May 03
Sally Bjornsen
Dieters–chew on this, depressing!
Last updated at 21:22 27 November 2006

WomenShopping35p[1]Women will spend more than eight years of their lives shopping, says a study.

While keeping their families fed and clothed -and indulging in a little retail therapy – the average woman will shop for an astonishing 25,184 hours and 53 minutes over a period of 63 years.

If the average expedition lasted the length of a full working day – from 9am to 5pm – that would be 3,148 days trudging around the shops, or just over eight-and-a-half years.

The poll of 3,000 women, conducted by GE Money, revealed they make an average of 301 shopping trips per year, lasting a total of 399 hours and 46 minutes.

Food shopping can take more than an hour to complete each time. With an average of 84 trips to stock the pantry over a year, that is 94 hours and 55 minutes in the supermarket.

Women also dedicate 90 trips a year to keeping up their appearances – shopping for clothes 30 times, shoes 15 times, accessories 18 times and toiletries 27 times.

A total of 100 hours and 48 minutes is spent hunting for the latest clothing bargains and fashion statements.

A further 40 hours and 30 minutes is spent shopping for footwear, and 29 hours and 31 minutes looking for accessories such as handbags, jewellery and scarves.

Even shopping for more mundane items such as deodorant, shower gel and razors takes women around 17 hours and 33 minutes over one year.

A further 19 trips, or 36 hours and 17 minutes, are used to buy gifts for friends and family.

The poll also showed women will go window shopping 51 times a year, spending 48 hours and 51 minutes just looking for their next purchase.

Stewart Macphail, of GE Money, said: “Women clearly dedicate a lot of time to making sure they find the best deals and the most suitable items for their needs.

“So perhaps the best Christmas present British men could give their wives or girlfriends this year would be to do their fair share of the shopping.”

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Mar 25

84
days since I began this diet.
49
days until I broke down and bought “something”
875
what that ‘something’ cost. “shh..”
35
days since then
8
items I tried selling on eBay in hopes of M.M.M [making more money]
1
item that actually sold [jeans]
69.99
was the price I sold them for [yay!]
200
was what I paid for them [boo]
281
days left in this challenge!

HAPPY FRIDAY LOVIES :)

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Mar 21
Janna

I have been seeing different sites and blogs that suggest “consumer diets” and have slowly built an interest.  At first I thought “Good for them!”, then I started thinking “Could be fun…” and now I’m thinking “I can do this!!”  I do shop very frugally, enjoying the hunt for sales and thrifting, but have now turned my focus towards home decor and cooking, so why not just cut out buying clothes altogether? I have a whole closet room-so no need to purchase more clothes, my hubby and I have begun our financial planning for investing and retirement-so I can contribute more toward that with the money I save and honestly I think it’ll do me good to face this challenge.  I would like to believe that I am not a materialistic person by nature and this will be proof to me that I have my priorities in order and am not consumed by consumerism ;)

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Mar 14
Sally Bjornsen

laundry ladyPart of the reason we live in a disposable apparel culture is that we don’t take the time or make the effort to take care of the clothes we own.  I remember as a kid my mother hand washing her favorite items.  This was long before people sent everything to the dry cleaner, which by the way can ruin a wardrobe if you are not careful. My mother’s special “delicate” silks and jerseys would hang on the shower rod in our bathroom or on the floor laid flat to dry.  I can’t remember the last time I hand washed something.  My mother, by the way is a fashion icon at 72 years old.  Her wardrobe can go up against anyone’s wardrobe anyday.   Most of what’s especially beautiful in her closet are those things she has hung onto for years.  So that brings me to this…how do we modern girls learn from the generation before us about taking care of what we already own?  Here are some basic principles.  Please add on your own and I will post them too.

Tips for taking care of the clothes you already own:

  • Avoid dry cleaning as much as possible. The chemical process strips down fibers in clothes over time.
  • No wire hangers!
  • Wash rougher pieces together like jeans, and softer ones like cotton dress shirts on their own.
  • Use the gentle cycle as frequently as possible with a gentle detergent like Woolite.
  • Wear your clothes more than once before washing them. If a stain is small, spot clean with seltzer water or a reputable spot remover.
  • Remove clothes from the dryer and hang them up immediately.
  • Don’t use the dryer if you don’t have to.  A clothes line or a shower rod make for good “air drying.”
  • Pay attention to what you are ironing and look at the instructions for recommended iron settings.

