Consumerism is a nasty habit. It’s one you don’t realize you’ve formed until you think about it and try not to buy things. That cute candle at Target that smells like cotton candy… you already have four candles in your house, but this one is just too cute and smells way too yummy. Gotta have it.

That tee shirt with the hilarious slogan on it that’s just way too perfect for you…. Gotta have it.

Oh look! Polka-dot leggings on sale, and your daughter could wear them with that kitty cat sweater your mom got her. Even though she could also wear that sweater with jeans or one of the other three pairs of leggings she has, oh well. Gotta have those leggings. And they’re only $6 so what the heck!

I dare you to pull out whatever recent receipts you have access to and look at what you bought. How many little non-necessary items were there this month? How much did it add up to? All of that money wasted on the habit of consuming that you didn’t even know you had.

The idea of “it’s only a dollar!” or “it’s 40% off though!” is killing us. For real. It all adds up to over-stuffed drawers, messy houses we can’t keep up with, less time spent as a family because all mom does is clean up, and expensive storage units because our 2400 square foot house can’t hold all our crap. It’s out of control.

So what do we do? We fight it. We stop buying crap we don’t need, and we pursue a purposeful life of less stuff and more joy. Here’s how you can stop buying stuff you don’t need.

Understand the psych behind it.

I don’t think it’s a big secret that stores know our brains and what makes us tick. They know what colors stand out to us most (red and yellow) and how to phrase their sales tags and exactly what numbers take us from “hmm…” to “mine!”. Nobody wants to walk into Target and feel like they’re fighting a war, but just be aware that these places are designed by professionals to make you buy what you don’t need before you even get to the part of the store with the deodorant you came for.

Start scheduling your shopping right after you’ve done some decluttering.

If you’ve just spent your morning purging the hallway closet, throwing away random things you didn’t even know you had and certainly never needed, you are way less likely to pick up something new of the same value during your weekly run to the store.

Speaking of purging, there are a few things you can do during a decluttering session to help yourself break the habit of buying. Take inventory of the stuff in the area you’re decluttering. Separate your things into categories –

Need – you need this item and you use it daily or weekly.

Sometimes need – you only need this item from time to time, but if the time came for it to be used, you would need it and not be able to get by without it.

Want – you bought this item because you wanted it, but you don’t need it.

Crap – this is totally pointless for your life, and you don’t even have a good reason for purchasing it.

Ask yourself the big three questions I always talk about for the items in your “sometimes need” and “want” piles.

1. When was the last time I used this item?
2. When will I use this again?
3. Does this add to my life in a positive way? Does it bring me joy?
    

If the answer is no or anytime over six months, get rid of it.

Once you have your things sorted into piles and you know what you’re not keeping, get a piece of paper, a pen, and calculate about how much money you probably spent on each item. Add it up. Lesson learned, the painful way.

Now we’re going to make a different kind of list. I want you to write down all the things that make you really happy. What are the big joys in your life? I think it’s a safe bet to say most, if not all of them aren’t things you can buy (except coffee because, I mean come on it’s coffee). Remember this feeling. Keep perspective.

Consider taking some time away from all the things.

Getting away from our usual chaos, taking a break, pressing pause, and just stepping back a bit helps immensely when you’re trying to gain perspective and make some changes. Go for a day trip with your family. Spend the day outdoors hiking, seeing God’s creation for all it is, get an ice cream cone downtown and walk around the lake together. If you can go camping or something and take it a step further, great!The point is, you’re reminding yourself what a good life you have without material things, and that you don’t need to buy things in order to enjoy life. Most of the time, the best days were cheap or free days. And we all know the best things in life don’t cost a penny.

Come up with a shopping test to re-train your brain. When you’re out running errands and putting things in a cart, ask yourself the following questions about each item.

Is this a planned purchase?

Would this ever end up in the “crap” pile next time I purge?

Where am I going to put this?

Is there room in my budget for this?

Why do I want/need this item?

Avoid impulsive buying by asking yourself those questions. Impulse buying is how they love to get ya!

