My 2026 Crafty No-Buy
Trigger Warnings: Pet loss
After some reflection, I decided this is the year I take on a 6-month no-buy. There are a plethora of reasons, some of which I’ll get into below, but overall, I want 2026 to be a time in which I slow down, appreciate what I have, and make purchasing decisions through a critical lens.
What is a no buy?
In one sentence, a no-buy is a set time period in which you only make self-designated essential purchases.
Let me say, I am taking the self-designated portion of that very liberally. I’m still getting my nails done, taking a trip this year, and have set guidelines for future, planned purchases. You could argue I’m doing more of a “low buy”, but that’s beside the point. The main point is I want to be in control of my spending and habits, not feel controlled by them. So, let’s get into my habits and circumstances that first made me interested in participating in a no-buy.
Why now?
The last couple of years have been tough in our household. I know I keep things all “pink, flowers, and sunshine” in my little corner of the internet, but like most people, that is not an accurate reflection of real life. At the end of 2024, I lost my soul cat after a devastating fight against mast cell tumor cancer. We lost him within 8 months of diagnosis; I am still heartbroken. Throughout the emotional toll of caring for a pet with cancer, we also faced the financial toll. I spent over $15,000 in his care, I was too emotionally distressed to leave any potential stone of treatment unturned.
If you can believe it, I was also planning my wedding during this time. While we were lucky to have our parents cover the majority of costs, we certainly made investments on our end as well.
Finally, in April of 2025 our senior dog also suffered a health crisis necessitating a 3-night hospital stay. Luckily, she is now much better and has been able to recover. Even with pet insurance, the final bill was hefty to say the least.
The last 6 months have felt like coming out of a haze. The fog of life is clearing, things look sunny for once, I am ready to restart. Breaking out of my haze has brought something to the front of my mind. The sheer amount of chaos I accumulated in my blindness. Everyone has their spending vice, whether it’s makeup, clothing, or random Facebook marketplace finds. It’s not hard to see that mine is craft supplies.
Last month, I took the time to go through my card transactions for the entire year and cataloged the amount of money I spent on yarn and patterns. It was nearly $800. Again, that’s on yarn alone; I know I spent hundreds more on fabric, paint, etc. Most of it is still here in my home! Unused! When I evaluate why that is, the answer is very clear. I bought them at a time of heightened emotion, searching for solace in a neon skein instead of dealing with my own feelings. A yearning for creation in a time of what felt like unending deconstruction. It’s time for me to leave that coping mechanism in the past and to focus my financial resources on where they need to be.
My overall goals with this no-buy are
Pay off debts
Contribute towards 3-month living expense emergency fund
Control impulse/emotional spending
Prioritize REAL self-care (dental work, therapy, exercise/general wellbeing)
Appreciate and use what I have
My No-Buy Rules
I’ll start with the crafty rules since that’s probably what we’ll have the most in common on.
Rule #1: No Yarn/needles/hooks - This is the first time in my life where I’ve imposed a complete yarn ban on myself. I easily have 100+ skeins of yarn in my stash; there is no reason for me to need to purchase yarn to have a project to work on in the next 6 months. I will pick projects that I can complete without needing to purchase anything. This might mean I focus on finishing long-term WIPs, reclaim yarn from unworn sweaters, or just focus on smaller projects. The goal here is to flex my creativity muscles without needing anything new. It’s about resourcefulness. I also fell into the habit of slowly replacing all my needles with Chaigoo fixed circulars (my all time favorite needles). While I would love to complete that process one day, it’s something that I can put on hold for 6 months.
Rule #2: No Fabric - I found a love of quilting in the last 2 years, which is a topic I want to dedicate a blog post to. This inevitably led me to gather and collect cuts of fabric alongside skeins of yarn. While my fabric stash isn’t half as extensive as my yarn stash, I can definitely get a few projects out of what I have. This year, I want to develop my technical skills when it comes to quilting, which means more time invested into each quilt and likely fewer projects per year. You might notice I only specified fabric in this rule. That means I am still able to buy quilt batting as needed (it takes up a lot of space so I don’t tend to keep much on hand), as well as thread or replacement needles/rotary cutter blades. Replacement is the keyword here. We only purchase what we have completely consumed. To top it off, those purchases must be planned.
Rule #3: No Patterns - This one is short and easy. I have an extensive knit/crochet/sewing pattern collection. I will be either working through the patterns I have OR freestyling my own patterns. No exceptions.
Rule #4: No New Crafts - Any serial crafter knows the feeling of picking up supplies for a new craft that you don’t stick with. I bounce between a lot of crafts, and have accumulated all the supplies. So I won’t be shopping for any more new crafts and will fall back on the supplies I have when I want a break from fiber arts.
Curious about my general no-buy/low buy rules? I outlined them below
No buy, No exceptions
Everything listed above
Home decor/furniture
Makeup (only replacing things like mascara/concealer when used up or expired)
Clothing/accessories
Shoes (exception: if my daily work shoes wear out)
Stationery (notebooks, pens, etc)
New skincare items (facemasks, eye masks, things “to try”)
New Subscriptions
Low buy/Replacements
Personal care (body wash/shampoo/conditioner, sunscreen, etc); only replace
Alcohol - only when hosting guests
Takeout/restaurants - 3x month max
“Little Treats” - coffee, vegan treat 2-3x month max
Cleaning Products
Pharmacy/First aid
Allowed to Buy
Groceries - stick to the budget and minimize food waste. Don’t grocery shop hungry!
Bills obvi
Pet supplies (food, treats, flea/tick Rx, water fountain filters, etc)
Car Maintenance (oil changes, tire rotations, etc)
Nails (no more than once a month, stretch to every 5-6 weeks when possible) - I love my nail girl and will never leave her ngl
Healthcare Expenses (ex. dietician, Rx sunglasses, etc)
One more thing I’m doing this year to break this no-buy into digestible bites is monthly purchase planning. For example. In January, I’ll be attending some of the local sewing guild’s meetings to try and make some friends in my area. If the fit is right, I’ll pay the annual guild dues of $60. This way, I’m able to anticipate these purchases and make them guilt-free.
Accountability
This is easily the most difficult part in participating in a no-buy is actually sticking to it. My husband is in full support of this no-buy. I’ve been sharing it with my friends and family so they can know my mindset as well. I even shared it with y’all on Instagram stories, and so many of you were interested in it! So, I’ve decided to do a monthly recap post of my no-buy to share with y’all. I’ll be updating it weekly on my end and posting at the end of the month. I’ll share my thoughts throughout the week, the things I wanted to purchase but (hopefully) didn’t, and the ways I redirect myself when I feel the urge to impulse shop. Maybe some of y’all will join along with me :)
