August 28, 2013 by Debbie Roes

My New and Improved Shopping Rules

When I started this blog in January, one of my first posts outlined a list of shopping rules to help me address my compulsive buying problem. Over the ensuing months, I found myself adhering well to some rules (the budget, one in one out, and tracking) while ignoring others completely (item purchase limits). Because I found the purchase limits too restrictive, I started adding a list of exceptions that only served to muddy the waters.

New shopping rules

I feel it’s now time to revisit my initial rules and make some conscious and deliberate updates based upon what I’ve learned about myself, my wardrobe, and my shopping so far this year. This post details my revised shopping rules for the rest of 2013 and potentially into 2014 as well.

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August 26, 2013 by Debbie Roes

On Conscious Shopping, Powerful Questions, and Avoiding Returns

As I mentioned in my “Friends, Shopping, and Telling the Truth” post last week, I recently went shopping with a friend. While I wrote about my hesitancy in telling this particular friend – a fellow shopaholic – about my blog, I didn’t share anything else about that shopping experience.

Today’s post covers how I shopped, what I bought, and my process for deciding whether to keep or return one particular item. My hope is that my process will help you when wrestling with a similar decision.

Confession Time – I Bought Four Things

Do you feel anxiety after you’ve bought something?

In truth, I did buy a few things (four) when I shopped with my friend. While I felt good about three of these purchases (two short cardigans and a moto-style jacket – photos in my accountability post next week), I experienced quite a bit of anxiety and indecision regarding the fourth. I’ll get to that in a minute, but first I’d like to share my shopping process, as it was different than what I’ve done in the past.

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August 16, 2013 by Debbie Roes

Avoiding the 3 Most Common August Shopping Mistakes

What are the 3 Most Common Mistakes?

Are you struggling with summer sales temptations?

There is a lot of pressure to shop during the month of August. End-of-season sales, back-to-school deals, and the fall fashion push all come together to create a “perfect storm” for overshopping. While many people feel compelled to shop this time of year, we are all prone to these three very common shopping mistakes:

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July 31, 2013 by Debbie Roes

Dressing and Shopping for a Life in Flux

I’m currently going through a period of transition in my life. My wardrobe consulting business is winding down and I’m not sure what’s next in terms of my career. I’m also working to cultivate new hobbies and interests, which I hope will also lead to new connections and friendships. At present, I don’t go out much and when I do, my outings are mostly quite casual in nature. The majority of my time is spent at home with my husband and two cats, and I spend many of my days in workout clothes and lounge wear.

Transition and Our Wardrobes

While all of this transition has been going on, I’ve also been working on paring down my oversize wardrobe to a more manageable level. However, as I’m not sure what’s next for me in my life and what clothing I’ll need for my personal and professional activities, it’s been difficult to decide what to keep and what to purge from my closet. Since I know many of you have experienced or are currently going through similar challenges, I decided to address the issue of dressing and shopping for a life in flux.

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July 22, 2013 by Debbie Roes

Why I’m Skipping the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale

The Nordstrom Anniversary Sale started last Friday. This has always been my favorite sale of the year, my “holy grail” of sales shopping. I looked forward to it all year and when mid-July rolled around, I was ready to shop until I dropped (or at least until I dropped a veritable fortune on clothes, shoes, and accessories!).

A Plan of Action and a Change of Heart

Up until last week, I thought I’d shop the sale this year as I always have. However, as a result of what I’ve learned from writing this blog, I intended to approach the sale from a different perspective and shop much more wisely. I had planned to write a post about shopping the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale with my new resolve and share how I met this challenge head on.