I have a shopping problem. Now that I’ve admitted that (anyone else?) what’s the next step? I decided a while ago this was an actual problem I wanted to fix and I needed to take control of my need to buy all the clothes (ALL THE CLOTHES).

I’ve read a lot of different books/blogs (like this one. and this one) about living with less and while I don’t go crazy with minimalism I still like to use some of the concepts that fit with my lifestyle. One is the: the one in, one out rule. You buy something, you get rid of something. Easy.

I normally use this with clothes but it also works great with anything that you buy. Bought a new set of dishes? Donate the old ones. Got the new issue of Elle? Recycle last months. This works best for me if I force myself to get rid of the old thing before I can use the new thing. Don’t cut the tag off the new dress until an old one is in the donate pile.

Stuff builds up when we are constantly buying new stuff but are unable to part with the old things we’re replacing. If you’re not ready to get rid of the old dishes or any of your dresses, don’t let yourself buy a new one!

I most recently applied this to a sweater dress I bought at the Banana Republic Outlet and a pair of nude heels I needed for an upcoming wedding. The sweater dress replaced a green dress I’ve had forever that my sister passed down to me. Although I still wear the green dress from time to time, I’d rather have the sweater dress. And a lot of times I’ll put on the green dress and end up taking it off. As far as the shoes, the old ones were old, gross and just needed to go.