Why I'm [Trying] Not To Shop In 2018

Over the past year, I've spoken quite a lot about how my relationship with material items has changed but this is a post that I never thought that I'd be writing. Because I do love material items, I can't and won't deny that fact but I think it's so easy to get caught up in the cycle of constantly buying. And as a blogger that's even more prevalent and something, I want to try and nip in the bud. This isn't to say that I think shopping is awful or an evil practice but this year I really want to challenge myself not to shop as much and here are the reasons why.

because I have everything I need & want

Being in the blogging world where there are new releases constantly arriving in my inbox it's all too easy to think that we desperately need those things. But when I truly think about it I have absolutely everything I want to live a very lovely life. Not to say that my life is perfect but it's very comfortable and I'm all too aware of how incredibly fortunate I am to have that. I have the new iPhone, two computers, a camera with multiple lenses, a car, a clothing rail full of beautiful clothes and a vanity full of beauty products. Of course, material items don't equate to happiness and you can have everything you want and still be absolutely miserable. It's so easy to get sucked into thinking that we really need something when we see it on somebody else. And I know that whenever I fall into the trap of doing that and I buy something that seems to work so well on somebody else it never quite works in my life the way I thought it would.

I'd like to build on my savings a little more

Having any amount of savings is a huge luxury and something I will never take for granted. Over the past few years I've worked really hard to try and whittle away something each month so if there is ever an emergency I'm able to hopefully tackle it. Or to be completely transparent having that money allows me to still pay my bills when I've not been paid on time [the reality of being self-employed]. Even just having a small amount put away is something that makes me feel really safe and by cutting out any unnecessary spending I can build on that even further. Last year I made a conscious effort to stop buying food and drink on the go and make sure I was cooking at home a lot more and that really helped me save a little more too. When it comes to saving money it's so easy to focus on the big figures but just like most things in life, it's the little numbers that add up.

I want to own less

I'm never going to be somebody with a super minimalistic home, as much as I love the aesthetic it's just not for me as I like personal trinkets too much. But over the years, going through university and moving around the country means I've acquired quite a lot of stuff that I no longer have any use for and at this point, it's just taking up space in my home. My rule when it comes to things like this is if it serves no purpose in my life or doesn't add any joy to it at all then it has to go. I try not to just throw things out recklessly as sometimes that means I end up purchasing them again, so I do give it a little bit of time but in general, I try and take a tough love approach to minimise clutter.

i want the challenge

It sounds so silly, I get it that somebody setting themselves the challenge of minimal shopping isn't something that should be difficult but buying things is so normal in our society. And of course, there are things that I'm going to have to buy as well as a few things I would also like to buy myself this year. But the whole point of this is to shop less, not pick something up on a whim just because I think I think I'll get a lot of use out of it and then ultimately not and it being a wasteful purchase.

i want everything I own to get used

In general, this is something that I'm pretty good at as there isn't much in my wardrobe or day to day life that I don't use. But I want to challenge myself to really get good use out of everything I own. I talk a lot about the fact I'm a huge creature of habit and when I find something that works and never fails me then I tend to only reach for that thing. So a little challenge I'm going to set myself is to each week note down on my phone the things that I've not found myself gravitating towards and if within a few weeks I've not reached for that item again then I'll get rid of it. I do tend to hold onto things if they were expensive or hold sentimental value but ultimately if I'm not using them there is no point in them being around.