Days 1- 10 of 100 day No Buy Challenge

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I have organized all my makeup and posted what I will be using in the Monday thread. Those items are easily accessible and ready to go. I am also wearing a full face of makeup today. This is something I would normally not do since it is icky out here and I am staying home all day. (I am still in my pjs though...)

I've also kept up with the fitness end of things and have worked out and drastically increased my water intake every day. I am feeling better already.

Christmas decorations are all put away. I spent a little extra time tidying things up in the basement. It looks much nicer.

Pantry and freezer have been inventoried and a meal plan has been made for the week. I will go shopping for the filler items tomorrow when the new sales ads come out. I've even got coupons to take. Yay!

 
Margiee said:
I vote that it is totally OK to have a seasonal wardrobe for make up.  I also have stuff that gets a lot more love during different times of the year and I think it's a combination of skintone and mood.  Living in the upper midwest means a huge fluctuation between seasons. I feel just generally silly trying to look bronzed in 10 below weather when I know I am outside the bare minimum.  I'm just fine with my makeup reflecting this philosophy because I don't think it would make me feel prettier or more comfortable to "wear" the wrong season on my face, which isn't really living in the moment and using what I love.  
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@@Margiee you are totally right. Makeup shouldn't feel like a chore and I should be more concerned as you say, with living in the moment and using what I love.

Good grief. Nothing makes the DON'T BUY A DAMN THING MORE bug hit you harder than when you inventory all your stuff. Was getting kind of anxious to purchase now after I realized we're only in day 3 of this challenge so I decided to organize part of my stash and pull out some products to use in the upcoming week. I'm now back to wanting nothing more to add to my collection and have newfound zeal to stick with this challenge. The cream products, in particular, frighten me because I have so many that aren't being used which means they're just sitting there, rotting. 

I've decided that I'm going to take pictures of my stash with my phone so that when I'm out and about and the mood to do a little shopping hits, I'll have a constant reminder that I don't need anything. 

My next mission is to get rid of my nice portion of my special event makeup. I've got far too many bold shades of makeup that aren't work friendly and certainly don't get used enough in my free time. There is no reason to have 30 red lipsticks when I wear it 2x a month max. 

 
Margiee said:
I vote that it is totally OK to have a seasonal wardrobe for make up.  I also have stuff that gets a lot more love during different times of the year and I think it's a combination of skintone and mood.  Living in the upper midwest means a huge fluctuation between seasons. I feel just generally silly trying to look bronzed in 10 below weather when I know I am outside the bare minimum.  I'm just fine with my makeup reflecting this philosophy because I don't think it would make me feel prettier or more comfortable to "wear" the wrong season on my face, which isn't really living in the moment and using what I love.  
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My skin is very different in the winter than it is in the summer.  For that reason I definitely need to wear different complexion products to match my lighter skin tone in the winter than I do when my skin is slightly darker in the summer months.  My skin is definitely dry in the winter and more combination/acne-prone in the summer so I end up with two wardrobes of skincare products.  I also agree certain looks are more seasonally appropriate than others so there is some colour variation for eye shadow, blush, et al.

 
Got more done today!  Gosh you guys, I've never felt more productive, even though I'm cleaning up very small sections of the house each day (as in, small sections of the master bedroom closet), being able to see my progress, as the mess goes to order that does NOT get immediately messed up again, it gives me the desire to get the rest of the house clean too.  I have two small boys that pull out toys/trash the living room SEVERAL times a day, and I've let it get to me.  So from now on my goal is to get THEM to put their toys away, with the goal that over time, they'll pull out less and less, and will learn to put it away automatically (I know, I know.  But I can dream).

Today, I:

1) Slept in.  For probably the last time in awhile, so I enjoyed it and didn't let myself feel guilty at all.

2) Went grocery shopping.  Stuck to the list I created for meal planning, didn't buy a bunch of junk.  Groceries were actually LESS than usual (I guess those Oreos add up!)

3) Organized my nail polish stash.  Added several bottles I've never worn to a giveaway pile (bought them because they were on MAJOR clearance at Sally Beauty! Not colors I'd ever use, so I feel good about giving them away.)

4) Organized a Sephora bag that has been my "catch-all" for new products for a few months.  Everything's sorted and put away now.

