Welcome to the monthly round-up of all the random things I’ve bought! Sometimes it includes food and necessities, often it doesn’t. The aim here is to track my consumption in an attempt to quote-unquote “shame” myself (or, be accountable) into reducing unnecessary or impulsive buying.
Hi friends,
This is the 13th issue of Consumption, i.e. I've done it for 12 months already! So…if you’ve been here from the very beginning, this subject line will seem familiar. That doesn’t mean I’m going to change it though, sorry.
Anyways. After the slight chaos1 of spending last year, 2024 is the year I start keeping a strict budget. It lists the amount I can spend each month, and I also have to abide by a list of items I want to add to my wardrobe (so no stocking up mindlessly!).
What this means is that you’ll see fewer items, but that’s by design (reducing consumption is the final goal, remember?) The items will be higher quality though (and understandably more expensive) so keep that in mind!
Also, I’ve reformatted everything into proper sections so I can expand more on the thoughts behind the purchases!
January Buys:
Exercise clothes!
Started going back to the gym this year so I had to rethink what to wear. I know that the best clothes to wear are those you already own; I have exercise tights and tops that are at least 5 years old.
However, the issue I have with exercise is more mental than physical, so I felt that it was justifiable2 to buy some exercise clothes I actually like. I know everyone wears leggings as pants, but personally I hate that. My crotch feels way too exposed.
I bought a pair of proper exercise shorts3 and a basic t-shirt. I wanted to buy from a sustainable store, but unfortunately here my insecurity involving fit came back, so I went back to the fast fashion brand I knew would work. If past experience continues, though, all of this should last at least the next 5 years.
This article was really helpful in thinking about exercise, by the way!
Wishlist items
I’ve been searching for a cardigan, but everything was just slightly off…I couldn’t explain why nothing was right, so it became a “if it’s not a fuck yes, it’s a no” situation.
I’m really happy I waited as this sustainable brand Beyond Nine launched their winter sale, complete with a cardigan that I immediately knew was the one. It’s more structured, which will go perfectly with my chill outfits (i.e. the ones most likely needing a cardigan).
Another item I bought this month was tights. I spent too many years wearing them to cover up my legs (fat girls and wearing black tights to ‘cover up and slim down’…sigh), so I’ve avoided them since I started recovering from that bit of diet culture. However, you can’t deny that tights are useful as hell, especially under skirts and in cold-ish weather. After some thinking, I decided to go back, so am trying out inclusive brand Snag for the first time.
Lastly, I’ve been wanting to buy some charms to add to a necklace. I’m waiting for some beautiful ones to come back in stock (or to buy them in person in Hong Kong), but I added this single lovely Missoma charm (was on sale!) and I love it.
Lunar New Year prep
Generally, holidays like Lunar New Year and Christmas are not very problematic for me. From the very beginning, my husband I refused to buy one-time-use items, so our LNY and Christmas decorations are timeless and reused every year. This year, my simple pineapple-shaped decorations will go up again, but hosting people has made it necessary to buy some stuff. For example, our tablecloth looks like trash, so we bought a new tablecloth and placemats. I’m not crazy about this, but I think it’s as low-impact as we can go.
Refills
Concealer, bronzer, etc. A small hope is that by the end of 2024, I can reduce my dependency on makeup just like I did for skincare last year.
Shipping fees
I finally shipped some of my clothes to a plus-size consignment store in KL, Joyful Jiggle! I’ve followed one of the founders for a while and was super excited when the store opened, so was really happy to get some of my unused clothes there so that other fat people can hopefully wear them. If I was to go to KL for anything, I would definitely drop by!
Quick thought to end:
Shipping fees suck. I understand why they exist, but damn if they aren’t one of the most effective ways of making people overconsume. Paying for shipping for a single item might be one of the harder things I’ll have to get used to.
for me
for me
from the men’s section, duh, because the womens' shorts are nowhere long enough to cover my ass