READ THIS [AGAIN] BEFORE SHOPPING!!!
I thought I'd re-share this with a little update on how I am THINKING of shopping intentionally this weekend.
It’s BLACK FRIDAY… I completely lost track of time because I’ve been getting bombarded by these BLACK FRIDAY / Green Friday sales for weeks now… it’s like a whole month of shopping now, never mind just one weekend.
Since becoming intentional about shopping six years ago… I have learnt a lot of self-control. I don’t really impulse buy unless I see something that’s on sale, but it is usually on one of my lists of things to get one day.
Since Op shopping has commenced, a lot of my urge to buy has faded as I go treasure hunting instead, is what I say to my boys.
My favourite secondhand outfit this year
If I am looking for something new, I do check out the stores that are on my list to see if it’s on sale, and if it is… then I CONSIDER buying. It’s not an automatic BUY NOW!
If you want to be a SMART Shopper that gets money back while shopping on your laptop as well. Sign up to SHOPBACK as they also have additional discounts all year long that you can get CASHBACK from your purchases. I have received a total of $88.88 back since joining. It’s not a lot of money but hey…. it’s FREE MONEY!
I like buying my mushroom 🍄 supplements or the kids’ nutritional powders to keep our health up first if our stock is running low.
This year I have been more focused on bed linen changing out polyester fabrics from the bedding and only using linen for all our families bedding but it’s not CHEAP hence why I’m shopping the sales.
The kids Christmas toys have already been purchased by their Lola in Canada 🇨🇦 and I’m just considering now a YOTO club credit membership for Phoenix as he is obsessed with reading and audiobooks. Memphis wants the Mini Yoto so might get a second on for him. But all of it is being considered as a whole and I’m not just BUYING NOW.
I share these real examples to showcase the intentional thinking behind the gifts, which are all for the long term rather than the short term.
My mothers group is doing a toy 🧸 share swap with each other to help with rotating in some new toys are kids are not interested in.
There are honestly so many cool ways to make your home feel “new,” even with secondhand items!
We got to change
It does start with us as individuals to STOP and THINK…
Pause
Could you put it in your cart on Friday and if Monday you still want it then buy it?
Stores want your money!!! But what about your savings account for the HOLIDAY?
We need to shift from BUYING NOW to enjoying what we have and considering maybe our rich life isn’t just having a tone of presents under the tree.
Keep reading if you missed this article last year or maybe you need a REFRESHER… as we all can use a good excuse to NOT BUY!
A GOOD DEAL MINDSET is BAD!
Everyone loves a good deal, and I won’t say I don’t because I do… especially FREE SHIPPING! I don’t think anyone likes shipping fees nowadays, as everyone buys online. This mindset is terrible not for your wallet but for its long-term effect on the planet.
However, as a business owner and creative artist, I have shifted this good deal mindset. It’s good to put stock on sale that hasn’t moved when you have new stock to add. However, the rate at which I make things in my slow, small business, reducing any pieces, constantly impacts me as an artist. So, I 100% get that businesses shouldn’t be selling stuff and devaluing their efforts.
Big box stores can afford to do it as they make things in mass production with cheap labour and want us to buy their cheap products only to toss them away or declutter them the following season, so we buy the following products they put out. We are all addicted to this shopping cycle and are being marketed to follow it daily. We watch TV, and even when we go food shopping, we can’t avoid it in shopping centres.
If all businesses were operating at a slower rate with quality as a value they live by, then I don’t think we would be having as many issues as we do today.
If all customers were buying at a slower rate, knowing what is essential for them to own and considering not buying might be the best option. Then again, I don’t think we would have as many issues as today.
Eco-Friendly Mindset
In 2018, when I did my zero-waste experiment for a few months, I realised I had to change my mindset the most, and it was hard for several reasons the main thing I realised is that I got so much pleasure from buying.
It was the Love Language my mother had always shown me growing up and taught me that when I get something, I deserve to enjoy it. I could share more about this, but I’ll stop there.
So what I did was I CHANGED my way of thinking and started following businesses and brands only that CARED about the planet. I would unsubscribe to most shopping brands and leave only a few whose ethos was to help reduce the impact on the planet.
Now, I follow businesses that want to avoid Black Friday due to the knowledge of how the fashion industry is the leading cause of pollution in the world.
