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November Accountability Update

We’re now knee-deep into the holiday season and there are only a few weeks left in the year.  It’s hard to believe this blog is almost a year old!   It’s time for another accountability update, this time for November.  For my newer readers, I’ve committed to post on a monthly basis about what left my closet, what came in, and how I’m doing with my clothing budget and shopping rules for the year.  I intend to continue doing these accountability posts in 2014, as they help to keep me honest and on track for fulfilling my goals.

Shopping Accountability Updates

What Left My Closet

Let’s dive right in, beginning with what left my closet last month.  During November, I purged 13 items from my wardrobe.  Five of these items were returned to the place of purchase, while the remaining eight pieces were either consigned or donated to charity. Continue reading →

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Step Away from the Computer!

I’ve struggled with compulsive shopping for over thirty years. Ever since I started having disposable income, I’ve wanted to spend it on clothes, shoes, and accessories.  Some of you have questioned whether I am in serious debt.  While I do not carry any ongoing debt at present, I’ve battled financial insolvency on numerous occasions in the past.  I had to be bailed out of credit card debt three times and I used a debt consolidation service once.  For all of the other times when I was in debt up to my eyeballs, I stopped shopping “cold turkey” and “white-knuckled” it for as long as possible until I was able to claw my way back to solvency.

The Evolution of Shopping

That was then, back in the days before a shopaholic could indulge her addiction with a few mere mouse clicks at any time of the day or night.  These days, it’s not enough to stay away from the mall while you try to pay down your credit card debt or build up a nest-egg.  Temptation is virtually everywhere and it’s no longer possible to simply hole up in your house or apartment and not shop.

Online shopping

Online shopping has made it much easier for us to overshop.

Continue reading →

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Can Ethical Clothing Help Transform Your Relationship with Shopping?

The following is a guest post from Emma of This Kind Choice (UPDATE:  Sadly, this blog is no longer online).   Emma makes it her mission to make ethical fashion choices simple, stylish and satisfying.  It is her belief that fashion that is better for the planet and the people producing it is better for us, too.  Emma studies Fashion and Business in Wellington, New Zealand, and loves prints, colour and peanut butter. 

If you have an idea for a guest post on “Recovering Shopaholic,” please connect with me to share your thoughts.

I have never been addicted to shopping. And yet I am all too familiar with the overwhelmingly strong pull followed by disgust and self-hatred, with the guilt, with the complete lack of joy in what I consumed. My experiences with disordered eating put me through all of these emotions, and I know them all too well. One thing I found tremendously helpful in my recovery was finding a way of eating that truly aligned with my values (in my case, veganism). Continue reading →

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Useful Links on the Holidays and Shopping

As I’ve mentioned previously, I subscribe to a lot of magazines and blogs. Although I’m gradually paring things down in both areas, I still consume quite a bit of information.  Most recent articles have focused primarily on holiday deals and gift guides, but there have been some bright spots of refreshing content buried among the consumerist morass.

Holiday Shopping and Consumerism

This time of year is about more than gifts and shopping!

Since I haven’t done a “useful links” post in a while, I decided to share some of my favorite recent articles on the topics of  holidays and shopping with you today.  Some of these articles are from popular bloggers, so you may have already seen them, but I’m sharing them anyway because they’re just so good (and worth a second read!). Continue reading →

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What I’ve Learned from Shopping My Closet

As much of the world moves into the frenetic shopping blitz of the holiday season, I’d like to talk about a different type of shopping, the “shopping” we can do in our own closets.  I first heard the term “shop your closet” a few years ago on a fashion forum and I have to admit that it didn’t sound like much fun to me at the time.  As a dyed-in-the-wool shopaholic, I believed the only shopping I could enjoy was the type that took place in malls or on e-commerce sites.  I was always looking for what was new and better than what I already had.

Benefits of Shopping Your Closet

Have you taken the time to shop your own closet?

Before this year, I regularly purchased at least 150-200 new clothing and accessory items per year.  I bought so much – and so fast – that I generally had little idea of what I already owned.  My closet was so jam-packed that even if I spent a large chunk of time looking around in there, I still wouldn’t have been able to remember most of what I possessed. Continue reading →