Ashamed of myself

I remember that song, but who sang it Lemongrass? X

Luckylegs you can luxuriate in the thought that you are one of those who are keeping the retail businesses in business.

I have around 200 pairs of shoes! I never throw any of them away! HOWEVER I did have a mishap as some hush puppies were soled in a molded type material which disintegrated when I walked through Cirencester last year!!!

Our clothes for cash man sorts the clothes, some go to homeless charities, others to the needy, the rest are bagged up and sold on and the money is then fed back into charity. Whatever is over goes to the Salvation Army and they then sell in on. He will also take bedding etc and items of furniture all to pass on. It seems that nothing is wasted :-)

Wow how this resonates with me! When I was young(I'm 73 now) I had very few clothes the majority of which I made myself. Then I was married and had 4 children so my priorities changed and they came first obviously. Now I am retired and can buy clothes as much as I like. I am still frugal so only buy in Sales or charity shops. Shopping really is my only hobby,sad eh? I also have things in different sizes as my weight fluctuates like everyone else especially Winter/Summer. I loved jumble sales as a teenager and now we have charity shops instead which is a bonus as everything is sorted and sized and reasonably cheap.
I do have a fair few handbags but that is because I match my bags to my shoes. Also rather a lot of shoes because I loathe getting rid of any in case I can't afford them when I get old!
Coats? I think my husband might divorce me if I buy any more! I have a drawer full of bras because one of these days I will actually buy one that fits comfortably for more than the first day! Actually I don't know why I bother with the bras as I very rarely wear one anyway!
I've just noticed that Marks and Spencer's has a Sale so I must end here and pop down!

Great idea for Lent, whether you’re religious or not, is to give an item a day to charity...also the money saved by having a ‘buy free’ month could be used for treating family/friends to a nice meal...just a thought?

The clothing/fashion industry as a whole now contributes 10% of the world's greenhouse gases, 2nd only as a polluter to the oil industry.You should never throw away clothes so that on top of everything else they take up space in landfill - give them to charity shops or clothes banks. Anything not good enough to be worn can be washed and put in a bag clearly labelled "clean rags" and given to a charity shop so that the fabric will be recycled.

I had a year of buying no clothes and still could wear a different outfit every day from the clothes I owned.

You need money and room to store them to give in to the urge to buy. I was guilty of buying things in 2's. When I think back on what I have spent I think in terms of how many hours I had to work to pay for them. That is sobering. I also think of all the repairs I could have made to the house if I had not spent it, and the risk employees in sweat shops go to earn just a miniscule proportion of the cost to buy clothes which lose their value the moment you leave the shop.

When we are downhearted, shopping always lifts the mood. That is fine, but how long does that last? Conservationists and those concerned with climate change told us last month that we are ruining the planet by buying so many clothes and Britain is the worst country for it. Does that mean we are the most downhearted? It is not very easy either to recycle. Sometimes it costs more in terms of energy used to recycle.

It is strange how we criticise the addictions of other people yet do not consider our own addictions to shopping. I watch the 600lb life programme and almost all of them look back and blame their alcoholic or drug addicted parents, yet cannot see that their addiction to food must surely be affecting their children in like manner. I suppose because food and clothes are readily available and everyone needs to eat and clothe themselves it does not actually register in their minds as an addiction.

I'm loving this! Just keep giving to the charity shop. I regularly give away clothes I no longer wear.

I have one double wardrobe with clothes in and a chest of drawers for knickers, socks, swim wear and nightwear. 1 pair of sandals, one pair of red ankle boots, worn all winter, a pair of joules wellies and a pair of flat shoes. Going to replace the flats this week ready for the good weather as the others have dropped to bits. Handbags,well I have one leather backpack and a shoulder handbag. I do like shopping BUT why do I need a load of stuff so instead if I fancy a dress I will make it, also jackets the same. So I don't have many of them. Stuff we don't need or outgrow goes to St Mungos for those living on the streets.

Luckylegs- ifyou want it then it’s yours. You’ll havetoPM me with your address.

