It’s been five months since my last post! I apologize for such a long hiatus – but, I did come back with a more exciting topic than ‘throw everything away,’, which is ;drumroll; ‘shopping.’
Wait, what? Am I really writing about shopping? Yes, in fact, I am. After all, this blog is titled ‘minimalist shopaholic.’ And more importantly, if we buy more wisely, we can get rid of much fewer things.
I love shopping. I love looking at the merchandise, comparing features, finding deals, trying things on, and giving away my hard earned money for shiny new things. I love online shopping. I love offline shopping. I love seeing my refund after returning the stuff I don’t love but bought anyways.
My shopaholic-ness, as in dopamine pumping out whenever I click that ‘Buy Now’ button, directly contradicts the minimalist lifestyle and not great for my bank account, either. When I first tried minimalism, I decided to not shop at all except for groceries, paper towels, toilet paper, and soap, which did not work at all. I am so accustomed to reward myself with stuff whenever I need a little ‘pick me up,’ that cutting myself off entirely felt just plain miserable.
So since I got rid of most of my things last August, I had a period of lapse when I returned to shopping, by justifying hours spent online telling myself I am ‘solving problems.’ Pulled my neck muscle? I should really try that buckwheat pillow. Is insomnia creeping back? Time to get the weighted blanket that everyone is raving about. Are cats having accidents? Time for new cat litter! So on and so forth.
Over the course of 3 months, I changed the litter system entirely and changed it back to my original system. Turns out, my cats were just stressed because of all the moving.
After a few of these incidents, I realized that I just couldn’t win. I ended up buying useless things because I went cold turkey and deprived myself of a huge source of pleasure. So I gradually dabbled back into shopping, one toe at a time. No plunging back into my old life habit where I spent too much money accumulating stuff I don’t need nor want. A few ground rules helped me staying sober, and since I followed these rule, I haven’t made a purchase that went down to the street curb or donation center in a few weeks (yet).
2. Visualize how you would use the product that you are buying – over and over again. This year, next year, for this and that. Pay attention to the longevity and versatility of the products to prolong the satisfaction. Below are THE boots I bought last November. They are snow boots, rain boots, black-skinny jean boots, and zombie apocalypse boots (Not necessarily in that order).
3. Take advantage of free return, try at home, 90-day satisfaction guarantee… you get the idea. I really leaned into this one when I bought my new bathing suit a few months ago. I mean, just look at my order page from Nordstrom.
After all, minimalism is a long term game and only valuable if it serves your happiness. A little bit of fresh new stuff won’t hurt (that much), I guess.
Wait, what? Am I really writing about shopping? Yes, in fact, I am. After all, this blog is titled ‘minimalist shopaholic.’ And more importantly, if we buy more wisely, we can get rid of much fewer things.
I love shopping. I love looking at the merchandise, comparing features, finding deals, trying things on, and giving away my hard earned money for shiny new things. I love online shopping. I love offline shopping. I love seeing my refund after returning the stuff I don’t love but bought anyways.
My shopaholic-ness, as in dopamine pumping out whenever I click that ‘Buy Now’ button, directly contradicts the minimalist lifestyle and not great for my bank account, either. When I first tried minimalism, I decided to not shop at all except for groceries, paper towels, toilet paper, and soap, which did not work at all. I am so accustomed to reward myself with stuff whenever I need a little ‘pick me up,’ that cutting myself off entirely felt just plain miserable.
So since I got rid of most of my things last August, I had a period of lapse when I returned to shopping, by justifying hours spent online telling myself I am ‘solving problems.’ Pulled my neck muscle? I should really try that buckwheat pillow. Is insomnia creeping back? Time to get the weighted blanket that everyone is raving about. Are cats having accidents? Time for new cat litter! So on and so forth.
Over the course of 3 months, I changed the litter system entirely and changed it back to my original system. Turns out, my cats were just stressed because of all the moving.
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| "You really didn't have to..." |
After a few of these incidents, I realized that I just couldn’t win. I ended up buying useless things because I went cold turkey and deprived myself of a huge source of pleasure. So I gradually dabbled back into shopping, one toe at a time. No plunging back into my old life habit where I spent too much money accumulating stuff I don’t need nor want. A few ground rules helped me staying sober, and since I followed these rule, I haven’t made a purchase that went down to the street curb or donation center in a few weeks (yet).
1. Here is a radical idea: What if we know how much to spend on a given purchase? Honestly, this has changed how I shop so much. Shout out to my husband for introducing this nifty concept of budget to my spurging mind. I have never budgeted in my life (living the life on the edge) and thought I would hate it, but it became a fun challenge and an opportunity to take advantage of second-hand markets. Hello, $40 West Elm coffee table found on Letgo!
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| Originally $200. (wut wut) |
2. Visualize how you would use the product that you are buying – over and over again. This year, next year, for this and that. Pay attention to the longevity and versatility of the products to prolong the satisfaction. Below are THE boots I bought last November. They are snow boots, rain boots, black-skinny jean boots, and zombie apocalypse boots (Not necessarily in that order).
 |
| Eeek, these need some polishing after New York winter. |
3. Take advantage of free return, try at home, 90-day satisfaction guarantee… you get the idea. I really leaned into this one when I bought my new bathing suit a few months ago. I mean, just look at my order page from Nordstrom.
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| And there’s more from Amazon, Modcloth, ASOS, you name it. |
The total number of bathing suits I bought in the first place to decide on a single pair of a bikini: 12. When they arrived, I had a fun little solo fashion show in my bedroom, switching tops and bottoms left and right. This would have been really difficult or even impossible if I were shopping at a department store or a mall - so thank you god of e-commerce.
This is the final pair I ended up with:
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| In case you are wondering, it's this one. |
Pretty! Reversible! Great coverage! Non-slip strap! I also prefer the darker bottom because unfortunately my vacation always falls during my period. I don’t know why. I think it could be some sort of curse.
The best part was, that this small purchase really filled my little (HA!) cup of joy (again, read: dopamine). I felt so giddy about it for at least three weeks and didn’t buy anything outside of everyday necessity for a while. So if you are on the fence about buying something you really wanted because you just decluttered, I suggest you give it a go - with a healthy dose of caution and maximum joy.
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| Me channeling Sade browsing Amazon. |
After all, minimalism is a long term game and only valuable if it serves your happiness. A little bit of fresh new stuff won’t hurt (that much), I guess.
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