For some, shopping sprees can be a comforting and exciting experience. There’s nothing better than finding something that makes you feel confident in your own skin. Also, who doesn’t love the thrill of a good deal?
Unfortunately, this extra spending can cause severe financial consequences. If you still have clothes with tags on, gathering dust in your closet, it’s time to stop buying clothes you don’t need. Happiness comes from within and one piece of clothing isn’t going to change your life (it’ll definitely hurt your wallet though).
Clothes cost a great deal of money; money that can be used more productively to enrich other parts of our lives. Money that could be used for traveling, creating an emergency savings, or getting rid of debt. To get started, here are my best tips on how to stop buying clothes you never wear (online and in person)!
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How To Stop Buying Clothes You Never Wear
Before we get started, I also wrote a post on 13 things you don’t need to buy. For people who are looking to save extra cash at home, I recommend checking out this post! Otherwise, here’s the best hacks on how to stop shopping for clothes!
1. Organize And Clean Out Your Closet
The first step on how to stop buying clothes you never wear: clean up your closet. Take out every item you own. Place your clothes into three piles: keep, donate, and sell.
If you’ve ever heard of Marie Kondo and her books on sparking joy, you’ll know that reducing our wardrobe is important for a decluttered, happy home. When you clean out a messy wardrobe, you might rediscover a clothing piece you didn’t know you had or find clothes you’ve only worn once.
Organizing and cleaning out your closet is an excellent way to learn more about your spending habits and shopping mistakes. Make the most out of the pieces from your current wardrobe and stop buying clothes you never wear.
2. Always Try Before You Buy
To stop buying clothes you don’t need, always try on clothes before you buy. With the rise of online shopping, it can be more difficult to try out pieces before purchasing. Always review a store’s return policy and make sure you can return an item if it doesn’t fit.
If you love to shop online, I recommend using a service like Amazon Prime Wardrobe. You can try up to eight items and you don’t pay a dime unless you want to keep something. If you already shop for clothes on Amazon, I highly recommend it!
After all, you’ll want to love the piece before you buy. Trying on clothes also gives you a good idea of how you’ll wear these clothes with other pieces in your wardrobe.
3. Don’t Impulse Shop
Not sure how to stop shopping for clothes? One easy way to limit spending, is to give yourself at least a week before you checkout or head to the cashier. If you still want that piece by the end of the week, then you can.
Don’t worry, the clothes will still be there by the end of the week. Even if there really is “1 more left”, don’t allow the fear of missing out cloud your judgement and wait.
If the clothes do sell out, don’t get too defeated. At the end of the day, they are just clothes. You can always find a similar piece if you really need it. This is a great hack on how to stop buying clothes you never wear.
4. Unsubscribe To Store Newsletters
Get rid of any online shopping triggers. If this means unsubscribing to newsletters from clothing stores, do it. The less chances you allow yourself to think about shopping, the less you’ll buy clothes you don’t need.
5. Stick To The Basics
An easy tip on stop buying clothes you never wear, is to buy minimalist pieces. Simple pieces give you more flexibility to mix and match them with other pieces from your wardrobe. Basic items help you always look put together and can be worn over and over again.
6. Buy Something You Have To Wear Every Week
To prevent yourself from cluttering your closet and buying clothes you don’t need, always go for clothes you can wear throughout the week. Think about the long term use of this clothing piece. If you can’t picture wearing this piece out at least once a month, then don’t buy it.
7. Avoid Going Into Your Favorite Stores
Looking for hacks on how to stop shopping for clothes? If you know you can’t step into a store without buying at least one item, don’t go in. Get rid of triggers to stop buying extra clothes you never wear. It’s simple, don’t put yourself into a difficult position.
8. Go For High Quality Garments, NEVER Fast Fashion
For people who loving shopping for bargains, don’t fall into the temptation of fast fashion. Fast fashion is cheap, but at the expense of other people. Workers are often mistreated and underpaid.
Don’t support the fast fashion industry. Stop buying fast fashion and go for high quality, ethically made garments.
Fast fashion pieces are not meant to last. At the end of day, you might save a couple bucks, but it’s not worth it when the clothes start falling apart by the end of the season.
9. Get Support
Inform someone you trust about your goal to limit your clothes spending online and offline. Getting someone to hold you accountable is a motivating way to stop buying clothes you never wear.
Tell them about your goals. Whether you feel the need to impulse shop, call up this person to remind you about your goals.
Support is awesome, but it’s even better to have someone do this challenge with you. Chances are, you might know someone who would love to do this challenge with you!
