stopped? Stopped buying new things. Stopped receiving promo emails. Stopped clicking on websites you know are designed to make you spend your money. Stopped making compulsive online purchases. Stopped wandering into the clothing section at Target or stepping foot into a Homegoods. Stopped logging onto Amazon to buy that book or travel bag or electronic. What would happen?

This year I have made a conscious effort to stop doing these things and it has been so incredibly freeing. Does that mean I haven’t purchased anything? Absolutely not. Does that mean I deleted EVERY promo email? Nope. Instead, I have worked hard to purchase with purpose by adopting some of these practices. 1) I actually have stopped wandering into home stores or new clothing sections. Instead, I figure out what I need and make lists. I buy secondhand clothes from ebay or ThredUp or thrift stores. For home good purchases, I look on Craigslist, Facebook Market or on Saturdays, when Andrew can take the kids for a few hours, I hit up a few consignment stores. My list is very particular and if they don’t have what I’m looking for, I walk out and try again next week. If I put a solid effort into finding what I want (I’m talking at least a few months of looking) and I still feel like that purchase is in our best interest, I will allow myself to purchase it new online or in store. However, almost every single time I end up finding it secondhand before it comes to that. 2) I deleted all of the promo emails I had been receiving so I wouldn’t be tempted to click on them to see what was on sale EXCEPT for this one site that carries a blanket I have had my eye on that never goes on sale. I have patiently waited for about 10 months for the annual sale and when it happened, I made my purchase and clicked “unsubscribe.” 3) I learned what I could live without and still be happy. It is so ingrained in us to receive immediate gratification from buying things. The longer I have just stopped, the less I want things. Since adopting these practices I have learned that it is much more gratifying to be picky about what we bring into our home. And the feeling of scoring that object you have been hunting down for months and you finally come across it secondhand? Oh man, it’s priceless! And with that purchase, you didn’t further the exploitation of textile workers or cause any new materials to be used. Sounds like a win-win-win to me!

If we could all just stop.

P.S. Please disregard the pollen all over my computer area. We’ve had the windows open for the past month and as it all flies in, continually wiping it off has become just an exercise in futility. And look at all those cords! Someone should really get those things under control.