March 30, 2016 by Debbie Roes

March 2016 “Grab Bag” of Useful Links

It’s almost the end of the month, so it’s time for another installment of my “grab bag” of useful links (see previous editions here). Included below are links to articles I think you’ll enjoy on the subjects of shopping and shopping psychology, wardrobe management, style, and personal development. I’m also sharing a few previous “Recovering Shopaholic” posts that you may have missed the first time around (or may choose to revisit now).

This “grab bag” of useful links presents the perfect opportunity for you to sit back with your favorite hot beverage or glass of wine and enjoy some quiet time to read, learn, look within, and maybe even laugh a time or two. As a reminder, I certainly do not expect you to click on all of the links in these posts. Just explore the ones that most intrigue you.

Watching the planes take off from Liberty Station in Point Loma, San Diego.

Continue reading →

March 25, 2016 by Debbie Roes

Lessons from My Outfit Journal – Re-Working a Problematic Look

As longtime readers of this blog know, I have been maintaining an outfit journal since summer 2014. In this journal, I write down what I wore, where I wore it, my feelings about the outfit, and what I could change in order to improve the look. I also rate all of my outfits on a scale of 1-10, and I’ve noticed that my percentage of “9” and “10” ensembles have steadily increased over the months that I’ve been keeping my journal. It only takes a few moments each day, but the benefits have been well worth the effort.

Keeping an outfit journal has helped me improve my style.

The notes about what I would improve upon in future outfit iterations have proved to be the most beneficial part of the process. Sometimes just switching out one piece can add a point or two to an outfit’s rating and have me feeling much more confident in what I’m wearing. These changes generally happen rather organically, as I tend to remember what went wrong in a look without having to go back and refer to my journal. The simple act of writing down my feelings has led me to make subtle shifts in how I dress that have added up to increased satisfaction over time.

Continue reading →

March 23, 2016 by Debbie Roes

What Caused Your Compulsive Shopping Problem?

I have written several posts on the reasons why people shop too much and I’ve also explored my own personal motivations for overshopping.

Shopaholic word cloud

Here are links to some of these posts for those who are didn’t see them the first time around or may wish to read them again:

Earlier this month, the topic of reasons for shopping addiction came up in my private Facebook group. I was impressed by both the depth and diversity of the responses and thought it would be helpful to post some of them here. It’s my hope that reading these insights will assist you in becoming more present to what’s behind your compulsive shopping.

Continue reading →

March 17, 2016 by Debbie Roes

A Simple Tool to Help with the Keep or Purge Decision Process

Do you have things in your closet that you can’t decide whether to keep or purge? Most of us have at least a few such items and sometimes we’ve been on the fence about them for months or even years. Perhaps you’ve already tried the “first impression test” and still feel stuck, but you’re not ready to undertake a full KonMari Process just yet. In today’s post, I’m going to share a quick and easy method to help you finally get off the fence and make a decision about those “maybe” pieces.

To use this process, you will just need one thing, a coin. That’s right, you’re going to flip a coin in order to make your decision, but there’s a twist. Which side the coin lands on is not nearly as important as how you feel about the outcome of the toss. Let me explain, and then I’ll give some personal examples.

Can flipping a coin help you decide what to keep or purge?

Continue reading →

March 14, 2016 by Debbie Roes

Cutting Costs on Children’s Clothing

The following is a guest post from Carlynn Adeline. As a mom of two girls, Carlynn is well aware of how expensive children’s clothing can be. After the birth of her second daughter, she decided to make a change to improve family finances by making use of hand-me-downs and following her own advice as laid out in this article. Carlynn hopes that she can help others keep family household spending down.

Recovering from a shopping addiction is an impressive feat that is easier said than done. It takes an unquantifiable amount of strength to limit our impulsivity and strictly adhere to a monthly budget. The road to intelligent spending may be a long one with many obstacles, yet it’s definitely worth it when you manage to rack up savings and see amazing returns in the long run.