Spring breakups on a fake Monday after a weekend of cleaning

Just in case you thought it was all happy shopping here all the time, I have a confession.  Because we order more online than most in this house, (the boxes show up here daily…) we get a lot of purchase mistakes.  And because there’s been a string of them lately that have been costly in time and space, I’m totally evaluating the products I actually need and I’m starting to break up with a few of my subscriptions (even though I’ve loved them) and there’s no better day than a sunny fake Monday after a weekend of sales to start cleaning house.

I guess this started with Fabletics.  I thought that getting new workout clothes monthly would be a great way to make me exercise.  Some of the outfits were really cute and I liked that they were endorsed by Kate Hudson.  (I can’t help it.  I do love her.)  But the quality isn’t spectacular and the online support wasn’t very helpful with some of my concerns.  When I tried to quit, they were very persistent.  I was offered points and told I was walking away from all the points I’d saved up and that I should really reconsider.  I didn’t realize that it would be so difficult to quit so I’m really glad I did.  I think you can buy the stuff without being in their monthly club and the discount isn’t significant enough to make a huge difference unless you are actually buying TONS of workout clothes.  I didn’t like the pressure of having to check every month to opt out so I didn’t get charged for a new outfit credit if I didn’t opt out in time.  And I really still love Lululemon and I’m curious about a British company called Sweaty Betty too. So for workout clothes, I definitely can’t commit to one store.  (Here’s an update-as of 2016, I’m back with Fabletics again.  Quality has improved and I have to make sure I don’t forget to opt out of the monthly purchase ASAP at the beginning of the month.  Doing this allows me to get good prices on the Fabletics clothing and still buy from other brands that I love.)

I also had to quit Birchbox.  This one was quite a sad breakup, but I buy so much other makeup that I’ve run out of time to actually try out these products and my makeup drawers are FULL.  I think a little time away from makeup subscriptions might make me figure out the products I truly love and hopefully I’ll be able to clean up my bathroom space and make it more usable.

I do appreciate Golden Tote’s opt-in monthly box so I’m thankful I don’t have to quit.  I love that I can actually think before I buy and that is an important thing to do when you shop online.  I’ve seen it sell out on a day I wasn’t sure if I really wanted it and because I felt like I missed out it helped me remember to decide earlier the next month but I think that was more positive than if I was subscribed and received a bunch of clothes I didn’t want.  I think having the option to buy in or not buy still gives me autonomy as a shopper and I’ve never felt like I was tricked into buying something.

And even though it’s not a subscription service, I practically buy it like it is and I had the best Bauble Bar customer service after I received an EMPTY box in the mail.  It was such an odd situation and I was treated so respectfully, I totally appreciate that company even more.  I think customer service makes so much of an impact in how I shop.

So this morning I’ll be cleaning my closet, smelling the peonies that are finally blooming in my garden and figuring out my summer wear. And today I’ll definitely be thinking twice before I impulse buy.  (Even though this will last all of a couple seconds, I bet. But I’ll do my best……)  Happy Fake Monday!  Do you have any shopping tips for me today?

(PS. I also quit my natural deodorant this weekend.  Does anyone know of any natural deodorants that actually work?)

Terumi

Terumi Pong is a Seattle-based family travel writer and mom of twin teenage boys.  She loves coffee and pastries, shopping local and looking for greener ways to live.  She is also known as Scout’s mom (Scout is a 5ish pound little black yorkie-poo)