No Buy Year: I Did It... Kinda! (September 2024)

Let's talk September!

> What I Bought:

I did it! I bought nothing. nada. zip. 

Well, that's not entirely 100% true. 

I did find more plates at the op shop. I've spoken about them before (from my allowed list which I set at the beginning of the year) but they're my favourite and retail for between $10-$15 per piece so they're expensive. I ended up finding an additional 8 pieces for just over $10 (or $1.37 per item). I have a pretty complete and not totally mismatched collection of dinnerware now which is great. They're the Casa Domani Portofino range (available at Myer, Harris Scarfe, Spotlight etc.). I have seven plates and five bowls in Terracotta, three plates and four bowls in Cream, four bowls in Brown and four plates in Blue. Most were bought secondhand/gifted.

I also paid $8 to have a candle remelted. I have a feeling I've spoken about this before, but I'm sensitive to certain fragrances and try to stick to unscented items where possible. I once bought some gingerbread scented tea lights, and I loved them. So, when I ran out, I decided instead to get a large candle in gingerbread thinking the scent was okay. But it was too strong. Years later, I asked the candle maker if he could remelt my candle into tealights - which he did. I now own 33 tealights which I can burn without getting a headache =D I also bought a gift for $50 (it was $60 but she gave it to me for $50... and I might end up keeping it, but we'll see...)

I forgot to say that last month I bought some paint brushes and string at Spotlight too. I've been meaning to paint some glass bottles for a year now, so I decided that I was finally going to do that this month. The string, however, was for the cat ceramic I spoke about last month. I had a $5 voucher, so it cost me $3.80 in total. 

I picked up my lay-by that I spoke about last month. And actually, since I purchased it, it has gone up almost $300 in value so that's already a win. Not that I think you should buy items just for the purpose of resale but I'm sure it'll form part of my retirement fund when I end up in an old folks' home anyway.

I also ended up getting the Dusk x Allens Lollies peaches & cream room spray as I had a voucher.

As for the cinema, I went twice - Beetlejuice Beetlejuice ($70 - I paid for my sister for her birthday too) and Miss Saigon ($0). I went to the theatre three times - Carousel (ticket $59 and $20 programme), Quasimodo (ticket $49 and $8 programme) and A Chorus Line (ticket $58 and $15 programme).

I paid off all my September part payments early too =D

> Temptations:

In some ways this was the easiest month but also the most difficult. Or, I guess, it challenged me the most. I almost cracked and bought a vase. I believe I spoke about it last month as a future purchase (and I still say it is) but I told myself that if it were still available the following day after release, that I would buy it. Luckily it sold out beforehand and I'm not actually sure if I would have gone through with the purchase, but the temptation was there. I also followed the Deliberation Station worksheet (see here) and the result was buy - so there you go!

While at the op shop the day I bought dinnerware, I liked many skirts and a pair of red boots. Again, I had to get rid of my red boots so I'm not against a replacement. I tried them on, and they were lovely but a little (okay, a LOT!) big. They were labelled as a size 8 but now looking into it more, it's an English brand so they were a UK8 which is actually a AU10. I'm a AU6/UK4 (or AU7/UK5 in boots) so WAY too big for me!

I made the mistake of looking at some artwork again... I am staying strong but it's not exactly easy lol. Like, SO many ceramic pieces (one as expensive as almost $10k!). In particular, I really want a funky bird vase by a Dutch artist. I am holding out but it's difficult because they're handmade, so you have to buy them when available. 

I also want some pumpkin tealight holders for Halloween from Dusk. I never decorate but this could be a little something, a fun excuse to decorate if you will. I actually, more this year than most, want to decorate for Halloween but I'm too much a minimalist to buy so much to only sit in storage for most of the year, so I decided instead to treat/allow myself to buy a Halloween themed soap dispenser for the bathroom from TK Maxx. 

But believe me, the temptation to buy a heap of stuff is HIGH! Especially at TK Maxx because they have amazing Halloween items! There were some things at Big W that I wanted to buy especially. The struggle is real. 

Actually, when you buy from TK Maxx, you can enter to win $200 voucher. In my mind, I thought, if I won, that would give me the freedom to buy all the Halloween stuff I wanted, but then I would still need to store it all and that kind of defeats the purpose. So, I'm not sure what I'd do if I won.

I also considered replacing a pair of sandals but didn't. 

> Clothing Count:

I saw a thing on Instagram where a person counted how much they spent on clothing per year and what tempted them the most. All prices are approximate/rounded. This is where I'm at...

- Dress x 7 ($249)

- Shoes x3 ($209)

- Jumper x4 ($134)

- T-shirt x3 ($133)

- Jewellery x4 ($132)

- Loungewear x2 ($100)

- Romper x1 ($75)

- Skirt x1 ($50)

- Sleepwear x2 ($46)

- Pants x1 ($40)

- Jacket x1 ($35)

- Cardigan x2 ($20)

- Shirt x2 ($15)

So, as we can clearly see, dresses are my biggest weakness - in both price and per piece. Shoes are a close second with price, but jumpers and jewellery are up on per piece. I don't want/need more.

> The BIG Clutter Shift:

I had been planning a BIG clutter shift for at least a month but knew I needed space and time to go through everything - and I did have just that in the second week of September. I pulled everything out from under my bed, in my drawers and storage boxes. I also did a big clean and vacuum. I had to shift items to other rooms in the meantime, but worth it. I didn't get rid of much because I will need everything one day, such as dinnerware. 

Having everything out in front of me made me realise just how much I own. I don't own a lot but at the same time I think I do. Less than I used to and a lot less than many others, but everything has a better place now. Especially considering I'd just been shoving dinnerware under my bed to sort out later and FINALLY did. 

I also redid my shelves, so they look more minimal, which I actually love. I've been pulling away from certain things and towards more artist-made products so I'm now showcasing those instead. My pop vinyl collection on show has been widdled down to some of my Keanu pops and that's it. I'm entering a new era. 

Here are some photos during the process.

And here are the results:

I stupidly got no before photos, though some old insta shots here, here, here and here.

As you can see, I still have a lot of stuff, but most things are no put away in boxes and drawers (with my wardrobe being the worst culprit with boxes). However, I'm proud of the progress I made. My main goal was to not have some many random and unorganised items just shoved under my bed. I ended up putting all my glassware in one big box and I moved my dinnerware out into a box that housed some spare pillows. It's not perfect but it's better. Under my bed now is two boxes of theatre programmes, a box of glassware, some artwork that needs framing, extra toiletries that doesn't fit in the bathroom and my PS3 plus games. 

I have two sets of drawers. One of them didn't change at all. The top contains cleaning supplies or things I need like blutac etc., the middle has nail polishes, and the bottom has paper like random recipes, posters and my uni diploma (stuff like that). The other set of drawers contain CDs and DVDs that didn't make my shelf. 

The boxes in my wardrobe contain a bunch of random stuff including art stuff, ceramics and extra plants (which I'll mix and match depending on mood), pop vinyls, just random bits and pieces.

Also, don't judge me for the number of cords I have. It feels like a fire hazard and probably is :/
Oh, my curtains are also broken - not sure how clear that is in the photos.

I have no desire to spend right now, and it feels good. Everything now has its place and I'm hesitant to bring anything new in unless it's a replacement item. It's only taken me 9 months to get here...