I swear that I am not a Grinch. I looooove the holidays and to be completely honest, I love Christmas shopping. But what I don’t love is the overwhelm, stress to finances, and buying just to buy. So in an effort to be a more mindful consumer, I thought I’d jot down some of the mindsets I use to keep me in check. And why not share with my friends, which includes you!
Ask yourself this one question before buying something on a deal – “Is price the best thing about this item?” If the answer is yes, don’t buy it. Conscious consumerism is THE BEST way to fight clutter. If it never enters your house – you don’t have to manage it, store it, or dust it!
Do some pre-planning now! Make a list of people you would like to get a gift for and set a budget. Then write down the gift you would ideally like to get them and go look for it. Shopping intentionally, even if you end up having to buy something full price, is often less expensive than impulse shopping. There are a lot of Christmas planning templates on Etsy and Pinterest if you want to be fancy!
Keep in mind that most people have TOO MUCH STUFF in their homes and buying them a tangible item could contribute to overwhelm in the future. So consider a consumable gift, an experience, a donation to a charity close to their heart, or give them the gift of time together. A client of mine asked her friends to not buy gifts this year, but to spend time together at a local spa. Genius! For more gift ideas, check out my clutter-free gift guide here.
If you are shopping for yourself (I know I’m not the only one), ask yourself if you have a place to store the item when you get home. And then ask yourself if you want to manage the item for the life of the product – store it, dust it, possibly declutter it at some point, etc. Items are not just a monetary investment, but an investment in time, space, and energy to manage them (mentally & physically).
Make an effort to buy local. Imagine the difference it would make in our local economy if we all committed to buying half of our gifts this season locally. The Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky area has so many wonderful retail stores, coffee shops, restaurants, breweries, attractions, artisans, etc. I’ll be sharing ideas on my social media pages, so follow me if you haven’t already.
You’ve probably noticed an uptick in emails with offers and deals this month. Any store you’ve ever subscribed to is probably sending you an email within the next few weeks. Take some time to unsubscribe from the ones you rarely open or who tempt you to spend more than you normally would if you didn’t have the influence of marketing and deals. And pro tip – you can always send an email sender to spam without unsubscribing. Then if you ever needed a coupon, you could go to your spam folder and find it. But this way you aren’t tempted when you open your inbox.
Focus on ways to enjoy the holidays that don’t require buying – watching movies, driving around to look at Christmas lights, making cookies, spending time with loved ones, cozying up with a good book, getting coffee with a friend.
I hope this helps! And I hope I didn’t kill your vibe. :)