“By challenging yourself to buy ‘no new clothes’ – whether that’s not buying anything at all, or prioritizing re-use and secondhand, you decide! – you will reduce your carbon footprint, build healthy psychological habits, limit the waste you send to landfill, and keep your hard-earned dollars from companies that don’t provide their garment workers living wages or safe working conditions.”
That last one I try not to do anyway. I almost exclusively buy made in Canada clothes from slow fashion companies. But even with that commitment, I still own enough clothes for a lifetime.
The first thing I did on January 1, 2024 was climb up a mountain with a friend. A little more than four hours on snow and ice in very cold, grey conditions. When we got back to the car, I couldn’t even manage to click the car remote to unlock the doors, my hands were so frozen. And it was glorious to open the year in nature, in the vigor of my body (which has not always been a given this year), with a challenge and great company.
Frozen waterfall on Mt MansfieldMina on Mt MansfieldMt Mansfield Trail
2023 was its own mountain and as much as I love mountains, I’m hoping that 2024 will bring fewer tears and fears and more ease and flow.
Every year (as many of you do, no doubt, and many of us here at Fit Is a Feminist Issue) I choose a WOTY (here’s last year). Sometimes the word is aspirational and other years it is a beacon. This year it is the latter—a lighthouse to indicate the shoals, when I fall out of alignment with its intent; and a north star to guide my speech, actions and spirit.
My word is going to be DISCERNMENT. I had a lot of resistance to my WOTY last year, which was WELCOME, because, well, the year was even harder than I anticipated when I chose the word. Now, heading into another opportunity for a reset, I wanted to find a word that was neither overwhelming, as last year’s word felt at times (when I hadn’t just blocked the whole word from my mind), nor punitive. I say that because my first potential word for this year was FRUGAL. Oof. That felt like punishment and deprivation. And yet, I want to capture the intention I have going into 2024, to be more conscious of the choices I’m making. In particular, yes, the financial decisions I make, since my situation post-break up is radically different than it was when I was with my partner. I wrote about the results of those relationship choices in My Fit Feminism Is a Fraud.
Last year was also a no-shopping for clothes year (that was my annual challenge, which I usually have, in addition to my WOTY), so I didn’t want a word that doubled down on 2023. Which brings me to DISCERNMENT. A word that feels more about choices, all my choices, from how I spend my money, to how I spend my time and with whom. I feel, too, the grace in this word and I’m looking forward to exploring that aspect. And, how lucky that I have an accountability partner in Tracy, co-founder of this community. I’m hoping that having her company will help me with the alignment I had trouble with last year, as my 2023 word kept falling out of my mind.
As for my annual challenge (not a resolution!), I’m going to use my word as my challenge. For example, I’ve signed up for Home Exchange, which will enable me to go places that might not otherwise be in my budget. And, after a year without new clothes, shoes or accessories, I want to work on easing back into shopping with discernment, too. The last time I ended a no-shopping year, I was back to my old shopping habits more quickly than I would have liked. I’d like to do better this time. Starting, for example, with much more vintage and second time around, not only to be mindful of my spending, but also to be mindful of the environmental impact of my love of clothing and shoes.
And yes, I did shop on January 1 (while I drank my hot chocolate after the arduous hike) and I’ll admit that I’m excited to wear a new-to-me pair of black jeans and cozy sweater!
Four months ago I announced on the blog that I was taking a year long hiatus from shopping for shoes, clothes, purses, and jewelry. You can read that post for the full back story of why, and you can also see some of my pandemic purchases! Online shopping was a stress reliever during the pandemic but I have way more than enough stuff and it was taking up a lot of mental space as well as physical.
A few people have asked how it’s going.
First, in the interests of full disclosure, I did make some exceptions so it’s not been no shopping. I think I even announced those in the that original post. They were non underwire bras (after I decided not to go back to them once the pandemic was over), a dress for a friend’s wedding that worked with my new knee, and new running shoes which I’d planned to buy after surgery. At the time of the no shopping pledge I didn’t know when that would be.
Second, I’ve had fun watching the clothing ads slowly disappear from my social media newsfeeds. But there are some fun exceptions there too. Facebook is honing in on my personal style. My son Gavin says that with my cane I look like a Muppet pirate. Lately the ads are getting more and more specific. Lots of pink and purple and red. Lots of furry, shiny fabrics. So I’ve resisted but maybe I’ll ask for one for Christmas.
