As we approach Valentine’s Day it occurs to me I went a little overboard – it looks like cupid threw up in our place! I’ve never had many Valentine’s Day decorations in the past, but between subscribing to some new YouTube channels where I was absorbing nothing but decor ideas, and Target really upping their game in the One Spot this year, I went a little nuts. Plus, if you like Dollar Tree like I do, well, it’s a recipe for disaster. You think “well, it’s only $1” until you find yourself buying 25 items in one trip, whoops! Also, I shot myself in the foot in terms of picking up any cute pieces next year, or for many years to come, since I already have too much. Lesson learned!
My problem is I struggle between wanting to live a more minimalist lifestyle (not to any extreme, mind you, as I just cannot do it) and enjoying switching up our home decor for holidays or as the seasons change. The issue with the latter is that you need to find places to store the stuff you’re not currently using. Luckily, I think I can still fit everything into the single storage bin I’ve designated for the holiday since there isn’t much room left in the garage to park both cars if we add any more bins. We’re pretty proud of the fact that, unlike a vast majority of our neighbors, we’re able to fit both cars in our garage even while maximizing our storage area along the perimeter. I will admit, however, it was tough during Christmas to get everything back into their original totes since we had purchased some new decor. Once it warms up I plan to pull everything out and reorganize it better since instead of keeping to a theme I just started shoving stuff wherever it would fit. It was just too cold in the garage to care at that point.
In any case, I realized that Christmas kicked off this spend fest in me and I need to reign it in. While I wasn’t spending much each trip, I was going out every Monday to check out the thrift store, Dollar Tree, etc. I love buying second hand clothes and have no plans to stop entirely, but I need to reduce how often I go. Not only do small amounts still add up, but I was coming across the same clothing I saw a week before. Clearly that means I’m visiting far too often!
Another clue I was shopping too much/often – every weekend I had something I was returning to one store or another. Sometimes I wasn’t in the mood to try it on right then so I took it home knowing I could return it later. On the plus side, at least I wasn’t keeping stuff I knew I’d never wear. But still, I shouldn’t always have something in the home that needs to be returned either.
One of the changes I made to combat this spending problem is that I’ve stopped watching as many “shop with me” or “decorate with me” videos on YouTube. I thought I was living vicariously through others, but what I was doing was being influenced to shop more often when I saw a cute idea. Apparently I’m more impressionable than I thought. I think we all are, whether we care to admit it or not.
Another change I made was not visiting departments I think I just want to browse in since there’s a chance I’ll spot something I want to buy. That means skipping the One Spot and seasonal sections in Target and the clothing section in every store.
My final change? Staying home today instead of going out to shop. This ties into reducing what I watch on YouTube since that was the catalyst for my desire to shop. There are plenty of other things I can do to occupy my time instead, like play with the dog, read a library book, or finally get around to checking out the adult coloring book and gel pens my thoughtful husband gave me for Christmas. Oh, and I almost forgot – watching The Puppy Bowl which I recorded yesterday!
While I only just implemented this change a few days ago, I’m proud to say we only bought groceries this weekend and nothing more. Here’s to sticking with this change. It’s easy to keep up the status quo and much more challenging to change things.
How do you stop yourself from over-shopping?