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Mar 11
Marilyn Jones

According to my credit card statement the last time I bought clothes was Oct 22, 2009. My New Year’s resolution for 2010 was not to buy any clothes for all 0f 2010. And I didn’t. It was not to save money. It’s that I wanted to spend the money on travelling. And I did.
Today is the day to break the diet. One year and 5 months without buying any clothes. Not bad. I love clothes and I absolutely do not NEED any clothes. My closets are still bulging. Well, maybe I need socks. You can see my toes through most of my socks.
My two shopping friends and I have an appointment with our fashion consultant this very afternoon.
It is a very gray day and it is snowing lightly. Nothing better on a gray day than to go shopping to lift the spirits.
Wish us luck.

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Mar 02
Amelia Marquis

Six months late to be exact. Apparently, I’ve been living under a rock because  I stumbled upon The Great American Apparel Diet for the very first time today.  I immediately felt a connection to the cause and requested to join within minutes.  And while I am embarrassingly late to join, I still have exactly six months to participate.  Which, in all honesty, is going to be quite the challenge as is.  Good thing I treated myself to an impromtu President’s Day spree last weekend.  That should last me at least a month.  One down.

Truth be told though, I have been wanting to free myself from the nagging urge to constantly update my wardrobe for quite sometime.  Now I just have a tangible goal (love those!) and a public forum to keep me on track.     

My hopes for this process are the following:

  • I will become more creative with the clothes I already have
  • I will spend more free time reading books versus flipping through fashion mags, hiking mountains versus trekking through malls and  being content versus constantly feeling like I “need” SOMETHING

As the new kid on the block, I welcome any advice.  I know I have my work cut out for me.  My sister told me today that me signing up for this was “the worst idea ever.”  But it’s too late to back out now.  I’ve accepted this mission.  First test: girls’ weekend in San Francisco’s Union Square.

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Feb 03

I meant to do this before I started the diet but kept forgetting..

So, I’ve just finished tallying up the amount I’ve spent on clothing, shoes & accessories for the past year. I’ve included totals from my bank account and my VISA. I’m completely SHOCKED at the amount I have spent [nearly totaling 10K] in the last 12 months. It might not seem like a lot of money to some, but to me it’s insane! That’s over $800/month that could have been going straight into my neglected savings account. But apparently, I decided at the time that it would be a much better idea to go out and buy “something new”.

Ugh…this news makes me nauseous. The worst part is; I can’t even really remember what I’ve bought! I’m sure I’ve bought some pretty dresses and such, but that money could have been put somewhere else and I really wish I had done this diet sooner.

Also, what really bothers me is I genuinely thought I was doing really well. Tapping away at my little budget…thinking I had it all together. But bank statements don’t lie. In this case I kind of wish they did though.

At least I now know, and that’s all that matters. This new found knowledge will only reinforce my good shopping behavior and I will try my best to not let it get the better of me. Learning from my mistakes; Check! Not spending money on useless items; Check! Nothing but good vibrations and happy thoughts; Check, Check! Huzzah! Starting …………………………………………………………….NOW!

Happy Not a Shopaholic Day!!!!

For previous entries, check out http://nakedsusie.blogspot.com [don’t worry, its family friendly ;) ]

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Jan 28

Zero shopping. Hundreds of things I want.

Four weeks seems like a tiny kilometer on the road to recovery when you look at the whole grand scheme of things doesn’t it? I always find that once you put a timer or clock on something, it seems as though time goes slower; creeping along at a snails pace. Then each day, afternoon, hour becomes an accomplishment; a countdown really.

As triumphant as I feel, I can’t help but think about these last four weeks and how I’ve dealt with them. I’ve been alright, I guess. Have I wanted to scream at the top of my lungs in agony?!? Rip out my hair in desperation? Have i wanted to binge, purge, binge and purge once more for good luck?? [clothing wise, of course]. WELL, Im not going to dignify those questions with an answer. A pictures worth a thousand words right?

