Simple on Purpose | Intentional Living and Parenting

Simple on Purpose | Intentional Living and Parenting


141. When shopping isn't making your life better (mindful and minimalist tips for shopping)

September 28, 2021

Feel like you are shopping too much? Want to bring a minimalist approach and mindset into how you shop?

Every season we seem to be bombarded with the latest fashion trends - a marketing strategy that fast fashion uses to get us to keep buying all the latest colours and patterns.  I know I feel like I need to buy a new wardrobe each season and need to remind myself of everything I already DO have in my closet. 

In this episode, I will talk about WHY we shop, how to know when it is causing a problem for you and how to bring a mindful and minimal approach into your shopping. 

Make sure to get the free downloads that go with this episode, right here

Why it feels good to shop
The neurochemical payoff

In her great book Tame Your Anxiety by Loretta Breuning outlines the neurochemicals we like to get (serotonin, oxytocin, and dopamine). I share my view on how I think we get each of these neurochemicals from shopping. 

Control and choice

Shopping is also something we can turn to feel in control, which is a desirable feeling for many of us. 

Avoidance strategy

Many of us can turn to shopping when we want to 'feel better', or also to say when we don't want to feel the negative or uncomfortable things we are facing. This is like emotional eating, we can emotion shop. Many coaches call  this a buffer (a term coined by Brooke Castillo), the things we turn to for distraction from feeling poor. 

 
When shopping isn't making our lives better
Years ago I started decluttering my home and it hit me how much my shopping habits had contributed to the state of my home. 

I could see that I had spent a lot of my 20s buying things that I thought I needed to be a credible adult. I had accumulated so much by using shopping as entertainment and by shopping by reaction more than intention. 

It caused a problem for me because I could see that I had a home full of stuff that was 

* a substitute for what I really wanted 
* things I 'thought' I needed
* things I thought we 'me' but turned out to be identity clutter

 
How to know when you are shopping too much
Shopping in itself isn't a bad thing or a negative activity. Shopping can be fun! Often it is how we meet a lot of our needs and create the life we want. 

Something things to consider to know if you are shopping too much is its impact on the different areas of your life. Shopping may be a problem for you if you notice a negative impact on your relationship, your finances, your space, your ability to be present, or your own sense of integrity. 

 
Bringing a minimalist approach to shopping
The work starts before you even go shopping or load up the online store. To bring a minimalist mindset into shopping,