How to Stop Buying Clothes

Co-authored by Kalee Hewlett

Last Updated: October 8, 2021

Shopping and spending money on clothes can sometimes become a habit, even an addiction, for many people. If you are having money troubles, cannot find room to store your clothes, or have problems in your relationship because of your spending, buying clothes may be a problem for you. Fortunately, there are some easy ways you can stop spending so much of your money on clothes, become more satisfied with what you already have, and be happier in general.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Rearranging Your Closet

1
Remove all the clothes from your closet and dresser. A great way to curb your spending on clothes is to reassess what you already have. Oftentimes, you will find items that you forgot about and wonder why you stopped wearing them. Remove everything from your closet and drawers and place each item onto your bed.^{[1]
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- The process of looking at, organizing, and rearranging your clothes can be a satisfying alternative to shopping, in addition to helping you determine what you need and don’t need.
2
Remove the clothes that you wear regularly each season. Begin sorting your clothes into piles. Create a “keep” pile for clothes that you have worn within the past month. If you live in an area that has dramatic seasonal changes in weather, you can include items in your keep pile that you didn’t wear within the past month if you wore them during the previous season.^{[2]
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- For instance, if it’s December and you haven’t worn shorts for more than a month because it’s been too cold, keep only the shorts that you wore in August or September when it was still hot enough for them.
- Place the items from your keep pile near your closet to be organized and stored.
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3
Make a “mend” pile. Look at the pile of clothes that are not in your “keep” pile, and if there are items there that you haven’t worn because they need to be mended, put those in a separate pile for mending. Be sure that the clothes you’re putting into the mend pile are things that you like and intend to wear again.^{[3]
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- If you don’t think you’ll actually wear the clothes again after they’re mended, throw them in the trash or put them into a donate pile if the mend is something simple, such as replacing a button.
- Mend the clothes in your mend pile yourself or take them to a tailor to be repaired. To mend the clothes yourself, use a needle and thread to fix any tears or replace any missing buttons.
- To find a local tailor, search “tailor near me” or “clothing repair near me” on the Internet.
4
Organize the clothes you’re keeping according to when you wear them. Begin putting away the clothes that you’re keeping. Hang the clothes you wear to work in one area of your closet. Put the clothes you wear at home or for working out into another area of your closet or dresser drawers.^{[4]
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- Place dressier clothes and clothes you wear to go out at night into a different area of your closet.
- Organizing your clothes in this way will help you to keep track of what you own, and you will find that you actually wear all of your clothes more often.

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Substituting Shopping with Other Options

1
Exercise when you feel the need to buy something. You may find that shopping is a habit you have when you are stressed or feeling unhappy. The idea of buying something, such as clothes that you don’t need, makes you feel better temporarily. If this is the case, replacing shopping with a healthier, and less expensive, habit will make you feel better about your choices in the long run.^{[5]
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- Try going for a run, riding your bike, lifting weights at the gym, or doing some yoga instead of going to the mall. Even taking a 30-minute walk in the fresh air will help relieve some stress and help decrease your urge to go spend money on clothes.
2
Sign up for a sewing class to learn to make your own clothes. If you buy clothes frequently because you simply love fashion, challenge yourself to learn how to make your own customized clothes by signing up for a sewing class. You may even be able to customize clothes that you already have by making them suit your style more. Browse “sewing classes near me” on the Internet to find a class in your area.^{[6]
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- If you like the class and become good at making clothes, continue making them for yourself and for others as gifts. You may even be able to start your own clothing line at some point.
3
Make plans with a friend to distract yourself. Another healthy way to relieve stress and distract yourself from a bad day is to reach out to a friend. Call up one of your friends to see if they’ll meet you for lunch or to get a drink.^{[7]
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- If you have a particular friend who you usually shop with, either contact a different friend or tell that friend that you are trying to not shop for while and see if they’d like to do something else with you.
4
Start a savings for something big that you will put money into. Think about something you want to do one day when you have the money. Maybe it’s taking a trip to Europe, supporting a charity, taking dance lessons, or building your own home. When you pass a clothing store and want to go in, tell yourself that you are saving for that bigger thing.^{[8]
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- Go home and put whatever money you maybe would’ve spent on clothes into the fund you’ve started. You’ll immediately feel better that you didn’t buy more clothes.
5
Write in a gratitude journal when you want to go shopping. Keep a journal in your room or in your car that you can open up when you feel the need to shop. Write down a few things that you’re grateful for: your health, your family, your pets, etc.^{[9]
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- You can also use your journal to jot down some stressors that are triggering you to want to go shopping. Write the things down and then cross them out or create a to-do list if your stress is related to having too much to do.

Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Shopping Smarter

1
Determine your “personal uniform.” Part of your clothes-buying problem may be that you buy clothes that you think you like but you never actually wear because they are not at all you. To see if this is something you do, look at your closet and see if you have any pieces that stand out: sequins, faux fur, camouflage, or any other attention-grabbing items. Ask yourself if you ever actually wear them, and then review the clothes that you actually wear on a daily basis.
- For instance, if your daily wardrobe consists mostly of jeans and nice T-shirts, narrow the contents of your closet down to these items, with just a few dressy items for formal occasions.
- When you go shopping, resist the urge to buy clothes that don’t fit into your daily wardrobe. Remind yourself that it is a waste of your money because you probably won’t actually wear the item.
2
Buy an item only when it needs to be replaced. If you’ve recently ripped a pair of jeans or your favorite T-shirt, by all means, go out and replace it. Other than that, don’t buy any clothes. If you have a certain event coming up and think you need a new outfit for it, check your closet first to see what you could wear that you already have.
- Force yourself to wear clothes that you already own. For instance, if you have a friend’s wedding coming up and want to buy a new dress to wear, look to see what dresses you already have. Even if you already wore a certain dress to a wedding, other people who were there will not remember that you’re wearing the same thing.
3
Track all of your spending for 30 days. Write down everything that you buy for one month: clothes, groceries, coffee, toiletries, eating out, office supplies, etc. Write down the price next to each item as you write it down. Seeing how much you spend on certain things may shock you into changing the ways you spend your money.^{[10]
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4
Delay buying something for one month. When you see a piece of clothing you really like at a store, write it down on a piece of paper along with the date that you saw it. Refer back to the list in a month and see if you still want the item enough to go buy it.^{[11]
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- Delaying buying a piece of clothing for a month helps to decrease the amount of impulse-spending that you do.

Expert Q&A

Question

How do I start building a wardrobe?

Kalee Hewlett
Image Consultant
Kalee Hewlett is a Celebrity Stylist & Confidence Coach with almost two decades of experience helping clients build confidence and ‘dress for success.' She works with her clients to transform their sense of self 'from the inside out’ by merging her expertise in image consulting with Neuro-Linguistic Programming. Kalee’s work is rooted in science, style, and the understanding that ‘identity is destiny'. She uses her own methodology and Style To Success Strategy to create positive identity shifts. Kalee is a fashion TV host and appears regularly on QVC UK sharing her fashion expertise. She also was appointed as the head judge and host of Fashion One Network’s 6-part TV show 'Design Genius.’

Kalee Hewlett

Image Consultant

Expert Answer

Stock up on the basics. First and foremost, focus on building a capsule wardrobe, or a collection of all of the basics you need. A woman, for instance, might need a pencil skirt, a classic pair of trousers, a good tailored jacket, a white shirt, and some T-shirts. You can spend a little more getting cool versions of these staples, because they're going to be the pieces you wear over and over again. Once you have that core figured out, you can look for things to layer over that.