5) Cooked a meal from SkinnyTaste (I'm using that site for healthy cooking and Mel's Kitchen Cafe for splurge meals.  Both sites emphasize cooking with whole foods rather than canned stuff, but Mel's will occasionally use butter and cheese  :lol: ).  It's in the oven now.

Tonight I'm celebrating my progress by doing my nails from my nice, pretty, organized stash.  I'm so happy to read about our progress on here, and big hugs to anyone that's bought something!  It's OK, just hop right back on that wagon!  I've already been very tempted so far, and I may yet fail.  But the great thing is I know I can come in here and get some support to try again the next day.  

3 days down, y'all!

 
magicalmom said:
5) Cooked a meal from SkinnyTaste (I'm using that site for healthy cooking and Mel's Kitchen Cafe for splurge meals.  Both sites emphasize cooking with whole foods rather than canned stuff, but Mel's will occasionally use butter and cheese  :lol: ).  It's in the oven now.
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Checking these sites out...need some inspiration!

Today I intended to spend 45 minutes working on my bedroom since I hadn't spent my 15 minutes working on it on the 1st and 2nd. Well, I just couldn't stop and my entire bedroom is beautifully clean! I vacuumed, dusted, folded and put a way laundry and took everything out of my room that did not belong. I washed mirrors and windows (although I do have two more windows to do) and cleaned off my vanity and reorganized it. So excited! For the rest of the 10 days, I will focus on deep cleaning the shower that's in there and maintaining as well as getting all of the stuff put away that I drug out of my room, lol. I love how productive I was!

 
Hey Everyone!

The first three days have been ok. My hubby had previously planned a trip to Buffalo for a few days (I'm from Toronto) to do some shopping and celebrate my birthday (which is actually next week). For my birthday I set aside $100 to spend on anything I wanted so naturally I decided to go to Sephora. I bought 4 items for a total of $121.80. Sigh... $21.80 over budget.

I have a Sephora gift card I got for Christmas that I forgot to bring with me on our trip, so I think I might take a trip to Sephora sometime this week to pick up my Birthday gift that they didn't have at the store I went to yesterday. 

After Sephora's chic week in April (which I've saved $100 to spend at) I'm going to stick to the No Buy for the rest of April. I'm also going to keep track of ALL spending for 2015 in an Excel spreadsheet and I've decided to go on a Low Buy/No Buy every other month for the rest of the year starting May 1st. It will look like this...

May – Low Buy

June – No Buy

July – Low Buy

Aug – No Buy

Sept – Low Buy

Oct – No Buy

Nov – Low Buy

Dec – No Buy

Oh and tonight I'm going to do an updated make up inventory. I will post in the "Taking Inventory" thread once I'm done. Ok, I think that's all for now.  :) /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

 
Like a dummy I wandered into the enablers thread... And wound up making a purchase on the first. It was something I've wanted for a very long time, something I'll definitely use up, and I spent all of $5.11. However, I still feel some sort of penance is in order. Just not sure what it should be? Perhaps just extending my 100 days out by one since I didn't really start till the second?

 
Day 3: success! No cosmetics!

However, I did utilize my discount at my part time job and bought a nice pair of north face gloves. I misplaced mine in my move and it is supposed to be -20 here tonight, and -50 with the windchill. They were $23 after my 50% discount :) /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> I'm still counting today as a success as they are a much needed item-and they're black. No fun!

I've been tempted today but still going strong. I'm going to keep my empties for the month, and am going to keep trying to use at least one face mask a week.

I'm going to try to rediscover things...so far, I've been using my thebalm balm voyage palette, just simply out of laziness because it's in the bathroom. I do really like their shadows and did make a really pretty pink gold eye the other day :) /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

I did make rouge with sephora at the end of December....but when I looked at the "spend $1000 to maintain rouge" for 2016, it just made me sick. So much money I'd rather spend on a vacation and pay off bills!

 
Serious question:

Does an exchange count on the no buy if I have to order the replacement online?

I bought a dress before before Christmas and when I pulled it out to wear tomorrow, I found a big snag in it.  My local store does not have anymore in stock.

