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No Shopping for 90 Days Update

Is it over yet? We’re in the home stretch, right?

It’s only been 11 days, you say? Oh.

The good news is that I haven’t screwed up yet. [cue fanfare]

Here are some things that are helping me resist the urge to spend.

1. I’ve unsubscribed from virtually every retailer email/newsletter list. This helps tremendously.

2. Holiday gift cards are ready to deploy in case of an emergency. Barnes & Noble, Gap, and Sephora are sitting pretty in my wallet.

3. Surprisingly, the most helpful has been clicking the “Pin it” button opposed to the “Purchase” button. I’ve come to the realization that my online spending habits stem from the instant gratification I receive from the act of clicking “purchase.” Seriously, the time it takes from when I first see a desirable object to when I actually purchase it is about 2.4 seconds. As you can imagine, not a lot of mindfulness is occurring during those 2.4 seconds. So! Instead of purchasing, I’ve been pinning items to a Pinterest board I created, aptly named, No Shopping For 90 Days. I can’t tell you how much this has helped me this past week. I can easily catalog every little thing my heart desires without the commitment of purchasing. Come April, it will be super interesting to see which of the pinned items are still “must-haves.”

Full disclosure: my resolution is to not spend any money on clothes, shoes or accessories for myself. I can still spend money on items for the family. Which brings me to my next order of business. You all, I just spent the ENTIRE weekend researching and comparing the Vitamix blender and the Blendtec blender. Our old blender is on the fray (probably from all the fruit/vegetable/nut smoothie abuse), and I knew it was time to just buck up and buy a commercial grade blender. Let’s just say I got a leeeetle sucked into the rabbit hole vortex of online reviews and YouTube videos and consumer reports and OH MY LORD ALL WEEKEND LONG VITAMIXBLENDTECMANIA. It came down to the last-minute, but I bought the Vitamix. It should be arriving today, and I’ve never been so excited about a damn kitchen appliance in my life. Now, if anyone out there is looking into buying a commercial grade blender (they ain’t cheap, folks!), and interested in how I came to this decision, I’d be happy to post my pros and cons for you. Just let me know!

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33 comments
  1. kakaty

    January 11, 2012 at 12:44 pm

    Yay Vitamix! They are a local company and every November they have an Open House/factory sell-off with deep discounts. I’ve wanted one for YEARS and have spent several hours down that VITAMIXBLENDTECMANIA rabbit hole but have never bit the bullet. This year I’m getting one at that Open House no matter what. 4+ years of wanting it and it’s not like it costs $3000. Now I just need to wait the 10 months until the next sale. Ugh.

    • whoorl

      January 11, 2012 at 1:00 pm

      DO IT!

  2. Rebecca (Bearca)

    January 11, 2012 at 12:59 pm

    This will not be helpful, AT ALL, but I just got that Urban Decay Naked 2 palette yesterday and it is AHHHMAZING. Definitely worth getting once your sentence has been served! xo

    • whoorl

      January 11, 2012 at 1:03 pm

      #1 – I have a $50 Sephora GC, so I could pull the trigger any minute. ;)

      #2 – Talk about a RABBIT HOLE. Naked or Naked 2?? I can’t decide between the two…I’ve read that the original is a little warmer and more shimmer, and that 2 is cooler and more matte. BUT WHICH ONE IS RIGHT FOR ME???? Cooler colors look better on me, but I’m drawn to some of those beautiful bronze colors in the original. Can you help me, Bearca??

      CAN ANYONE OUT THERE HELP ME?????

      • Rebecca (Bearca)

        January 11, 2012 at 1:54 pm

        Okay, so I’m probably no help, because I saw the Naked 2 and bought it immediately without even looking at the original one. I do think there are some really nice colors in the Naked 2 palette that would work for you! There are a couple of bronzy colors in it as well. You might need to go look at both (and now I need to look at the original too, THANKS FOR NOTHING SARAH).

  3. Amti'b

    January 11, 2012 at 1:00 pm

    Very impressive. If i didn’t get a head ache on pinterest i would try your method, maybe i will pop an aleve and do it! Now what to do about driving to a store and buying stuff….lee adores her vitamix as i am sure you have seen, she makes all sorts of stuff. The ritas from it are yum yum!!

  4. Mir

    January 11, 2012 at 1:11 pm

    Probably too late to direct you to this article, huh? (I fell down that rabbit hole myself, for a while. I make my kids smoothies almost every morning. I bought a refurb KitchenAid and I love it, and it cost roughly 1/4 what the Vitamix costs.)

  5. regan

    January 11, 2012 at 1:16 pm

    I would love to know how you made the blender decision. I was thinking this morning that I might want to make that upgrade.

