Mindful Shopping in a Consumer-Driven World: Is It Possible?
And the habits I'm adopting next year to curb my shopping
Let me paint you a picture. It’s a cold, dreary February day in Chicago. The sun hasn’t appeared in well over a week. You have a mug in one hand, your phone scrolling Instagram in the other when you see it… The piece of clothing that will *change* your life. It’s your green scarf, Rebecca Bloomwood, moment.
Suddenly *that* piece of clothing is all you can think about. You click on the affiliate link and impatiently wait for the page to load. Three clicks later, and you have a confirmation email in your inbox, a boost of dopamine, and a $185 charge on your credit card.
Say a week, after that, you walk in your door to a package and a shiny new item of clothing. You wear it endlessly for weeks. It becomes your new personality. You are the girl in the ocher sweater. Until…
You see a different [insert object of your choice here] and the cycle repeats itself. On, and on, and on…
Sound familiar? Than hi! Welcome, you’re in good company. I too (as you might’ve guessed) am a bit of a shopaholic. Kind of always have been, yet it comes in waves. And 2024 was a freaking tsunami.
So the question I’m posing today: In this *golden* (she says dryly) age of mass consumerism can we really curb the urge to shop (while still maintaining a wardrobe we love)?
Keep reading, and let’s dive into it together. Grab a big ole mug of coffee, and cozy on up for this weeks Yap.
What’s in this post:
A look at my common spending triggers
The habits I’ll be implementing to shop more mindfully and (hopefully) less often in 2025
My wish-list goals
I’m sure at this point many of us have watched Buy Now! The Shopping Conspiracy on Netflix. I haven’t because I think it will send me into a spiral of anxiety and nerves, and I don’t need help in that department! Without having watched this documentary, I can say this past holiday season with gift guides galore, I’ve been feeling some type of way about shopping in general. It’s made me step back and really take a look at my own spending habits.
After some self-reflection I’ve been able to identify my top three spending ‘pitfalls’ that result in me pressing ‘buy now’:
Boredom. This is by far my biggest trigger when it comes to shopping. As someone who has worked from home since lockdown, it has only gotten worse over the years. Compile that with a job I didn’t like, I turned to online shopping throughout my work days to procrastinate and honestly get a boost of dopamine that I was lacking from work.
What’s super interesting since I was laid off in early November, I’ve bought one item of clothing. I’m not ‘working’ right now, but I am filling my time by teaching more yoga classes, editing my manuscript, and writing here on Substack. I’ve felt more content, and less *obsessed* with shopping. Go figure!
Social media. A close second, that one could argue enables me during bouts of boredom to hit add to cart faster than a cop driving down I-90 in rush hour traffic. We are bombarded with people telling us to ‘buy this’ or ‘buy that’ on social media every single day, every minute of the day. It’s impossible to get away from, unless you delete social media altogether. I’ve slowly started to implement more guardrails in my time on social media, and during Cyber Week I muted most of the Influencers I follow.
And what happened? All I purchased was two skin care products that needed to be refilled. And yes, I would like a pat on the back for that :)
Upcoming events. Okay, I had to add this one because I fall into this trap each and every time a big event comes around. Weddings, bridal/baby showers, a big vacation, work trips, etc. I find myself shopping for something new for the sake of shopping for something new. Even when I tell myself I don’t want any more occasion wear dresses, I somehow find myself a week or two before a big wedding panic buying a new freaking dress! This is a pattern I only recently identified after having a conversation with a friend. And it was eye opening. I even panic bought a back-up wedding dress when the first seamstress I went to f’d up my dress (a story for another day)!
*Disclaimer: yes, I do use Nuuly for weddings. However as you can see from my panic buy situation Nuuly doesn’t work in a time crunch. And YES, I know I should’ve just not shopped at all. I’m working on it.*
Alright, triggers identified. Here are the habits I plan to implement in 2025 to stay on top of my spending and avoid the above scenarios:
Sleep on it or add to a bookmark. In 2025 I really, *really* want to reduce my impulse purchases. You know the ones. When you’ve had a tough week, and want to ‘treat yo self’ or maybe that damn Instagram ad has finally worn you down. I’ve noticed that adding an item to my bookmarks is most effective for me to wait it out. It’s still there and I can go back to it at any time. Eight times out of ten, I no longer want that item!
Come up with five outfits for the new item. I saw
talk about this on her Insta and it resonated with me. Why am I spending $200 on a fancy dress that I will wear once, when what I need is a new full-length winter parka for walking Bennet in sub-zero degrees? Yes, that jacket might be more expensive than that dress but I’d wear it for three months straight (not joking, that’s Chicago winters for you) and if it’s good quality, for many, many years.
Step away from social media or mute accounts that push you to ‘add to cart’! As I found with Cyber Week, this is hugely effective when it comes to my spending habits. Pair this with unsubscribing from my favorite retailers emails, and it becomes easier to be content with the items I have.
Care for the clothes already in my closet. You’ve probably seen this tip/habit countless times because it’s effective. I take my nice sweaters/jackets to the dry cleaners once a year before they go into storage. I bought a fabric shaver a couple years ago and it changed my life. In 2025 I want to focus on shoe, jewelry, and activewear care.
Hone in on my personal style. After following
’s personal style journey on The Wardrobe Edit, I’ve been inspired to hone in on my own personal style. It’s there but it could be polished. I know summer is the hardest season for me to style, but fall/winter I’ve got it down pat.Shop second had more. I got into this more in the later half of 2024 but in 2025 I want to make this a bigger part of my shopping. We live in world with sooo much stuff, and the carbon footprint is wild. Anything I can do to reduce that I want to.
And when it doubt, clean out the ole closet. Trust me, nothing is more humbling when you want to shop than clearing out your closet and realizing how much crap you already have.
Phew, thanks for sticking with me this long! I promise I’m nearly done yapping.
I’ll leave you with the goal I’m setting for myself in 2025 when it comes to my shopping (on top of the habits listed above).
My goal is to buy no more than one clothing or accessory item a month. That should result in a total of only twelve items added to my wardrobe over the course of the year. That may still be a lot for most people, but for me it’s a realistic goal that doesn’t feel restricting. My hubby is planning on following this goal too, so I have an accountability buddy! We’ve agreed if we don’t buy anything in a certain month, than that item can roll into the next month or we could have a deficit. *We’ve also agreed that a necessity like socks or underwear doesn’t count toward the 12 item goal.*
So there we have it friends! I hope this post inspires you, or maybe you pick up some tips to take into your life as the new year approaches. Or maybe, you’re already a pro at shopping less!
If you have any other tips/tricks to curb shopping please tell me in the comments below.
Until next time,
MacKenzie
The 5 outfit idea is A GOOD ONE and one that I'll do my best to incorporate into my thought process as well
You hit the nail on head when it comes to social media being a trigger for shopping. And it isn't just clothing but home items, baby stuff, pet stuff. The list is endless! I've tried to not be on social media at all and I feel the urge to shop decrease everyday. Great advice!