June has been a pretty average month for me. Besides the fact that the weather has turned nasty, I’ve had some moments where I’ve worried about work, about money, about my health and about my friends.  With so much going on, it’s very easy to get carried away and forget about looking after number one – namely, me.

I’ve always been a worrier; it’s just my nature; so July is going to be a new beginning; a fresh start and the commencement of another chapter in my life. Dry July is an initiative designed to support and raise money for adult cancer – the idea being that you give up alcohol for a month and clear your head (so to speak), thus looking after your mental and physical wellbeing and raising money for a good cause at the same time.

Given I am all about the ‘everything in moderation’ philosophy (and let’s face it, I like a drink), I’m changing the rules slightly and making my own. I’m going to give up drinking at home, meaning I can still have a glass at a function (Christmas in July! Woo!), or at dinner but will not ‘just have a glass’ in honour of a bad day.

I imagine you are thinking this is pretty lame – given I live in the city, I eat out a lot and therefore will always be an exception to my own rule, but here is the clincher. I’m going to give up something else.

SHOPPING.

(Pause for reaction)

Yes, shopping. Please feel free to go ahead and gasp, tell me I can’t do it. Cause I can. And I will. Just like the Ikea bookshelf, I can do anything I set my mind to. (And if I don’t the bank might start calling in the credit card debt I have amounted since Christmas.)

Of course, there are exceptions to this rule as well. There has to be. Who can go 30 days without spending a cent!?

Rule 1 – I will not make any purchases, in store or online, for myself
Rule 2 – Groceries are okay
Rule 3 – Should my makeup run out, it’s ok to replace it (ie, foundation or mascara), however the purchase of NEW makeup (ie. hot new eye shadow colour) is not allowed
Rule 4 – July is an extraordinarily busy birthday month and the purchase of gifts for said persons is allowed
Rule 5 – If other people buy things for me, that is ok (although I can’t ask them to buy it on the premise I will pay them back in August)
Rule 6 – Petrol is okay. Chocolate bars and gum at the counter are not.
Rule 7 – If I come to a fork in the road, where I think a purchase may be questionable, I will turn to Twitter in the hopes of seeking an answer with some immediacy. 
(If you think of other rules, or questions, please submit them as a comment!)

Among other things, I have started going running/walking/dragging myself around Albert Park Lake at ungodly morning hours and hope to continue this through July, hopefully on a two days on/one day off system. This should take care of the ‘health’ component, although if I get a cold from the wind or rain or general freezingness at this hour, I am, totally giving up the winter exercise component!!

If you feel like you are in a rut, want to make a change or just need to ‘dry out’, why don’t you join me on this little quest? Donations to Dry July (or any charity, really) are encouraged but I am not ‘signing up’ to any in particular. I am doing this for me.

Monitor my progress at the Style Emporium (for the record, window shopping is definitely still allowed!) where I will continue to find stylish bits and bobs to write about and share with you.