Break Your Shopping Habit - Consume Less

We are constantly bombarded with advertising that is telling us what we need. All forms of media are aimed at us at all hours of the day. Truly, we should be looking at what we don’t need and how we can cut back, break our shopping habits and recycle items that are no longer useful.

We need to simply stop buying so much.  We need to consume less of just about everything. The average American buys around 800lbs of stuff each year. Where does it all end up? Where is your extra stuff? Is it cluttering up your home or garage? Are you tripping over it trying to get to the lawn mover? Is there someone out there who could put it to good use?

Look at every aspect of your life and evaluate where you can cut back on your consumption and the waste that lies in it’s wake. Consuming less will simplify your life.

It's a job that's never started that takes the longest to finish. - J.R.R. Tolkien

I know this may be a difficult idea for man people, but shopping doesn't need to be a hobby. Do you use every last thing you buy? Do you absolutely need it? Think about these things the next time you find yourself temped to splurge. Establish good shopping habits!

1. Avoid impulse shopping by eating before you head out to the grocery store.
2. Don’t use the mall for entertainment! Enjoy the great outdoors and spare your credit cards the hard work.
3. Borrow books instead of buying (libraries could be so very attractive)>
4. Read magazines, newspapers and books online. Check out Zinio.com for getting a electronic magazine subscription of your favorite publication. You will be amazed at the quality!
   
   
5. Invest in a electronic book reader like the Sony Reader or the Kindle. You can download books in an instant and take them with you wherever you go. If you have an IPod Touch or IPhone, there is a Kindle application that allows you to download books from Amazon in under a minute!
6. Buy only things that are built to last - clothing, toys, and other products.
7. When you no longer need something, sell it on ebay, give it to charity, have a tag sale.
   
8. Download music directly to your computer or MP3 Player and eliminate the need to buy CDs.
9. Give "gifts" of donations to charities in recipient's name
10. Buy gift cards so that there is no question that the recipient gets what he or she wants. There will be less waste and no need for returns.
11. Rent movies and video games instead of buying them.
12. Check out tag sales or estate sales for home decorating items, books and other great items.
13. Take up dumpster diving when looking to repurpose old materials for a new project.
14. When purchasing an item, ensure product quality to minimize waste and prolong life span.

Excessive shopping is a problem from many people beyond the environmental issues. Break your bad shopping habits now by only purchasing things that you really, truly need. Establish a waiting period for things you really reall want. If you still want it in two weeks, a month or six-months, then maybe it is worth making space for in your home and life. If not, you will likely forget about it!

Have any ideas to add? Please leave your suggestions for consuming less in the comments section.