Good luck to everyone and stay strong! 99 more days to go and we can *totally* do this!

 
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Well I can't exactly say my final moments of 2014 were so noble. I got the urge on the 30th and the 31st do some makeup shopping--any kind of makeup shopping--because I knew that today it would be over and that filled me with dread. You know the feeling...it's the way you want to savor a few pieces of chocolate cake the day before your diet begins because it's your last hurrah. I decided I was going to pick up a lipstick that I previously owned and purged because I hated the formula. Yes that's right, I was about to go repurchase a product I didn't like just because I wanted to buy something to make me feel better. The sickness runs deep, I swear to you folks.

Well, apparently the deities, or luck, or whatever was on my side because it ended up being sold out at one store and the other store I tried was overwhelmed with NYE makeovers so I left after a couple of minutes waiting for assistance. I could not be happier to be blocked from buying something.  I have more than enough crap I actually like to keep me going. I don't need something I hate taking up room.

For these first 10 days I only have a simple goal: Get my sleep schedule in order. This in turn will help me...

  1. curb my addictive shopping tendencies. I notice my addictive shopping nature comes on when I'm feeling miserable about the day, life, etc and I most often feel miserable because I haven't slept well the night before. I'm a night owl by nature with a boyfriend in a different time zone so my sleep schedule has gotten destroyed in the last several weeks. It's affecting every aspect of my functioning and most often drives me to want to go buy something at Sephora as a pick me up, the same way people drive to Starbucks for a cup of coffee. If I could just get to sleeping a decent amount of hours per day, I am confident my desire to buy, buy, buy would be decreased tremendously.
  2. actually use the products I have. I haven't been wearing makeup to work lately because I'm so doggone tired in the mornings that I'd rather sleep in. If I could feel rested enough in the mornings that getting up a half hour early to slap some makeup on my face wasn't such a chore, I would actually start getting good use out of these products. 
Good luck to everyone and stay strong! 99 more days to go and we can *totally* do this!

You remind me a lot of myself.  I have had major issues with sleep deprivation, buying too much stuff, and using too little of the products I buy.  PM me if you wish.  

 

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