Transcription
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So you are here because you would like to buy fewer things, am I right? Because you would like to live more sustainably, or maybe because you would like to save money to invest into your future, or maybe because you would like to simplify your life by freeing yourself of all that clutter? You have come to the right place.
Hi, this is Liz. I live a slow life in the countryside, paying off my timber frame house and making videos about my simple and sustainable lifestyle. This is part two of my two-part underconsumption series, and of course, I'll link part one for you, in which we chat about the underconsumption mindset. If you feel as if you first need to get into the right headspace for starting your underconsumption journey, I recommend watching part one first and then coming back to this video. Don't worry, I'll wait for you right here.
In this video, I'll give you the tried and tested strategies you need to buy less in your day-to-day life. They have helped me a ton, and I hope they can help you. So let's dive [Music] in.
An honest status quo. I briefly touched on this in my last video already because it is such a crucial first step. Let's get a good overview of what we spend our money on. There are multiple ways to do this. We can write down every single purchase for a week, a month, or even a year, and then have a look at all our purchases. But this method will take some time, and we are motivated to change our lives right now, am I right?
So I personally prefer a different method. I will sit down at my computer with a cup of hot tea. The cup of tea is a very important tool in every activity that requires sitting down somewhere, and I'll go through my bank account and credit card statements. Depending on your habits, it makes sense to include your PayPal history or Amazon order history as well. I will make a sheet grouping my expenses by category and listing how much I spend on each category during the past month or year. This is generally a good strategy when it comes to keeping track of our finances.
For this video, let's focus on the physical items we buy. Look for any purchasing patterns. Do you order a lot online? Do you like to spend in stores? Do you buy spontaneously, or do you keep things on a wish list for a long time?
Next, let's take a little tour around our house or apartment. We tend to develop a certain kind of blindness towards the things we own because we see them every single day. Which items haven't been used in a long time? Which items have maybe never been used? And while the steps so far might have been easy, we have now reached the rocky part of the path. Let's be honest with ourselves. Yeah, I know. Which of these purchases were really necessary, and which ones kind of weren't? Like that kitchen tool we only used twice, that top we only wore once, or that hair mask we only used a quarter of, and then a bag abandoned at the back of our bathroom cabinet? Which items are there but don't really add value to our lives? Which items would we simply not miss if they were gone? All of a sudden, simply realizing just how much unnecessary stuff we accumulate over the years can be a wakeup call. Being honest with ourselves isn't easy, but once we find the courage to take a good, honest look at our own behavior, it allows us to spring into action and make real, visible changes to our buying behavior.
Identify your danger zones. Most of us have their own personal danger zones in which they are more likely to overconsume than in other areas. Some of you have even shared your personal danger zones in the comments of my previous videos, and it feels good to realize we're all in the same boat here. Some of us love to buy books, some of us love to buy makeup, some of us just can't stop picking up cute stationery, or power tools, or clothing, or living room decor. Some of us overconsume at the supermarket, buying way more than we need and way more than is on our grocery shopping list. And there is nothing wrong with having hobbies and with being passionate about something. But once we notice that we have a whole shelf full of cute pens and notebooks, but actually use our tablet most of the time, or more food in our fridge than we can realistically eat before it expires, it's time to change course.
Here's what you can do: The use up and no-buy challenge. Yes, you probably heard that one before, and the reason is that it really works. Challenge yourself not to buy anything new and use the things you already have instead. The only exception is to replace something that is empty or broken and that you really need. Read all the unread books first before getting new ones, and then consider getting them from the library instead of buying them. Fill all those notebooks with journal entries and notes until there is no blank page left, or give them to someone you know will use them. Use up all those half-empty body lotions and conditioners buried in the depths of your bathroom cabinet until you literally run out. And let me tell you, once you get into it, it is satisfying seeing that bathroom cabinet getting emptier by the week, until there is only our one shampoo and our one body lotion left. Brewing that delicious tea blend we completely forgot was at the back of the kitchen drawer. Opening the door to a fridge that at the end of the week is so empty, we can easily clean it before then restocking it with ingredients for well-planned meals to avoid food waste. Trust me, it creates an unmatched feeling of lightness and satisfaction.
Items we might have otherwise bought go to a wish list and we'll re-evaluate how much we really need them after a set time frame, such as 30 days. What many of us realize during a no-buy challenge is that we need a lot less than we thought, and that we simply forget about the cute item we thought we desperately needed. We might notice how much money we save that we can now invest into something more meaningful than more and more things. We can expand this challenge across all areas of our lives, or just focus on our danger zones that we frequently overconsume in. And once we are used to it, this challenge can easily be turned into an actual lifestyle. Once it has become a habit to honestly ask ourselves, "Do I need this? Will I use this?" before every purchase, we won't even understand anymore why we used to buy so much unnecessary stuff before. What's so baffling about this concept is that it's not at all new or revolutionary. In fact, just buying the things we need was the initial concept of buying before shopping somehow derailed and morphed into a hobby and an end in itself. Let's go back to the roots and only buy the items we need and that add genuine value to our lives.
Planning beats buying. Way too often, we buy things because we are simply unprepared. We buy drinks and snacks on the go, although we could have easily brought something from home. We buy hairbrushes, toothbrushes, deodorant, makeup, tissues, you name it, on the go, even though a few minutes of planning would have been enough to avoid it. Now, of course, we can all get into situations we couldn't possibly foresee, but getting thirsty at some point during a long train ride or needing a toothbrush when spending the weekend at a friend's house aren't among them. Planning ahead avoids a ton of unnecessary purchases in the long run.
