My Favorite Anti-Shopping Hacks
Less shopping = more generosity. Plus a fun new app!
At the risk of confirming the stereotype, I love shopping. Bringing home new things scratches some kind of primal hunter/gatherer itch for me. Whether its groceries, or random home doodads, or especially clothes, nothing delivers the dopamine as reliably as shopping.
But while $20 could reliably deliver a whole Saturday of thrifting fun when I was a teen, the shopping landscape has since degraded. It’s not your imagination; thrifting is terrible now. The demand for fast fashion hasn’t just ruined second-hand stores, this industry is clogging up landfills and beaches, polluting waterways, and creating terrible working conditions for millions of people, including children as young as five.
E-tailers like Amazon aim to make shopping as frictionless as possible, which leads to more impulse shopping and more waste. In fact, some experts estimate only 1% of Christmas gifts are still being used 6 months after the holiday season.
Nobody wants to waste their money. We don’t want to hurt other people or the environment with our frivolous shopping. Not only that, I think a big part of generosity is redirecting money that would be wasted towards better purposes, like charity. But first, we have to kick the shopping habit.
For years, I’ve been working to cut back on shopping. Here are my favorite hacks to resist the constant drumbeat of buy, buy, buy:
Ask yourself, “Why am I shopping?” For me, it often comes down to boredom. Even though I own a TON of clothes, I crave something new. Maybe you’re feeling insecure and want to catch up with the latest trend. Try asking yourself whether you’re still going to want to wear this in 12 months.
Or maybe you are lured by an item’s beauty or utility. It was a revelation for me to realize there was a difference between appreciating the art of clothes without needing to buy them. In many cases, we don’t actually need the thing we want to buy, we’re trying to fill an emotional need.
Remember how much you already have. This is the Marie Kondo “dump all your clothes on the bed” method (and also why moving sucks!) The average American is drowning in stuff, but it’s easy to forget when everything is tucked away in drawers, cabinets, and closets.
My new tool for this is the Indyx app, which provides the Cher Horowitz fantasy of digitalizing your wardrobe. This way, you can quickly scan through everything you own to put together new outfits or rigorously evaluate whether that pair of jeans in the shop window is really worth adding to your wardrobe.
Subscription features also include a wardrobe break-down. Here’s mine. I definitely don’t need any more tops!
Commit to small containers. The secret is: stuff grows to fill the space. When we moved from a 1000 sq ft apartment to a townhouse, we were amazed at all our new closet space. And now all those closets are full!
While it can be tempting to deal with a cluttered closet by spend more money on space bags/fancy bins/a storage unit, I think we have to accept our container as the limit. If your closet is full, it’s time to cull.
Brainstorm your borrowing network. Before you buy something you’ll rarely use, ask around. Is there a neighbor or family member who could lend it to you? (Reason #1001 why it’s good to know your neighbors.) When we lived in Vancouver, we were also members of the Vancouver Tool Library, which came in handy several times. Check locally for a tool library or other options to borrow or rent an item.
Pretend it’s 1942! Imagine ration coupons! Steel shortages! Put your creativity to the test and craft for the good of your nation! Here’s my inelegant solution to a missing toilet brush holster that nobody sees anyway.
Abandon your shopping cart. Institute a waiting period before you buy something online. If, after 3, 7, or 12 days, you still need that item, go ahead and buy it, guilt-free.
Do you have any favorite tips or tricks for buying less? I’d love to hear them in the comments.
Need extra motivation to kick your shopping habit? Watch this Netflix doc.
I like library sprees for a similar feeling of abundance and new stuff that doesn't cost anything. Great piece, appreciate your efforts!
Your toilet brush holder! Genius! I have cardboard boxes doing what fancier containers could do. If no one sees it, then a recycled box is great. Thrifting for clothes is hard, as you say; thrifting household items is in a golden era, as wealthy older people downsize.