I'm in my late 60s and have had nowhere near 44 handbags in my lifetime....

Had an elderly neighbour who i looked after , clothes were her everything. On her own admission,in her younger day she would go without food to buy clothes(after she'd bought food for her cat). Long story short when she died I packed up over forty black bags of clothes ,lots with labels still on and not cheap either to send to Age U.k (her wish).She was still buying clothes ten days before she passed away. When she found shoes she liked she would buy them in three or four different colours.

I wouldn't worry about it too much Luckylegs, I assume you have enough money left over from these shopping jaunts to buy food, pay the rent, etc. Perhaps pull your belt in a bit if it makes you feel better.
My obsession is books and china. I don't need any more mugs/cups and saucers but I bought one of each last month because they were so pretty and I couldn't resist.
Plus, I sent off another order to Bibliophile this very morning.
However, in my defence I enjoy them and I don't go on holiday, drink or smoke so does it matter, really?

I've been having a declutter and sent lots off to charity shops, but while in town today I passed a shop with about 20 bags of (I assume) unsold goods outside waiting to be collected and taken - where? Perhaps, like the Sewing Bee I should think of other ways to use unwanted clothing.

I am amazed at the number of shoes, boots and handbags some of you have......if I was living near you, I would have come and collected them, especially the handbags . You must be very rich or just big spendthrifts.

Grammaretto I dont throw things out I pass them on ,clothes to my sister ,furniture and soft furnishing to the local charity that helps people who are starting out or starting agin .Towels and blankets/throws go to the Animal home 3 miles away Underwear goes to Smalls for All in Livingston.Nothing is wasted its all recycled as best I can.My books ,around 2000 of them went to the school when their library burned down,they were very grateful for them and I only kept about 6 books back that I wouldn't part with .As long as someone benefits I wont feel guilty

I used to be terrible for retail therapy and had so many clothes in my wardrobe with the tags still on, things that I had bought and liked, the return date had passed and then I didn't like it and yes it is so wasteful. We tried a couple of boot sales but still bought so much stuff back so last year I decided everything must go and I found a place where you take your bags of things and they are weighed and money is exchanged. Its not a lot but something. The more decent things went to charity. I then had a long talk to myself and I do still buy but not so much and can now say No. I ask myself do I need it, or do I want it. Once home I may change my mind and return it. Best of both worlds the pleasure of buying and the pleasure of the money in my bank.

You've inspired me to take a look in my wardrobe. I pulled out 12 pairs of trousers which don't fit any more. I'll never be a 14 again . Forgot about the 3/4 length and shorts which are folded up on a shelf. Maybe I'll look at those tomorrow.

I wish that I could just walk into a shop and find lovely clothes and shoes that fit well. I get no pleasure from shopping, and just find it a chore. I'm dreading having to find something nice to wear for my daughter's wedding in November, especially as it is Australia, and the weather will be hot.

I don't really like dressing up, preferring natural fabrics and being comfortable. Anything synthetic is whipped off as soon as I get home.

I have small, but very wide feet, and finding nice comfortable shoes is difficult. Sod's law, though. I dropped on a nice pair of well-fitting, quite expensive, shoes recently. The first time I wore them the heel went down a big crack in the pavement and was badly damaged!

Please, Pamela, that sounds interesting and I would pass it on afterwards.

Thank you Telly for saying you’re enjoying this thread. I’ve got to say, I’m surprised that generally you’ve mostly taken it in the spirit I’d hoped for, lightheartedly. I assume my clothes are bought from the charity shops and don’t go to landfill. I’d find it completely impossible to edit down to 20 pieces and I wouldn’t want to. I like choice and variety. You’re certainly right that it’s to fill a hole in my life. I havent had a particularly happy marriage and I have a blood cancer which concentrates the mind wonderfully. So sod it, I will enjoy what I’ve got and try not to buy anything else!

I’ve got a disc by Paul McKenna titled How to overcome Emotional Spending. I think it came free with a Sunday paper years ago.
If anyone wants it I’m prepared to post it. Maybe it could do the rounds? Cure all of you??

The charity shop should be pleased