OK, I’ll admit, I have a hard time with this one, especially when it comes to clothes and shoes 🙂
But the more I practice it, the easier it gets. And the pay-off is huge. The less you shop, the less you buy. The less you buy, the less clutter you have.
A few quick tips on shopping less:
- Live by the Useful and Beautiful Principal – ie, only own what you love and find beautiful, or what you find very useful.
- Practice having an abundance mindset. When you see abundance around you rather than lack and scarcity, the more content you’ll be, and less likely to try and fill the void with material things.
- Give impulse items the 24-Hour Test. This is a principle I teach in my book, Get Organized This Weekend. It’s so easy (and fun!) to get caught up in the moment of buying something. And studies show that once you decide to buy one thing, it lowers your buying threshold, so you’re more likely to buy even more. So one impulse purchase and lead to 3 or 4 or 10 things! If it’s not something you planned to buy before you entered the store, leave it there. If you still want it 24 hours later and are willing to make the extra trip to get it, then go get it.
- Grocery shop as few times as possible – once or twice a month is possible. Find out here why this principle is so helpful.
- Don’t buy things just because they’re on sale. If you won’t use it, it’s NOT a bargain – it’s wasted money, time and energy. Buy things you love and need; if it’s on sale, that’s a great bonus.
- Keep the bigger picture in mind. If you truly desire Simplicity, make every item earn its place in your home. No possession ever paid rent. It must serve a function (beautiful or useful) to earn its right to occupy space in your life.
