It’s here at last, the end of my FLFS Challenge. If you’ve no idea what I’m talking about you can read my previous post with full explanation and background here but, in short, I have worked my way through my entire wardrobe, not laundering anything or buying anything new until I had worn everything in there!
I have a few key learning points and reflections from this challenge that I’d love to briefly share with you.
1. I have a lot of clothes. A LOT.
2. My shopping habits, albeit mainly from charity shops, had gotten way out of hand. I was in the habit of buying things that I liked but didn’t love and definitely didn’t need. As a result there were quite a few things that I didn’t wear that often but sat there taking up space.
3. I do have some items in my wardrobe that I truly love and want to wear more, but they were getting crowded out by all of the other stuff.
4. You CAN change your shopping habits, and going cold turkey is actually very refreshing and freeing.
5. I have a new appreciation of the clothes I already have. I’m about to do a mountain of ironing and when it all goes back into my wardrobe I will feel like the richest woman in the world, all with stuff I already own.
6. Instead of charity shops I’m going to try arranging clothes swaps as a way to bring new items into my wardrobe. I’m also going to rotate what’s in my wardrobe more often so that things feel new to me when I see them and so I’m therefore less tempted to but something new, just for a fresh change.
This has been a great challenge to do, helping me to see what I own in a new light, changing my habits of consumption and helping me to ask myself some important questions about what I buy, why I buy it and if there are other ways to think about that process.
If you’ve found yourself in an unhelpful shopping habit and need a bit of a wake-up call, why not give it a try – or something like it. If you do, I’d love to hear how you get on.
And if you’re nearby and fancy a clothes swap, I’m your girl.
Cultivating and Creating 