How to Stop Buying Stuff You Don’t Need
How do I stop buying stuff I don’t need?
Checking for sales at your favorite online shop every day. Spending every moment scrolling through social media for influencers’ latest clothing hauls and saving favorites to your myriad of wishlists. Sneaking into Target, Walmart, Old Navy, etc., looking through the latest arrivals, but realizing nothing’s changed much since you came in last week. Bringing hauls home only to find yourself with nothing to wear when that special occasion arises.
If this sounds familiar to you, you’re not alone. This was me about six months ago.
At first, it didn’t feel like a problem. Since I felt like I was shopping “cheaper” alternatives, I was being more “financially responsible”.
But suddenly, my closet was bursting with clothes and despite buying so much, I wanted more. I was always thinking about my next shopping trip. I scanned through new arrivals day after day on all the apps.
That’s when I realized I had a problem. This was no longer just a casual, occasional shopping trip. This was occupying my every moment and thought.
So how did I break this cycle?
Realize There’s a Shopping Addiction
This one is obvious, but it took me way too long to realize my behavior was a serious problem. And nothing was going to change until I confronted it.
I finally realized my problem when I had a strong urge to shop every day. I had never felt this before. Stopping at Target every time I drove by and wasting so much time browsing the shelves… And for what? This wasn’t normal.
The “Capsule Wardrobe”
Instead of looking at online influencer content containing “hauls” and “try-ons”, I instead stumbled upon the capsule wardrobe idea.
A capsule wardrobe is building a more “minimalist” closet by purchasing a couple of basic tops and bottoms that can be mixed and matched in a variety of ways to make the most of your pieces.
This started to shift my mindset to focusing more on “higher quality, lower quantity”. So while I didn’t quit purchasing clothes altogether, it did help me get into a new mindset. This put me on a path towards overcoming this shopping addiction.
Track Behavior
I began to write down all the clothing purchases I was making throughout the week. I wanted to expose how much I was spending, but more alarming was how often I was spending. Even if it was just one clothing item at a cheaper price point, it was happening multiple times a week. So while yes, the money added up, I was more alarmed that I just seemed to constantly be shopping.
Delete the Apps
This was the game changer. Deleting YouTube and Instagram (my most used apps) wasn’t as difficult on its own as I thought it would be. I knew if I deleted the apps, I could still access the sites through the browser if I wanted to. But the mobile browser experiences for these two apps is a tremendous pain. This was great for me as I tried to lessen my screen time overall, especially because of this shopping problem. By forcing to deal with a terrible user experience on the platforms, I ended up using them less to avoid it.
Unsubscribe/Unfollow
But I was still using the apps. Not nearly as much as I was before, but at least a couple of times a week and when I did, I was still following all the same accounts as before. So I began to track which influencers ended up making me go online to shop after consuming their content or made me go save something to my Amazon wishlist. Once I knew which influencers were encouraging this behavior in me, those are the ones I unsubscribed from.
Find the Right Content and Creators
As I was unsubscribing from most accounts in my list, I found incredible creators who inspired the best behavior in me. The ones who’s content I would watch and immediately feel inspired to go into my closet and declutter. The ones who’s content I would watch while scrolling through an online shop and immediately click off the shop, annoying at myself for even bothering with it. Creators who shared content like “deinfluencing you”, “simplifying your closet”, “decluttering your life”, etc. All of these were my new buzzwords for the content and creators I chose to follow instead.
Decision Fatigue
One of the new accounts I followed said something that stuck with me (if I ever remember exactly which account it was, I’ll make sure to link them). It was something along the lines of the more you have, the more decision fatigue you’ll face. So staring at a bursting closet will overwhelm, cause stress, cause anxiety, because there is so much you have to choose from, so much that you don’t wear, so much guilt for not wearing it all. The cost of each item you purchase and bring into your home is not just the money, but the mental load it takes up in your mind as you stare at it in your closet alongside all the other pieces you never wear and feel that twinge of guilt every time you see it.
The simpler your closet, the less you stress to choose from, the more content you will feel.
I credit that message to finally allowing me to break free from this cycle I was in.
Intense Declutter
After that, it was easy to do a massive closet clean-out and get rid of more than half of my clothes.
It came with a lot of guilt and self-reflection at all the clothes I was donating that I had just bought within the last year that ended up only getting worn once or twice.
But my criteria was if I don’t love wearing it, why keep it? I had so many clothes that I did love wearing, why waste days and time wearing something I didn’t love?
The slimmer the closet became, the better I felt every morning choosing what to throw on for the day.
No More Stores
Finally, all that was left in my closet was what I absolutely loved and my desire to go into the store every day went away. I didn’t want to clutter up the closet again with things that would make me feel that same decision fatigue and would compete with the ones that remained in my closet to be worn. I wanted to keep it simple. And not going into the store eliminated entirely the temptation to browse and try on and oh maybe just buy that one piece.
FEELS. SO. MUCH. BETTER.
Six months ago, my closet was filled to the brim with all the latest trends, the cutest pieces, the influencer styles, but walking into it each morning came with this sense of dread. It came with stress, discontent, and a desire for more.
My closet is the thinnest now than its ever been. I don’t have the trends. I don’t have the latest influencer outfits. And you know what? My closet makes me happier than it ever has before.
My personal experience with a shopping addiction was limited to clothing, so I can only speak from that experience. But I’ve heard and can imagine that this could apply to so many other things beyond just clothing. I hope that these steps and this message can resonate for those that may be struggling with issues not only with purchasing clothes, but any purchase influenced by online life.
If you’ve gone through something similar, I’d love to hear from you what other tips and steps you may have used and taken to help you get through it.
Happy simplifying and decluttering!
