Once you decluttered and organised stop-buying and simply own less

23 July

Are you guilty of buying just to feel good? I am a little bit, of course my purchases are often in line with buying items to be more productive, more organised and efficient - nonetheless, I do like to go to the shops and come back with something. If you, however, are serious about decluttering your life, you might want to stop and think about your purchases.

Stop-buying and simply own less of the following:

How many [favourite item to buy] is enough? How many blankets, vases, bags, shoes and clothes are enough?

Clothes are a good example; say you only wash once a fortnight you still only need 14 outfits.

Magazines are another big item that I come across often. Even if you spend the whole afternoon sipping tea or coffee and going through your magazines, will you get through them? If the answer is no, you might have too many of them.

Stop-buying - stores, society and consumerism are against us here

In order to get and stay organised you have to stop buying. Take time to assess, and reassess before you run to the shops again. You see buying and decluttering are akin to mopping water up with the tap still wide open. We have to stop it at the source otherwise we will never be able to clean up and get the space dry.

But let’s be honest, it is easy for me to sit here and tell you to stop buying, because frankly we have a society and a western mind set which states; I buy therefor I am - which works against us. This is however a very important aspect of giving yourself the time and space you need to declutter.

Up for a stop-buying challenge?

So, this week, are you ready to take on a stop-buying challenge? Say for two weeks only -refrain, do something else. You can use this time to spend on decluttering and organising what you already own and you will save some money in the process.