Blonde Rosie Blog

I’ve wanted to write this post for a while but just didn’t know how to put it into words. First I want to point out that there is a pandemic going on in the world right now. I didn’t leave my house for a month because of the fear of getting the virus or passing it onto someone else. I’ve been trying to stay positive throughout the day and on social media. Focusing on little victories like enjoying a cup of coffee in the morning before I start my day and getting dressed and putting on real clothes. I try to set myself up for success but then my inbox starts getting emails with the subject line saying SALE and my Instagram is filled with cute outfits and cute home decor. If this time at home has taught me anything it’s that I don’t need as much as I thought I did. Every week I keep washing the same clothes over and over because that is what I find to be most comfortable – not the trendiest. I’ve been using my Amazon Prime now more than ever to buy stuff for the house because I am spending more time at home. I’d rather spend $5 on broom wall holders to keep my cleaning supplies organized than a trendy top that will get lost in the back of my closet.

We went grocery shopping for the first time in weeks because we don’t have a car and we were waiting on masks. It’s a process to walk to the grocery store and back with our groceries packed in my canvas tote bags. I got more excited about finding the last box of Goldfish than I did when I got new clothes a few months ago before the pandemic. We have been eating out two times a week to take a break from cooking and to support local businesses. It’s great to order food but last week I was craving a fresh salad but we had run out of lettuce the previous week. This whole experience has me cooking really healthy and getting really excited about fresh produce!

If you have the money available, I encourage you to shop and take advantage of these amazing sales. But this pandemic has taught me that shopping is not going to fill that void or give my life purpose. It’s fun to hit add to cart and have packages arrive at your doorstep, but that exhilaration does not last long. This experience has taught me that spending 10 minutes at night doing a face mask and applying skincare products brings me more joy than buying new clothes. It’s the little victories like cleaning my floors or deep cleaning my kitchen because I have something to show for it.

If you do not have the money right now to buy all the cute things on sale, do not feel like you have to. Right now I am wearing clothes that I haven’t reached for often or completely forgotten about. I’m rearranging furniture to make my home feel like new. I’m lighting my scented candles during the day to make my home smell nice. I’m using products that were in the back of my cabinet as a special treat. If I get bored, I will do a quick workout and take a long relaxing shower to get moving.

I admit that I have done some shopping the last few weeks but I don’t look at it as a source of happiness. A few weeks ago I took everything out of my closet and put away my winter clothes and brought up my spring clothes to put in its place. I then made piles of clothes that I like to wear just rarely wear, clothes that don’t fit just right and special occasion clothes and put them in a box to put into storage. I was ruthless when I purged clothes because after weeks of wearing the same clothes over and over, I lost the attachment I once had to clothes I needed to have before.

Not that anyone asked but here is my advice if you want to do some shopping to take advantage of the sales but just don’t want to shop out of boredom. Shop with purpose!