15 Ways To Stop Buying Stuff You Don’t Need

Do you spend too much money on impulse buys, or want to take back control of your shopping habits? Perhaps you’re looking to save money to focus on more important financial goals. Whatever your reason for wanting to stop buying stuff you don’t need, we have some great tips to help curb your spending habits. How to stop buying stuff in 15 simple steps.

Back at the end of 2020, I decided to challenge myself to go the entire year without buying any new clothing. Why? Because fast fashion is becoming one of the worst offenders when it comes to climate change. It seems to be the ‘trend’ to wear an item of clothing once before taking it to a charity shop, or even worse, throwing it in the bin! Trends such as this should be a thing of the past as it just isn’t sustainable for the planet, let alone most people’s bank balances these days.

There are so many ways we can shop sustainably from visiting local thrift shops or even swapping clothes with a family member or a friend. You don’t even have to be as drastic as me and not buy anything new at all. It’s more about thinking before you go placing orders for unnecessary things you’ll probably never you more than a few times.

Here are a few simple steps that helped me stop spending a lot of money on things I didn’t really need…

One Size Fits All?

The first thing to remember when it comes to overbuying is how to stop buying stuff you don’t need is that there’s no – one size fits all – solution to this issue. We all have different tastes, budgets and lifestyles. Plus, not all of us want to be minimalists! However, being a bit more thoughtful when it comes to buying new things is something we can all do. Do you really need that expensive designer outfit you’ll wear once and then donate to your local thrift store?

Challenging myself to stop shopping new for an entire year really opened up my eyes to what I did and didn’t need. There wasn’t a single time I felt I went without or that I couldn’t work with what I already had. In fact, it made me realise I already had too much stuff in my wardrobe.

Here’s a little test for you. Put a post-it note or something similar on all your items of clothing. As you use the items, take the sticky note off. Then, over the course of about 6 months, see how many items are left with the sticky note on them. I bet you’d be surprised at how much you actually don’t wear!

To get you thinking about this, here are 15 ways to help you replace fast fashion with a more thoughtful, minimalist approach…

Declutter & Organise What You Have

If you’re being told to shop less, the thought of getting rid of what you do have with a big declutter might sound a bit strange. However, there is a method to this and it’s the first step in helping you spend less.

If you have so many items of clothing in your wardrobe you can’t really see what you do have. By having a declutter, you’ll be able to see the items you love. You may even find a few forgotten treasures hiding at the back! Plus, if you have less to rifle through in the mornings, you’ll find it easier to find something you love to wear, and you may even have more free time. Making the process so much easier and more efficient when you’re in a hurry to get on with real life.

Think minimalist when it comes to your wardrobe – there are only so many items one person can wear in a season or even a week. Declutter and organise your wardrobe to give yourself more headspace for what you have already.

Learn From Past Mistakes

While you’re doing your mass declutter, interrogate each item. If it’s one you didn’t wear often, ask yourself why you didn’t wear it much. Was it the feel of it you didn’t like? Or perhaps it was how it make you look? Did you never have the right time to wear it? If so, will you ever have the right time to wear it?

By learning why you didn’t wear some items will help you going forwards not to make the same mistakes from the past year. Perhaps you even bought it out of pure boredom one lunch break, or you were persuaded into buying it. If you don’t feel 100% yourself in it in the changing rooms, it’s likely you won’t wear it when you get it home – no matter how much you say, or think you might.

It’s OK To Wear Clothes More Than Once

Despite what many magazines and celebrities say and do, it’s perfectly OK to wear an item of clothing more than once before decluttering it! Frankly, the idea that someone would buy something to wear once and give or throw away afterwards is ridiculous.

For one it’s just a waste of your money, plus, it’s also incredibly wasteful and bad for the environment. You should wear items of clothing as many times as you can to get the most of it – and your money!

Say, for example, you have a jumper that you love but don’t want to wear again because you’ve already worn it in public. Instead of throwing it away, a good idea could be to simply create a new look with it by wearing it differently next time. Pair it with your favourite ripped jeans or a skirt and converse shoes perhaps. There are many ways you can make the same item look different each time you wear it. Plus, with a smaller collection of clothes in your wardrobe after your declutter, you’ll be able to see what else you have to create a new outfit.

Think Before You Buy

Before you go making new impulse purchases, ask yourself if you really NEED it – not want it. These are two very different things and could have very different outcomes. If it’s something you truly need, then go for it, but perhaps shop around to see if you can get a great deal for it somewhere.

However, if it’s just something you want that could end up being more unnecessary purchases, maybe hold off from buying it for now. Put your minimalist head on for a second and think twice. Perhaps try putting these things into your online shopping carts, or a wish list and leaving them for a week or so to see if you think about it again. If you don’t then you’ve just saved yourself a good amount of money.

Borrow Clothes From Friends

One great trick many minimalists will do is share clothes with family and friends. If you have lots of fashionable friends, of the same kind of size as you, perhaps you could start borrowing each other’s clothes instead of buying new items. This way you both get to save money and have ‘new’ outfits to wear. It’s a win for everyone!

