Marie Kondo’s book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up is all the rage. People everywhere are trying to de-clutter and minimize their wardrobes and their lives. But there is an easier way … you just buy less stuff! By simply limiting the influx of new clothing, the rest will come automatically. This keeps closets cleaned out and lessens our environmental impact.
Here are some tricks to buy less:
– Purchase what you need. Plan in advance and then wait one month to make sure something else won’t work. This will make fast fashion trends irrelevant.
– Change your mindset. Clothes should be like art; a non-disposable. If shopping is your recreational outlet, find another hobby.
– Buy based on your beliefs. Check out Good On You to find clothing that is socially and environmentally friendly.
– Prevent temptation. Get off mailing lists and unsubscribe. Don’t stroll by the boutiques just to “window shop”.
– Stop any justifications. If you tell yourself, “well, it’s only X amount of dollars” that means it wasn’t an item you really needed. Or sometimes we buy clothes for the person we want to be. For example, “once I loose 10 lb.s, these will fit great” or “this sun hat will be wonderful when I garden” (but you live in an apartment).
– Set a goal to get started. Maybe put off purchases until your birthday or only buy 2nd hand clothes.
Photo by Narain Jashanmal on Unsplash