Are you going grocery shopping? Make a meal plan for the week in advance. Grab your phone and note down how many meals you need, which meals you would like to cook, and then list all their ingredients. Having a recipe file speeds up this process tremendously. Take note of what you already have and what you need to buy. A well-thought-out shopping list is a game-changer when it comes to overconsuming in the food department.
Are you going on a trip? Make a list of items you need to pack. Ideally, you even have a template ready that already contains all the essentials. This avoids having to buy necessities on the go or at your destination because you simply forgot to bring them. Very often, buying can simply be replaced by thinking, which has the additional benefit of giving us the wholesome feeling of being in control of our lives.
Speaking of being in control of our lives, having a set of properly working items and tools and taking good care of our equipment often eliminates the need to buy something urgently. If we have a camping trip coming up next weekend and we know everything is ready, clean, and in good shape in the designated box in the basement, there is no need to frantically order unnecessary Amazon on-day delivery items. Having an unorganized pile of items, be it clothing or gardening tools, that are partly broken or buried somewhere in some drawer, easily leads to unnecessary purchases. Instead, let's make sure to regularly take stock of what we have and what we need. Let's maintain and repair the items we have and store them in places where we can easily find them. Buying can often be replaced by organizing and maintaining.
Invest some time into finding the items that truly work for you. For example, instead of frequently picking up new skincare products on the hunt for the next big thing that is going to make my skin even glowier and even more hydrated, I had a beautician recommend a skincare series specifically for my needs that makes my skin feel amazing, and that's what I get. Knowing ourselves, our lifestyle, and our needs, and planning ahead accordingly, is one of the best strategies for avoiding overc [Music] consumption.
Gift experiences, not things. Sometimes we don't buy for ourselves, but for others, for birthdays, Christmas, weddings, and other occasions. Giving gifts is a wonderful custom and something I enjoy very much, but I also encourage you to question whether we always have to bring things into other people's lives. If they have a specific wish, then that's of course perfectly fine, but if we get to choose a gift for someone, I personally love to gift experiences and time. Whether it's a brunch or a musical, I love to gift some quality time together rather than an [Music] item.
One in, one out. This is a classic. A good rule of thumb is to throw or give one or more items away before buying something new. We kind of do this automatically when replacing something, but we can also challenge ourselves to declutter unneeded things before bringing something new into our home. This is not about extreme minimalism or about only owning a specific number of items. The point is to raise our awareness that all things should, one way or another, earn their place in our home. And it can bring to our attention how often we actually buy something new if we try to declutter something every single time we buy something. The act of buying always has a healthy thought process attached to it: "Which item should go instead?"
Avoid the triggers. Not buying unnecessary things sounds easy until we find ourselves face to face with all the powerful selling strategies designed to create a desire within us that wasn't even there before. If you would like to avoid unnecessary purchases, I encourage you to avoid purchasing triggers as much as possible. I unsubscribed from all newsletters. Not only did this free my inbox from digital clutter, it really helped me to not get tempted by sales or new collection launches. If you notice keeping your best friend company during a shopping spree doesn't work for you because you end up buying something for yourself, consider meeting them for a different activity, such as hiking, cooking, swimming, or a cup of coffee. Try not to walk into stores just to look around, and don't try things on just to see how they look. Don't order more things than you need thinking you can always return them. This will only tempt you into buying things unnecessarily. Don't underestimate how many things we buy simply because we see them that we otherwise wouldn't even have thought about.
Use what's already there. Another really fun challenge that can turn into a long-term habit is to always ask ourselves if we can borrow or repurpose something or find something that is already there instead of buying something new. Only if there is absolutely no way to get our hands on the desired item are we actually going to buy it. So, if we need a duvet for our bed, chances are Mom has one in a vacuum bag in her attic that she doesn't need anyway. Very often, all we have to do is ask. Do we really need to buy a costume for that Halloween party, or can black pants, a cape, and a red makeup pencil maybe be sufficient for turning us into a vampire? Do we really need a new coffee table, or can we just give the old one in the garage a new coat of paint this weekend? Do we really need to buy seed starters at the gardening store, or will empty yogurt tubs do the trick? Isn't there this one friend who has two spare Wi-Fi routers just in case? Do we really need to buy drinks for that Christmas party, or can we instead make delicious apple punch from the apples in our own backyard? Now, this is not at all about freeloading or being stingy. It's about establishing a routine of first considering other options before we press the "buy now" button on some item. We can avoid so many purchases by helping each other out within our social network with things people are happy to get rid of that others might need. And very often, we can come up with creative ideas for repurposing something we already have. Once we get into that mindset, we see options for avoiding purchases everywhere.
Detach buying from dopamine. There is one important truth I want you to take away from this video: buying new items releases dopamine, and everyone loves dopamine. Many mechanisms in our body that were once very useful can lead us down treacherous paths in a world that is very different from the Stone Age environment they developed in. And did you know that ordering online means we get our dopamine fix twice: once when we order, and once when the items arrive, which makes it even more tempting for our brain? Now, I'm not saying we can't be excited about getting something we've been wanting for a long time, but I encourage you to become aware of this connection between buying and the feeling of euphoria that tends to make us buy more often than necessary. If we notice that we buy mainly to get this feeling of satisfaction, happiness, and fulfillment, rather than to acquire something we truly need, it is time to focus on other areas of our lives. We can get our dopamine from this. This can be spending some fun time with friends or family, cooking and eating a delicious meal, playing a game, watching a movie, reading a book. Releasing dopamine doesn't have to add more things into our lives, and it doesn't have to cost money. [Music]
Now I'm curious, what is your top strategy for buying less? Let me know in the comments. [Music]