    • whoorl

      January 11, 2012 at 1:25 pm

      I’m on it, Regan!

  6. Emily

    January 11, 2012 at 1:16 pm

    I should make a similar board. I can’t stop shopping online!! It’s too dangerous. ACK!

  7. laura @ hollywood housewife

    January 11, 2012 at 1:18 pm

    I desperately need to do a 90-day shopping hiatus myself, but I just keep putting it off. Because I find one more thing on sale that I NEED.

    Also, Gilt Group is going to do me in.

    • whoorl

      January 11, 2012 at 1:25 pm

      Yes, Gilt Groupe is beyond fantastic. In fact, I haven’t formally announced it on the blog yet, but I am a Gilt Mom Ambassador this year! There will be a LOT of fun Gilt stuff going on around here very soon. Stay tuned!

  8. Jenny

    January 11, 2012 at 1:29 pm

    You will LOVE, LOVE, LOVE your VitaMix!!! It will change your life! As for Pinterest….genius. I agree, it is (almost) as satisfying as the purchase button!

    • whoorl

      January 11, 2012 at 1:34 pm

      YES. Love to hear the good words about Vitamix! (I tweeted about my dilemma this weekend, and every single response I received was pro-Vitamix. Can’t wait to get started!)

  9. Shannyn

    January 11, 2012 at 1:48 pm

    I had the same awesome pinterest breakthrough. I now have a wishlist on there, and knowing I can go back and buy something if I just NEED it (yeah, right) has seriously helped my budget!

  10. Amy Lewis Wright

    January 11, 2012 at 3:42 pm

    Please help me! We are truly a house divided over here. I say Vitamix and Chris says Blend Tec. I have watched videos on youtube and everything too! I’m holding with the Vitamix. What made you decide with it? Please post about it and any creations you make from it. I’ll use your testimony when pleading my case :)

  11. Shannon

    January 11, 2012 at 3:59 pm

    The vitamix changed my life!!!! I got one as an early Christmas gift and have been addicted ever since. It seriously does the work of all kitchen appliances. On another note I resolved not to shop until June…Your end will be my mid point. Yikes!!

  12. sarah

    January 11, 2012 at 7:23 pm

    I’m always impressed by people who stop shopping in the purposeful way that other people might change their diet or quit smoking. I think Melissa Summers did it years ago with “things I’m not buying.” I am at the opposite end of the spectrum: I cannot justify a purchase for myself. I have been wearing most of the same work clothes since I was hired in 2006, wear my trusty pearl earrings, wedding band and class signet daily, and have a haircut 4x a year. My makeup is clinique… bonus products from my grandmother. I have a masters degree, work for public schools, have a toddler, and like to think that my style is natural, casual & classic so that I don’t have to constantly update my look (which we really couldn’t afford anyway, see “toddler” and “public school”). Or I can attribute it to wearing a uniform for grades 1-12, and surmise that I just got used to allocating my resources away personal shopping. In any case, good luck with your adventure! I think it will end beautifully for you – simplifying always does!

    • whoorl

      January 11, 2012 at 7:37 pm

      Thanks! I did this once before here at whoorl (in January of 2009, I think? It was called ‘What I’m Not Buying Today,” and I think I lasted 6 weeks. I’m hoping I can do a better job this year!)

  13. Kara

    January 11, 2012 at 9:09 pm

    I am a fellow researcher. I fall into a rabbit hole for any major (and some not so major) purchase. I too spent hours over the course of a month and a half with the Blendtec vs. Vitamix. My husband was so over it. I originally went with BT because I saw it at a Costco roadshow, and didn’t want to have to buy a separate dry container. However, it was incredibly loud and bounced all over the counter. I wasn’t super impressed. I returned it and bought the VM and fell deeply, madly in love. The tamper is fantastic, the recipe book is amazing, the noise is less irritating and it’s so incredibly sturdy. Despite only being 1 horsepower (BT is 2), I think it uses the power much more efficiently. I use mine literally everyday. Enjoy!

  14. Sam Malone

    January 12, 2012 at 8:33 am

    You are a saint for doing this. I haven’t shopped in about 2 weeks and as I type this my eye is twitching at the thought. I unsubscribed from most of my online retailers last spring and it made a big difference in my online shopping urges (I just can’t resist a good online sale!). Pinterest has definitely been my savior during the fight to spend less money on things I want but don’t need. Keep it up!

  15. Pickles & Dimes

    January 12, 2012 at 10:14 am

    I’ll be curious to see if you still want to buy some of those items on your list after your no-shopping moratorium is over. If you’re like me, once I hold off on buying something for awhile, I’m no longer interested in it later (probably because I’ve found 457 other things to replace it).