I’ve noticed this year, there are month-long sales vs one day or a weekend, as Cyber Monday also started a few years ago.
Then, most of the businesses I follow boycott the sale concept not to support cheap fashion/overconsumption shopping to stay true to their values of not devaluing their product.
However, if you are like me and make a wish list of all the items you like but don’t need right away and know that they might go on sale during sale season... it does suck when the brands you support don’t participate even tho they are awesome for not following consumerism.
That is one of the reasons shopping isn’t fun intentionally: I don’t find deals now. But the main reason is that I am THINKING ten times more and questioning everything I want versus just hitting that BUY NOW button.
How I am Shopping Intentionally This Year:
1. Make a list of all the items you want with the price and add it all up (include everything)
2. Decide what your budget is $2000
3. Stick to your budget and cross off items from your whole list of shopping that you don’t need now or at all
4. Ask yourself these questions to help the deciding process
Do I need this?
Will I use it often?
Can I find it secondhand?
Is it essential or will I possibly declutter it in a year or so
Is this product created with sustainable or recycled material
Is the brand fair to all the people involved in the creation of this product?
Do they ship in plastic-free packaging?
Does this purchase make a positive impact on this world?
Invest in items because you will wear them / use them for years to come, not because they are on sale!
Doing all of this intentional thinking is not a fun part of shopping for me anymore as I would buy, and that was fun the spontaneous part. However, I now realise that is the trap we are all in.
How To Change Our Buying Mentality
We think we deserve to buy these items for ourselves because we work hard or for our kids, so we buy to fulfil this FEELING of a job well done.
However, spending our money on stuff we will toss out later as we live in a culture of “buy and toss” without thought has got us behaving ridiculously! I was part of this culture for many years, and my mind is still being controlled by it, which is why I have the feeling it sucks to be an intentional shopper.
I know it’s way better for my mindset now, and I have to actively not shop and not want pointless stuff my creative mind desires to make my home look beautiful or calm toys my kids might love to have or that I WANT THEM to have.
It’s a slippery slope when you enter what you NEED vs WANT, and the lines are unclear.
Do A Zero Waste Challenge
Learning about zero waste and doing a month-long challenge helped me understand my consumer impact I listened to many TED Talks like this. I became the Eco Yogi Warrior after learning how I could do more to help reduce my impact on the planet as a single individual.
Do A Month of Decluttering
Decluttering has also helped me with not wanting more stuff, but my values as an Eco Yogi Warrior are always speaking loud when I hit BUY NOW on online purchases or when I do not hit it and leave it in my cart.
Let Items Sit In The Cart When Online Shopping
Does anyone else leave so many things in their cart and get emails from businesses bugging them later that you left them behind? The digital world is hardcore, wanting us to buy stuff with the click of a button. Letting things sit in your cart is like window shopping in the digital world.
Avoid Temptation
Avoid shops you are tempted to buy stuff when you go into it
UNSUBSCRIBE TO SHOPPING EMAILS
Doing this has really helped me avoid mindlessly browsing my favourite shops online for no reason and wasting time looking at stuff I am not going to buy.
Buying isn’t wrong and should be fun, and we do work hard and deserve nice things, but I guess my suggestion is within reason, and if you can justify and answer each purchase with the questions above in mind, then WELL DONE!
I will be honest: thinking about purchasing nowadays is more mental work. I do take my time and think purchases through because I don’t want to waste my money or make an impact on the planet when I’m finished with the item. I also want to set an example for my children and do not want them to be part of this BUYING CULTURE.
I also understand our economy needs us to buy products, still just the right ones, from businesses that support reducing their impact on the planet; otherwise, how will this world become healthy again?
My main point is that your dollars have POWER! Vote with your money by supporting good businesses/brands. Don’t just buy carelessly because you WANT something. Ask yourself some questions like do you NEED IT? And if not, don’t buy and see what happens. If you still want it later, go back and buy it. Just think a bit more before hitting BUY NOW!
I hope this helps your SHOP better this weekend and FOREVER!
Lots of LOVE
Kim
PS. If you are Christmas shopping, buy gift items that are not physical, like an experience, as they may be on sale right now, and they generally don’t impact the planet. They create GREAT MEMORIES for the person you receive them from—just a last-minute thought.