Low buy 2025
Rules and thoughts on purchasing habits
Embarking on a low buy for 2025
Happy New Year and welcome to my Substack!
Inspired by
from Uncomplicated Spaces this will be a place to reflect on my low buy 2025, my purchasing habits and simply to hold me accountable! The goal is to shop more mindfully and curate a wardrobe that serves me well.Having completed a relatively successfull low buy for 2024, where I bought 22 items (20 allowed), I want to continue shopping less in 2025. What the number doesn’t say anything about is the probably hundreds of items that I purchased and returned. It got to a point where it almost felt embarrassing to dropping off several packages at once at the postal office! This just doesn’t feel sustainable. I simply want to shop more mindfully and return less.
Here are my low buy rules for 2025:
Max 20 items of clothing and shoes. Underwear, active wear and accessories aren’t included, as those aren’t areas I tend to overbuy.
As a loose guideline I will strive to add 12 new pieces and 8 replacements - this number might have to be adjusted, if more pieces needs replacements than expected.
Second hand items count as half an item. I honestly don’t particularly enjoy shopping secondhand, so this will encourage me to look for preloved items. If I suddenly start buy loads, they’ll will count as a full item.
That’s it for the rules. In order to purchase and return less, I will document why I placed the order (FOMO, sale, upcoming event etc.) and see if there are any patterns which stand out. I also plan to pause and wait before actually clicking buy. Furthermore I need to ask myself how making this purchase actually make me feel - do I already feel a bit icky about in the moment?
All this said - the truth is that at the moment two packages I ordered by the end of 2024 are making their way towards me. And I probably will end up returning all of it!
I’m still lusting after lots of items. At the moment it’s a dark green cashmere sweater from Uniqlo, the Malva slides from Flattered as a nicer indoor option and a pair of knitted lounge pants.
I would love to hear if any of you are embarking on a low buy!
Good luck and looking forward to following along! Those current lust items are VERY NICE.
Sigrid, congratulations on a second year of low buys! I love the way that you structured this year and am looking forward to reading about your purchasing patterns - the trend FOMO is real. I totally get how you feel about secondhand shopping. It took me a few years to really get into it, but today most of my favorite items are preloved. Excited to see how you feel at the end of the year.