This might seem unnecessary, silly, or a little extreme, but think about it… consuming things has become a habit. A lot of people actually get addicted to purchasing new things, so this is serious. Even the most ‘normal’ of us have to re-train our brains to not consume things we don’t truly need.

Focus on the money

Really pay attention to your finances after a couple weeks of implementing these changes. You will suddenly have more money. Minimalism can cure the paycheck-to-paycheck lifestyle, help you pay off debt, and once you see these positive results, it’s a snowball effect. It’ll just keep rolling into other areas of your finances. What a great perk! Just for getting rid of the things you didn’t need anyway, and breaking the habit of buying.

Tackling an entire house is a lot. I think we’ve all been the person who got fed up with a cluttered area, pulled everything out of the closet, then halfway through got sick of cleaning and discouraged by how much worse everything looked and didn’t follow through. I’m going to show you how to take your house from can’t-have-anyone-over to minimized, decluttered, and free without that feeling.

Stop the overwhelm.

Don’t think about all the rooms and all the drawers full of random stuff that you haven’t even looked at in months. Don’t think about all the things you have to do or how far off from a minimalist you are. Focus on the benefits you want to reap, then choose one area, and complete that before thinking of any others.

If you’re short on time, start purging as you clean.

Most moms who haven’t implemented minimalism yet spend a lot of their time picking up. To help save time before you really dive into purging, purge as you clean. When you’re picking up the living room, ask yourself questions about each item.

1. When was the last time this was used for its intention?
2. Do I really need this item?
3. Is it adding to my life in a positive way?

If the answer is no to these questions, throw the item away or put it in the donation bin.

While you’re purge-cleaning, don’t let stuff stay in your house if you’re not going to keep it. If something is going to be donated, keep it in a bin in the back of your car, not the house or garage. First of all, having the donation bin in the back of your car increases the likelihood that you’ll actually make it to Goodwill to drop it off. Second of all, keeping a bin of donation items anywhere near your house is upping the odds of you or someone else in your house walking over and saying, “hey! I do want that after all.” And then you’re one step backward.

Decide to make the time.

If you think you don’t have time to declutter your home, I love what my friend Rachel of Nourishing Minimalism says.

“Your beliefs create your reality. If you believe you don’t have enough time to declutter, clean and organize your home, than you’re right – it won’t happen.”

Self-discipline seems to be something not a lot of people are capable of living out these days, but in this case (and in the case of getting anything worth working for), you have to be disciplined and decide that you want this.

Do you want a freed up life?

Do you want more time to spend playing with your kids?

Do you want more money to get out of the house and do things?

Do you want to stop cleaning up all the time and start being a more intentional person?

Okay then. You have to do the work.

Come up with a plan of action.

Minimalism isn’t something to be taken lightly. It shouldn’t be entered into on a whim, but it also shouldn’t be over-thought or dragged out. If you know you want the benefits of a minimalist home, let’s do it. You’ll need a plan, or a series of work rhythms in order to get this done soon.

Pick a day and a time of that day that you will work on minimizing your home every week, or several times a week. Pick something that’s realistic, but disciplined, and works for your family schedule.

Do you need to move some things around to prioritize your home? Whatever you need to do, find a way to make this happen.

At the very least, choose one morning a week, and stick with it. Maybe every Saturday morning you treat yourself to a Venti Starbucks, put a podcast on with headphones, and tackle one area. Progress, not perfection. Just do something!

Focus on your why

Why do you want this? Write it down.

Is it to be a more present mom?

Is it to fill your kid’s’ childhood with happy memories that don’t involve you cleaning and stressing all the time?

Put it down on paper or note cards, then stick it somewhere you’ll be reminded often. Maybe you stick a note card on your bathroom mirror, one on the fridge, one above the kitchen sink. Don’t let yourself get overwhelmed by the work that goes into this change. Focus on the good that’s coming if you stick with it. This is a very big deal, and it’s incredibly beneficial for the mom who goes through with it, and even more beneficial for her family.