10. Keep Track Of Your Clothes
Go through your wardrobe and count how many clothes you have. Know how much of every type of garments you own. Chances are, you might have more clothes than you think!
For some people, this can be an eye-opening experience to help stop buying clothes they don’t need. After all, you definitely don’t need to add an extra pair of jeans when you already have ten!
11. Only Buy New Clothes When You Have To Replace An Old One
This is a great hack on how to stop buying clothes you never wear and limit your spending. Make this a ground rule every time you go shopping. This is a wonderful trick to shop more mindfully.
12. Swap Shopping With A Different Hobby
If you find yourself online shopping because of boredom, it’s time to pick a new hobby. Shopping is thrilling, but it can turn into an incredibly expensive hobby. To stop buying clothes you don’t need, pick up a different activity.
If you need a list of awesome hobby ideas, I wrote a post on the best inexpensive hobbies for couples and enjoyable money-making hobbies.
13. Separate Your Wardrobe By Season
Separating your wardrobe by season is a clever way to organize your closet and pack away clothes you can’t currently use. This is also an easy way to trick yourself to thinking you got new clothes!
When a new season comes along, it will be like you’ve gotten a whole new wardrobe! This is a great hack on how to stop buying clothes you never wear.
14. Track How Much Money You’ve Saved
When you stop spending money on new clothes, you save a TON of money. I recommend recording how much money you’ve spend on clothes last year and writing down the total number on a piece of paper. How much is it?
If you didn’t spend money on clothes last year, what could you have used this money for? Think about how this sum could be used to improve other parts of your life. The whole point of this exercise isn’t to shame you on how much money you’ve spend, but to motivate you to stop buying clothes you don’t need.
If you don’t spend money on clothes the next coming month, plan on what you would do with this extra cash. Maybe you can finally save up for a trip you’ve been meaning to take, work on building an emergency savings, or reduce your debt.
15. Any Discounted Item Is Expensive When You Don’t Wear It
As much as I love a great deal, the truth is you don’t really save money on discounted clothes if you can’t get much use out of it. It is better to get something high quality (something you wear over and over again) than a heavily-discounted item you only use once. To stop buying clothes you never wear, don’t be tempted by sales (unless it’s an item you’ll use).
16. It’s Okay To Wear The Same Piece Twice
Let’s be honest, most people won’t notice if you show up to work in the same blouse two days in a row. If you shop because you don’t want to be seen wearing the same pieces, save money and stop buying extra clothes you don’t need.
When I had my first internship at college, I only had one professional outfit: a green blouse and a nice looking pair of black pants. I wore that same outfit everyday to work. Not once did anyone mentioned that I wore the same thing everyday.
People only care about the quality of your work, or what kind of friend you are. No one really notices what you wear. If they do, it’s not a huge deal.
17. Don’t Go Shopping With Friends
Looking for more tips on how to stop shopping for clothes? Like I mentioned before, get rid of shopping triggers. It’s easy to justify impulse shopping when you are surrounded by people who love doing it.
If you frequently shop with friends, try suggesting other activities to do with them. This is a good way to avoid buying clothes you don’t wear. Let them know your mission to shop less. Most people are understanding and are open to other activities.
18. Know Your Personal Style
To make a wardrobe you’ll love, search up different styles. I recommend going on Pinterest for outfit inspiration. Make a board of your favorite styles and only purchase high quality, minimalist pieces for your new wardrobe.
After all, there is a less chance you’ll buy clothes you don’t need when you know exactly what looks good on you.
19. Find Happiness Elsewhere (Get Rid Of Emotional Buys)
If you shop emotionally, chances are, you’ll end up buying clothes you never wear or need. Some people buy clothes because they love the thrill of owning something new and different.
Though shopping can give you a brief moment of joy, clothes can’t give you true happiness. If you use clothes to feel happy, it’s a good idea to stop. This type of happiness is only temporary and you’ll find yourself on an endless cycle of spending.
If you are an emotional shopper, consider spending more time with loved ones and seeking other activities that can bring more joy into your life. You can only find happiness within yourself, so don’t rely on material goods. If you think you have an addiction, try seeking professional help.
Conclusion: How To Stop Buying Clothes You Never Wear
Clothes allow us to present ourselves in our own unique way. For some people, how they dress is a huge part of their identity. With the rise of fast fashion and new clothing trends every week, it’s hard to catch up with the latest styles.
It’s not surprising that clothes spending can be a huge problem. Fortunately, it’s a monthly cost that can be avoided. Save money and stop buying clothes you don’t need.
I hope this post gave you some helpful tips on how to stop buying clothes you never wear. Good luck!