Oh the agony.  It's unbareable.

Oh the agony. It's unbareable.

Okay, okay let’s be honest; it’s been painful!! I miss online window shopping SOOOO MUCH! I use to spend so much time looking at beautiful clothing, shoes and jewelry; daydreaming about endless outfits. Wait..whaaa? “I use to spend so much time looking at clothing, shoes and jewelry; daydreaming about endless outfits.”?

WOW. No wonder I never got anything done. No wonder there was never enough time for laundry, knitting, scrapbooking, cleaning, spending time with the bf, sports, social life and weekends. It was always wasted in front of the computer; all of it taking a back seat to my shopping addiction. I would literally spend hours trying to find the best bang for my buck.

So, I say: It’s time to start doing something a little more proactive with all those extra hours in the day! Get off your computers, stay outta those malls!

Check out my blog for older post: nakedsusie.blogspot.com

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Dec 27
Meredith B

So although I managed to make it through the holiday season without buying myself any clothes I did receive some clothing items for Christmas. Actually, a lot. I didn’t specifically ask for clothes, but I do have a few relatives who generally tend toward buying me sweaters so, no surprise–I got sweaters. My husband, who has been blessedly silent about TGAAD other than an initial acknowledgement and nod, bought me a number of very specific items that I chose to take as a “hint”.

Specifically, several yoga type lounge pants, two sweatshirts, and a set of pjs.

Understand that my husband rarely comments on my clothing choices at all. I have one outfit in particular he always comments on (”Is that new?”) even though I’ve had it for several years, but he tends to remain silent when it comes to my clothing and jewelry.

However, some of you may recall a certain post I wrote a month or so ago regarding my go-to at home outfit: a pair of really ugly loungewear pants and an oversized fleece jacket. I bemoaned my inability to put together cute outfits for the weekend and tended to wear these two items almost exclusively when I was at home because they were comfy and I didn’t have to worry about ruining them when I cleaned. The comments (thanks, btw) said, overwhelmingly, to GET RID of the ugly stuff.

But I just couldn’t. I meant to, but I couldn’t. Part of it, to be honest, is that I know I couldn’t replace them, because I wasn’t buying clothes until September 2011. It made me anxious. I put it off. I held tight to those ugly things. My inner toddler WOULD NOT let go of them.

Well, apparently my husband was making a very understated point about not wanting to see that outfit any more either, because now I have two pair of new, flattering yoga pants and two very close fitting sweatshirt/fleece pull over things. The old outfit was so large I had no shape. The new stuff says “Hey! There’s a woman under this!”

So, tonight the old outfit goes. I’m tearing it up into pieces to use as rags for my swiffer (I recently found patterns online to make your own reusable swiffer pads!). The pjs my husband gave me, well, those were a hint as well–the oversized, too short pjs I’ve been wearing are going straight in the rag bag.(Note, none of these items are really appropriate to donate to Goodwill, btw. They’re fit for rags only.)

The rest of the new clothes, well, I know I need to let some things in my closet go to put these items in. That’s going to be very, very hard. I know some of you on the TGAAD have had trouble feeling deprived. That’s not been my issue. I’m discovering I apparently can’t let go of things when I know I can’t replace them! (Given that I am a world class unclutterer, this is a new development for me, and entirely out of character.)

Here’s hoping I have the strength to let some items go tonight. (And I’m tempted to post a picture of the ugly stuff being ripped apart, as proof that I finally did it.)

Good luck to all as we head into the end of year sales. You can do it!

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Dec 22
Sarah F

Time magazine has published an article today on shopping and consumer behavior, which discusses why we make some of the spending choices that we make. Particularly interesting was their discussion of the domino effect when we buy one item and feel the need to buy many more to “go” with it instead of considering returning that pair of shoes, dress, shirt, ect. There has been extensive marketing research done in recent years on consumer behavior and debt in America, and we are getting down to some of the consumer psychology that explains our shopping behaviors. The Great American Apparel Diet is mentioned in this discussion, and the article is incredibly interesting and offers some relevant evaluations of our behavior as consumers.

Check it out! http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,2039389,00.html

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