How To Consume Fewer Things
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Updated 2024.07.19
You don’t have to be a minimalist to start reducing your consumption of goods.
You may want to consume less for the environment, for your budget, to pay back debts or for other downsizing reasons.
Whatever your reason for starting to use less, you’re in luck:
A study by the University of Arizona found that people who consume fewer things are happier than those who engage in other pro-environmental activities.
So if you’re asking, how do I start using less?, below you will find 17 ways to start consuming fewer goods:
Photo of water color green from Canva with text overlay How To Consume Fewer Things, All You Need is Less and Use What You Have
1 - Assess What You Have
Organize and review what you already have in your possession.
Your material assets are items you purchased to help you in the future. Before consuming something new, check to see if you have it in stock already.
2 - Consume It On Paper
If you get the urge to buy or acquire something, and you know for sure it isn’t a necessity or emergency, write it down and buy it on paper.
Make a list of every new item you want to acquire for a month and see what you are able to find in your inventory, for free, borrowed or that you never really needed.
3 - Look Into The Source Of Everything
Before acquiring anything new-to-you, look into who’s selling and the item’s origins. Is it made of high quality materials that respect the environment? Does it support an economy you believe in?
The more you trace back every item you consume, the easier it is to decide not to buy things - or to decide that whatever it is, isn’t worth the research effort.
4 - Look At The Care/Use Requirements
Do you need to wash it a certain way that isn’t convenient? Can you use the item in time before it expires? What is the cost of the refills required to keep it running? How often do you need to get those?
Making sure you can prepare or care for something the way it is intended, before you acquire it, can help reduce your consumption of things.
5 - Let Others Know Your Goal To Consume Less
Share with those around you that you are going on a “low consumption” plan.
Explain your why and make it about you. Maybe it’s to save money or the environment. This way, others in your network can support you.
6 - Buy Quality
Rather than purchasing 5 new pairs of casual or dress shoes over 5 years, what if you only purchased 2 pairs?
While running shoes, shoes for other sports and certain items tend to wear out more frequently, some items you can save by going with better made materials.
When you acquire quality items, they can last longer, save you money and time spent searching for new ones.
7 - Reuse Things
Instead of throwing an entire item away that has worn out, pause and see if there is any part of that item that can be reused. You can’t always save the whole thing, but you can often harvest parts of it for repurposed uses.
This limits the amount of trash going to the landfill, consuming less landfill space.
8 - Use J-I-T System
Just-In-Time Inventory (J-I-T) is a stocking technique which keeps inventory-on-hand intentionally low. You only buy what you need, when you need it and no more.
Replenish stock when you’re almost done with what you’re using right now. The goals of this consumption system are to avoid waste from goods going bad/obsolete before you use them and save money from not buying what is not needed.
9 - Don’t Shop At All
Implement a Spending Freeze.
If you normally spend money when leisurely popping into stores, stop doing this. Easter stuff this year is going to look just like Easter stuff next year. Simply stop going into stores and areas of stores that don’t have necessities, like food and medicine.
10 - Take A Photo Of It
Whatever good you want to consume, take a photo or video of it in the store. Leave the store, walk around, go home.
After a minimum waiting period that you decide, look at your photo or video. Do you still want it? If so, go get it, however, you may find that just looking at it provided all you needed.
11 - Put It On Your Pinterest Board
Any good you want to purchase but know is not a need, put it on a Pinterest Vision Board.
Every so often (once a month or year is good), go through your pins on this board and delete what you no longer want.
12 - No/Low Back-Ups
You don’t need a lifetime supply. Even if you have a favorite cosmetic or coat, don’t buy back-ups for later.
It is easy to see something, love it and feel like you’ll love it forever into the future, never see another, and then get 5 of them. You might not love it forever. You may see another. It might go bad or out of style before you get to using it.
13 - Ignore The Free Shipping Minimum
Free shipping minimums may prompt you to buy more than you need. If you only need one thing, maybe you can wait and bundle until you need more.
Also ignore buying something to get something. Many free gift items, samples and minis end up as a “glad I tried it but no thank you” trash pile.
14 - Don’t Buy Books
Borrow them from the library. It is fun to fantasize about having a big library, but dusting it, maintaining it and moving those books from place to place is not always that fun.
Furthermore, many (not all) books are depreciating assets - they often don’t hold their value. If you ever wanted to offload them you would more than likely be selling at a loss.
15 - Can I Make It With My Raw Materials?
Before buying anything, from cards to cleaning supplies, do a mental inventory of what you have on hand. If you can make something like what you want to acquire with what you have already available, do that.
16 - Let Go of Sales
There’s always going to be another sale. Maybe it will be better than the last one. Sales can be called many things - clearances, liquidations, blow outs, semi-annuals, buy one, get one.
They are all designed to do the same thing: get you to consume more. Buy when prices are low, but if you don’t need it right now, don’t panic, they’ll be low again.
17 - Convert Disposables To Reusables
Take stock of all the items in your abode that are disposable and could be reusable. Begin converting these items to reusables.
Use washable instead of disposable sponges. Use wool dryer balls instead of dryer sheets. Instead of cotton pads for makeup removal, switch to washable microfiber baby wipes.
Photo of tomatoes in knit mesh bags by Vie Studio from Pexels
These tips can help you reduce your consumption of goods. See if you can take advantage of a few on the list and begin there.
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