The Great American Apparel Diet
no buying for one year

Tracy

Tracy, Portland Oregon. Age: 50. Mother of 4 (two girls 19, boys 14 and 16), a step-mom of one (girl, 6), a wife, a lawyer, and an addicted bargain shopper! While Tracy has a lot of healthy interests (running, yoga, reading, hiking, cooking, travel, attending kids' sporting events to name a few) she knows that she uses shopping to relieve stress and boredom (classic retail therapy) and to get a "high." Tracy's closet is bursting and she certainly doesn't wear all the clothes she has. Despite that, she still hunts for and buys "bargains" on-line (love overstock.com and smartbargains.com) and in store (The Rack, TJ Maxx, Marshall's etc.). In the week or ten days prior to joing the GAAD Tracy ordered seven dresses, one pair of sandals, one skirt, two bathing suits and four tops on-line for a total of $435 -- all cute, all name brands with an original retail cost close to $2,000 -- finding such "bargains" has been a huge part of the thrill for her. But Tracy also realizes that things are not really "bargains" when she doesn't need them and wastes precious time and energy on "the hunt" that could be better spent in more fulfilling pursuits. She is also eager to retire her credit card debt. Tracy is excited at the idea of "shopping" in her closet and being creative with what she already has. She hopes at the end of her year (although starting late, she plans to do a full year) to have cleaned out the stuff that is too young for her or doesn't suit her and to have "recovered" from using shopping for getting a high or meeting emotional needs. Tracy sees this experience as one step in making a number of incremental changes toward creating a simpler, more fulfilling, more conscious life!