This month was #SecondhandSeptember so I tried to keep all my clothing and accessories purchases secondhand. So how did I do? Pretty good if I do say so myself. Honestly the secondhand market is my favorite place to shop so it wasn’t hard at all. But did I actually save money? That would be a resounding “no.” I purchased a couple high-ticket secondhand items (though of course they’re much less than what they would have been retail), but September was still a “high buy” month for me. But I gotta say I loooooove everything I got this month and some of these secondhand items are real treasures!

If you’ve been a long time reader of this blog, you already know that I’m not afraid to let go of bags. I’m quick to buy but also to sell once I’ve realised I’m not using the bag much. I rarely hold on to bags for sentimental reasons because tbh all those bags would just take up so much space. If I’m done with a bag, I’ll thank it for its service and then try to rehome it to someone who would get more use out of the it than me.

Anyway I’ve touched upon purchasing secondhand luxury bags before. But here is where I usually sell my bags once I’m ready to let them go.

So I did not make it through No Buy August, and in fact I got derailed fairly early on in the month. BUT I tried not to let it all go since I know I have a tendency to binge shop once I’ve failed a No Buy Challenge. I think in the past my thinking goes something like, “Well I already failed, what’s the harm in adding a couple more new things anyway.” So this time around I tried not to lose all self-control and I don’t think I did too bad. So here are the things I bought in August:

I apologize for last week’s gloomy and somewhat needy post lol. I think being sick made me feel pretty down, but I realise I got a lot to be thankful for (and it’s one thing to see things on the news and quite another to have them actually happen to you). And thank you to both Andrea and K for supporting me despite my melodramatics. But they gave me some great advice: stop doomscrolling, do things that you enjoy, and look to help others with time/money. After doing all three, I do feel a bit better and more hopeful again.

Hi guys and what a week, eh? First Haiti then Afghanistan. Also the doomsday climate change report and rising covid cases. And personally there’s been the ongoing fires and smoky days, and I’ve been dealing with a cold (cough but no fever), which I unfortunately passed onto Emi (it’s her first cold ever and man it’s been brutal—hello multiple wake-ups in the middle of the night).

Hi guys, it’s been a bit since my last Weekend post. Well our dog Hachi passed away two weeks ago and I’ve had a hard time getting motivated to do much blogging or instagramming. He passed suddenly at home (he was 12 and slowing down but we thought he had at least a couple more years left) and my husband and I have been dealing with the grief (Emi doesn’t seem to understand though she’s accepted that Hachi is not around anymore).

Since I was purposefully not looking to buy things, I don’t have a long list of things I didn’t buy. But instead here are the sales I would have looked at but didn’t because of No Buy July: the babaa sale, the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale, the Two Days Off sale, the Beklina sale, and the AtLand sale (because they always have dreamy stuff).

Hi guys, just checking in to see how your No Buy July is going (if you’re choosing to participate). I hope you guys made it this far (we’re already over halfway there!), but if not no sweat and maybe try again next month. As for me, I’m still feeling pretty strong and not buying clothes or beauty items. I did buy some things for Emi and a new bar shampoo (but trust me, I really needed it while traveling), but I plan to lay it all out at the end of the month in July’s What I Didn’t Buy (and What I Did Buy) post.

So for those who want to try a No Buy July with me, I thought I’d give you some pointers and tips. This is my third No Buy July and though I’m not a seasoned pro, this is not my first rodeo. You might think not buying anything for one month is going to be easy, let me tell you it’s not for the faint of heart. And that’s because July is the start of the summer sale season. I know this because this is what derailed my second No Buy July attempt (but I did succeed the first time). So here are some of my tips for a successful No Buy July:

It’s been another month of purchases so I’ve decided to go on a No Buy July and will try to continue it for three months total. It’s time for a reset!

There once was a time when I thought I could be an ethical/sustainable/zero-waste lifestyle blogger. I thought if I just purchased the right things at the right amount, than pronto I’d be that. But after 6 years of blogging, I’ve come to realize I’ll never be fully that nor do I want to be.