You could even rent clothes from certain stores these days. It’s great to see so many companies offering a renting service for clothes. It’s also a great way to be more sustainable! Plus, if you need something for special occasions that you know you’ll only wear once, this is the best way to save money.

Buy Secondhand

If you do feel the need to go and purchase something, whether clothes or even some household items, try shopping secondhand instead. If a total shopping ban is too much for you to begin with, visiting thrift stores could be a great way to ease you in.

Related Post – 50 Simple Ways To Be More Eco Friendly

Whether this is in your local charity shop, an online seconds shop such as eBay, or even through something like the Facebook marketplace.

Make these some of your favourite stores to visit if the urge does come knocking.

Mend What You Already Have

OK, so it’s unlikely you’ll be a whizz with a sewing machine, but we can all use a needle and thread – right?! I remember trying to create a pair of trousers out of an old curtain once – it did NOT go well!

However, sewing on a button or mending a small hole isn’t too bad, especially when you have the likes of youtube videos to help you out.

You can even get iron-on patches to cover holes too big to sew up. So, you really have no excuse not to sew on that button, or mend that hole in your favourite jumper! The best thing is, other than maybe a replacement button, or some thread, it’s free so will save you money in the long run.

Go Vintage Shopping

The likes of vintage shopping is so much easier these days – and doesn’t have to involve going to open air markets as it once did. Vintage is so much cooler nowadays. The best things about vintage shops are that you never know what you might find. Vintage gems that people have been throwing out without realising what they were worth.

Related Post – Where To Buy The Best Second Hand Or Vintage Clothing

However, when you do go vintage shopping, one simple tip is that you take your phone with you so you can look up the price online to make sure you’re getting a good deal. You could even turn your shopping addiction into a business if you have a knack for finding those vintage treasures!

Upcycle Your Old Clothes

Similarly to mending what you already have, you could also try upcycling an old item of clothing, it’s a great way of living more sustainably. Perhaps you have a pair of trousers that are all frayed and tatty around the hems, you could cut the legs off to make a cute pair of shorts instead.

Or maybe you have an odd pair of socks you don’t know what to do with. Simply cut the ends off and you have a great pair of hand/arm warmers. The fact they don’t match doesn’t matter and could be their quirky, unique quality.

OK, so upcycling is likely to take you extra time, but a lot of people I have spoken with say they love how unique their clothes are now. I did this with a pair of gym leggings once (turned them into shorts) and got so many incredible compliments. I’m no sewing expert either so I’m sure you could make them look better than I did.

Stop Shopping!

Of course, the best thing to do is to just stop shopping or visiting online stores altogether. The less you shop, the more you will get used to that being your new norm. You just have to stop thinking about shopping and what you could be missing. Instead, focus on the positives and what you’re gaining from not shopping new. The most important thing is that you’re helping the planet and your bank balance with your stop on mindless shopping.

Challenge yourself to a month and see how you get on, perhaps even get your friend to do it with you and give it your best efforts. The less you shop, the less you’ll think about shopping. However, if you do get tempted, go for a run, talk to your best friend, or read up on what fast fashion does to the environment. Guilt yourself to stop shopping if you really have to – whatever works for you.

Remove The Temptation

Just as you might block a spam caller or a bad friend on Facebook, break up with fast fashion by un-subscribing to ALL fashion brands. You could even go through your social media accounts and either unfollow or mute accounts that make you want to start impulse shopping. Declutter those who make you feel the urge to reach for those new shiny things.

It’s much harder to miss something you don’t know is happening. For example, would you really want that new dress from Zara if you hadn’t seen it in an email or on your Instagram? Take away the temptation and don’t give in to the marketing and sales culture!

Shop Small

Another great way to get around not shopping new is to only shop in small, local independent stores. OK, so it’s likely to be more expensive but it’s generally better for the environment to shop for locally sourced, or handmade goods.

However, just because they might be small, artisan shops, you will still need to check their items are sustainably sourced. If the shop owners/managers are being honest, with nothing to hide, they won’t mind being asked these questions. Or, you might be able to find out on their website if you don’t want to ask in person.

For example, shopping via Amazon Prime isn’t going to help anyone but Amazon and their billion turnover each year – no matter how easy they are to shop with!

Do Your Homework

As we just touched on above, do your homework on a brand before you purchase anything. Those with nothing to hide won’t mind being asked. Just as you might want to do some digging before you go out on your first Tinder date, treat buying clothes in the same way.

They should have all the information you need on their website for you to do your research. Make sure the clothes you’re buying really are sustainable.

Where Did Your Clothes Come From?

If none of the above tips worked for you, then just start researching where your clothes came from, that should certainly make you think twice, especially if you buy from some of the most popular high-street stores.

We should all want to know where the clothes we buy have come from to help fight against issues such as exploitation. Was the person making your clothes paid more than £0.02p to make it? Were they being treated well? Were they just a child being forced to work to live?

Surely you would want to know you weren’t helping to cause issues such as this buy buying into their products?

How sustainable are you when it comes to fashion and what’s in your wardrobe?

I hope this article has given you some great tips on how to stop buying stuff you really don’t need.