Their system would require I return the dress in store and rebuy it online.  I could go to another store but that would take 20-30 minutes each way.

Would that count as violating my no buy?

Edited to add: My no buy allows replacements if needed.

 
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Sticking to my no buy so far.  I have only bought food and gas.  

I did go through and gave all my brushes a deep soak and shampooing.  Normally I just spray the ones I used with cleaner every few days.  I tossed one that had really beat up bristles and repaired two brushes that I liked but had loose handles.

 
West Coast Beauty Addict said:
Serious question:

Does an exchange count on the no buy if I have to order the replacement online?

I bought a dress before before Christmas and when I pulled it out to wear tomorrow, I found a big snag in it.  My local store does not have anymore in stock.

Their system would require I return the dress in store and rebuy it online.  I could go to another store but that would take 20-30 minutes each way.

Would that count as violating my no buy?

Edited to add: My no buy allows replacements if needed.
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I'd go for it!  Unless you absolutely need that money for something else.

 
West Coast Beauty Addict said:


Serious question:



Does an exchange count on the no buy if I have to order the replacement online?



I bought a dress before before Christmas and when I pulled it out to wear tomorrow, I found a big snag in it. My local store does not have anymore in stock.



Their system would require I return the dress in store and rebuy it online. I could go to another store but that would take 20-30 minutes each way.



Would that count as violating my no buy?



Edited to add: My no buy allows replacements if needed.
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Things like this are where your personal feelings on no buy come in. Are you on a no buy to save money? No more money spent for an even exchange but you could get money back in your pocket if you don't need the dress. Are you on a no buy because you have too much stuff then do the return and keep the cash or remove another older clothes item from your house.
 
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I'm using these 10 days to exercise more, make meal plans and grocery shop rather than eat out, and my boyfriend and I started a "punch list" of things that need attention in the house. Each weekend we hope to tackle one or two projects, especially the no/low-cost ones. This weekend we finally hung a ceiling lamp that has been in a box and procrastinated for months because we didn't want to figure out the wiring. After all that, it took all of an hour.

 
I'm a little late to the party but want to challenge myself to the 100 days of no buying.

I've participated in the Monday club on and off last year and I did a major inventory last year which really helped me know what I have and don't have. It is probably the best thing I did last year to start curbing my buying and reducing my stash. 

I have several birchboxes and glossyboxes, each labeled with the category of item (cleansers, moisturizers, makeup, etc) and now when I use something up I go to the box and see what else I have. I have plenty of most items. The only thing I will likely need during the 100 days is foundation and primer. 

Also, I did a personal low buy of all purchases the last quarter of 2014 and I saved nearly $1000! I really didn't think it would be that much. I believe I do too many mindless purchases with the kids and myself. 

I'm looking forward to keeping up my progress. I also made a list of what I believe I would like my stash to look like (number of lippies, eyeliners, moisturizers, etc) and I'd like to eventually get close to that number. 

Good luck everyone!

ETA: I saw mention of Mel's Cafe website and want to say that I love that site. It's been a good one for finding dinner recipes that all the kiddos will eat and I've found several that are fairly quick and easy and tasty. 

 
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@@jesemiaud Isn't it great when you can just kick into gear and accomplish a whole bunch!?  That's so awesome!  Maintaining is definitely the hard part for me, so I definitely have to include that in my goals.  

I hope you find some good recipes on those sites, I'm making the Grilled Chicken & Spinach Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette tomorrow for dinner! (from SkinnyTaste!)

 
West Coast Beauty Addict said:
Serious question:

Does an exchange count on the no buy if I have to order the replacement online?

I bought a dress before before Christmas and when I pulled it out to wear tomorrow, I found a big snag in it.  My local store does not have anymore in stock.

Their system would require I return the dress in store and rebuy it online.  I could go to another store but that would take 20-30 minutes each way.

Would that count as violating my no buy?

Edited to add: My no buy allows replacements if needed.
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If you are returning the defective dress at the store and you are purchasing a replacement online for the same price then I see this as an even exchange.  Its a wash.  This would be no different than buying the wrong size by mistake.  Though if you were to go online and buy the replacement dress, some shoes, a purse, etc. etc. etc... then you're looking at a totally different set of circumstances.

 

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