[LIFE] Out with the old… In with the new!

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I’ve put myself on a shopping ban before. When I started this blog, I undertook six months of no shopping. It was a drag. To say the least. One of the reasons cited was so that the boyfriend and I could save to buy a place of our own. Well, I might not have been able to save a hell of a lot in six months but we are now buying a house together!! A little over two months ago we put an offer in on a house and had it accepted. Since then we have been through the trials and tribulations of house-buying but eventually the end looks to be in sight and we are hoping to have a date very soon when we will finally have the keys to our new home.

So, with a house to furnish and mortgage payments to pay, I am back on a shopping ban!! I also quite fancy the idea of a summer holiday this year and will need to save for this too!

I have also realised that every new purchase will need to be transported to the new house and the job is only getting more and more difficult with every trip to the shops!!!

After the excitement of the January sales and some amazing bargains (like the Zara coat, above), I will be putting my credit card into hibernation for the rest of the winter and will be being “sensible”. So, I will take the next few weeks to show you my January sales purchases and will continue to hunt out bargains for all of you, so you can continue to look stylish on a shoestring!! I’ll just be “virtual” shopping for a while.

Obviously, essentials will be permitted. But only when actually essential, i.e. I do not need a new moisturiser when I have two opened ones sitting on my dressing table. Face wipes? Probably will be purchasing a fair few packets of these throughout the ban though.

So, not only is it clothes and shoes that will not be purchased but also beauty products. I have mountains of unopened products just sitting in drawers in the flat – and half used ones too – so I’ll be aiming to use up as much as possible before we move too so that I’ll less to pack up!!

Of course, there will be one sort of shopping that will be allowed – home wares. From furniture to kitchenware to bed linen and trinkets – it all has to be got. If you follow me on Pinterest, you might have noticed that I started a new board recently, Home Inspiration. I’m currently collating ideas for the new “pad”!! I promise not to post too much about it but we are going to be trying to do things pretty cheap and as much ourselves as possible. I’m going have to get practicing on the sewing machine if I’m going to be making up cushions for our sofa!!

Have you attempted a shopping ban? Did it work? Are you considering it?