My 90 Days No New Clothes Challenge: What I Learned
This summer, I participated in the 90 days no new clothes challenge. I’ve always been a fan of these types of challenges—they push me to be more aware of my spending habits, my impulses, and help me slow down to really think about what I’m consuming. A mindfulness practice, but with clothes!
Not all challenges leave me feeling great though. A couple of years ago, I tried No Plastic July, and that was rough. It left me feeling hopeless. I wouldn’t recommend that one, more on that in another blog post. But the no new clothes challenge? It was fun, a bit challenging but totally doable.
One tip that helped me a lot throughout this challenge was planning ahead. For special occasions like weddings or trips, I’d go through what I already had in my wardrobe, then either thrift or borrow from friends. Having a wishlist before going thrifting made the search more successful. I don’t usually like trying on clothes, but I forced myself to do it this time, to make sure I’d really love the pieces I chose. Bonus, I found myself spending time with friends—whether going through their closets or thrifting together—made the whole experience more enjoyable.
I appreciate that this challenge ties to the larger trend of #underconsumption. I’m really happy to see more people talking about it and hopefully adopting it. We live in a world where overconsumption, capitalism, and ongoing struggles for justice is really overwhelming.
Sometimes, it feels like we’re so small in the face of these massive systems. But it is about the small practices we do in our everyday lives. They’re the things we can control. One of our most powerful tools we have is how we “vote” with our dollars—choosing where we spend our money, and aligning those choices with our values. From the money I saved this summer from not buying new clothes, I got to donate to causes I believe in and support small businesses.
Overall, this challenge has reminded me how important it is to take a breath and reflect on the way I consume. It’s so easy to get caught up in buying things we don’t need, but there’s real value in pausing and choosing more thoughtfully.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on #underconsumption or any similar challenges you've done!