Third, it’s certainly made me realize how much clothing I have. Instead of shopping online, I’m shopping in my closet. It’s led to some discoveries and it’s also led to some clearing out of things I don’t wear. It’ll be a good opportunity to take stock, organize, and prune my existing clothes collection. I’m glad to have that as a focus for the year instead of buying new things.
Fourth, shoes are easiest to resist. I own a lot of very nice shoes and boots. I’m tempted a lot by jewelry since I lose a lot of it. I hardly ever buy purses so there’s not much challenge there at all. And clothes are really the focus of this whole thing.
Fifth, I do need things to distract me on my phone still. And I’ve found a thing that’s not shopping. Instead when I wake up in the middle of the night and can’t sleep or when I’m waiting in the car for people, I’ve been working on my Spanish using Duolingo.
Check out my progress!
Sam’s Spanish progress
Sixth, it’s also not been no shopping. Regular blog readers might recall shortly after knee surgery, while taking strong pain medication at night, I went on a pillow shopping bender. I guess I Google searched for best pillows for getting comfortable after knee surgery and bought them all. They just kept arriving, for days. More pillows!
Here’s Cheddar with one of the new pillows!
Yay for tonight body pillow and Cheddar the dog
And I am keeping a digital scrapbook of things I’ve been tempted to buy so I can check in at year’s end and see if I’m still tempted.
All is going well so far except for the exceptions. They were bras, a dress to wear to a friend’s wedding, and running shoes.
The bras were bought in July. I now have non under wire options for work. The dress I bought in August. (I bought one with a slit up the left side so I could ice my knee during the event, cute and practical.)
Now I’m looking for running shoes. My exception was new shoes after knee replacement because when I started the year of no shopping I had no idea when that would be.
I say running shoes but there’s no actual running in my life these days. Lots of walking with crutches and likely I’ll still have crutches when I’m back at work.
I laughed because a few manufacturers of running shoes have a new name for shoes that aren’t actually for running. They’re “recovery shoes.” On your non running days, you’re recovering.
Here’s what’s being replaced:
Sam’s orange shoes
And to be clear I bought the orange running shoes back when I was actually running. That’s seven years ago. Yikes.
What am I looking for?
They need to be comfortable and sturdy and good for walking with crutches. No flip flopping around, reasonable foot support.
They need to be suitable for work, but that does not preclude sporty-looking. Paired with crutches I think people will understand.
Some of the time I can wear my short leather boots that also fit my orthotics so they won’t be the only shoes that I wear.
Reasonably easy on and off. While I was thinking slip-ons, they could have laces if they don’t make a whole production getting them on and off.
I’m Googling “best shoes to wear after total knee replacement” and they’re pretty much all running/athletic shoes.
Here’s one person’s explanation, “Now that my knee requires more support, I find that using a walking or running shoe gives me a little extra padding to take the pressure off my joint. Think of your shoe as the shock absorbers on your car. Remember, you can also add shoe inserts that help even more with cushion. Also read my article about the best shoe inserts after TKR. It’s not fun riding in a car with bad shock absorbers because it makes for a rough ride. Our bodies are the same way. However, because it’s so subtle we may not realize the extra “shock absorbing” we get from our shoes. Even if I’m not a runner, I usually gravitate toward running shoes for comfort and daily use. Why, you ask? Because running shoes are made to reduce the repetitive impact caused by running and they are made with more cushion technology in the heel (air, gel etc.). They also have good arch support to enhance the position on the foot.”
Also remember I have two knees, both of which were in need of replacement so my right knee will still require lots of extra attention until its also been replaced.
So far people have suggested All Birds
All Bird slip ons
Also Hokas
HokaNo Bulls
My son thinks Ons might be good shoes for me.
On, Cloud go
Sarah suggests these New Balance shoes.
Black new balance shoes with rainbow sole
I also like the sound of the Canadian brand Vessi
Vessi slip on
And finally, there’s Danskos. I wear their clogs a lot but haven’t tried their walking shoes.
Danskos
Probably I need to go out shoe shopping and try things on. But the whole idea is off putting. I’m still very tired. If I only have so much energy during the day I don’t want to use it shopping.
I’m tempted to order my favorite 3 and return 2.
All of the above are available in bright colours as well as black. I haven’t decided which way to go yet. They are also all in the $100-200 price range as are the pair they’re replacing.
