Minimalism Quick Tips - Things to Stop Buying

In our consumer driven society it can be extremely difficult to say enough is enough, and stop buying certain items.

Especially when every second ad is showing the latest hair treatment release or sale on one of your favourite brands. But it's an important part of the process to slow down the spending and stop buying certain things, at least for now until you work through what you already have.

So let's get into it...these are the things you should stop buying as a minimalist to save money and space.


Coffee
I'm talking about the venti caramel latte that costs you $7 and 500 calories. Make your coffee at home, even invest in a really nice coffee machine which will definitely save you money in the long run. Get your caffeine hit at home and make your own coffees at work. That daily cappuccino is costing you around $40 a week.

Manicures / Pedicures
I'm sure you have a heap of nail polish lying around so avoid the temptation to go to the salon and have them paint your nails for you. This will save you up to $60 a week and you will actually start to use up all of your nail polishes as well.

Organisation Items
I have this terrible habit of ending up with copious amounts of draws, filing systems, makeup bags cute storage boxes and other things that I just end up filling with more crap. If you are on the minimalism path then cut out purchasing organizational items because the aim is to de-clutter and not find better ways to store your crap instead.

Toiletries
If you are anything like me, you have draws and cupboards FULL of serums, masks, hair treatments and bath products. Instead of adding to this never ending collection, make a huge effort to use up the products you already have.

Junk Food
It's expensive, bad for your health and a lose-lose. If you buy it then you're going to eat it and that's pretty much setting yourself up for failure. Save yourself the money and calories by sticking to your meal preps and having healthy snacks. Read all about why I love meal prepping and meal examples here.

Magazines
It's all about the paperless these days with tools like Pinterest you can look online for inspiration instead. Nothing clutters more than random books and magazines so I have made a huge effort to clear out all of the old magazines I own and stick to scouring the internet for articles, news and admiring photography. If you have a specific magazine that you love reading, try purchasing the digital version to save money and space.

Sale Items
Often times if something is on sale, you are more likely to purchase it when you might not have even considered it if it was full price. If you aren't sure or it's not your perfect size then don't buy it just because it's on sale. I made this mistake recently in Kikki K (which is the cutest stationary shop ever) where they were having a buy 2 get 1 free deal. I only needed one thing but I ended up purchasing two so I could get the third thing for free. I wasn't even sure about the other two items but got them anyway and alas have not used them. Perfect example getting sucked into sales.