7 Things I Don’t Buy Anymore
Maybe it’s just me, but I always get excited by a headline like this. It tickles my voyeuristic funny bone and self-improvement funny bone all at the same time. Of course, there are many lenses through which you can position a headline like, “101 Things I Stopped Buying.” There’s the minimalist angle, the sustainable angle, the decluttering angle, the mindful consumption angle. In this case, I’d like to share what I’ve stopped buying from a decluttering and self-reliance angle.
I spend a lot of time on my soap box sharing tools and techniques on how to declutter your unwanted stuff, but I hope I’ve made it equally clear that the best way to maintain a clutter-free home is to prevent clutter from entering your home in the first place.
When you say NO to the freebie, NO to the new CBD-infused body scrub at Sephora, NO to the Zara something or other, you’re saying YES to more space and more creativity. In my beauty writing days, I used to delight at the idea of stashing away multiple lotions and potions. Today, I make my own and find a lot more satisfaction in DIY’ing something than outsourcing it. Equally satisfying are the things I don’t make, but that are built well and made to last. Now, before I launch into a homemade body butter recipe tangent, here’s a list of things I’ve stopped buying:
Store-bought Cleaning Products. Swapping out commercial cleaning products for my set of DIY products has been a total game-changer. I no longer rely on silly stainless steel cleaners and marble polishes and wood waxes and sprays to keep my home in tip top shape. Instead, I whip up my own cleaning products using nothing more than dish soap, baking soda, hydrogen peroxide, rubbing alcohol, and vinegar. Not only are these ingredients non-toxic and affordable, but I don’t end up with a splitting headache brought on by all those freesia breeze and mountain dew breeze-scented fragrances.
Disposable Razors. Three words: laser hair removal. This has been one of the best investments of my adult life, and I can’t recommend it enough. If you have a high pain tolerance and a distaste for shaving regularly, laser hair removal will shave (see what I did there!) literal days off your life spent shaving. For the occasional shaving touch up, I now turn to my trusty safety razor and my pretty much lifetime supply of safety razor blades. Before making the switch from disposable razors to safety razors, I was intimidated by the idea of handling a scary lone blade. Let me assure you: chopping an onion is scarier. You’ll be just fine. And if you’re wondering whether a single blade is as effective as multiple blades, the answer: yes indeedy!
The Zara Something or Other. In my college days and well into my 20s, Zara comprised 65% of my wardrobe. Now, you won’t find her anywhere in my closet. I began to tire of that fluffy faux-angora sweater looking cute for a day or two, only for it to pill and unravel into a throw blanket a month later. Fast fashion clothes have a funny way of looking and feeling chic for a season and then completely disintegrating the next. Now I invest in clothes that actually last and don’t pill nearly as aggressively. And of course, if the occasional hole happens, I’ll just grab my little sewing kit and repair like a pro. And when I say repair like a pro, I mean crudely sew together two pieces of fabric using some stitching techniques I learned in second grade.
Body scrubs and creams. As a former collector of endless beauty products, I’ve completely reformed my ways with my newfound love for all things DIY. Gone are the days of stocking up on body scrubs infused with Hungarian Eucalyptus or body muds sourced from Sicilian thermal baths. I now rely on little more than a few tablespoons of Jojoba oil and a cup of raw sugar to exfoliate my skin, and I also use a dry brush. As for body creams, I make my own (inspired by this recipe), and it’s kept my skin incredibly well-moisturized through the winter.
Tupperware and Ziplock Bags. This might seem like neither here nor there, but it is a biggie! As soon as I swapped out my Tupperware for glassware, I no longer spend nearly as much time replacing my collection or searching for the right-sized lid. Tupperware has a funny way of collecting yucky smells and odors of lasagne’s past, but with glassware, this is not the case! I used to love purchasing all manner of Ziplock bags in endless different sizes, but now I lean on my collection of silicone Stashers to do the job. I like to wash them inside out in the dishwasher for the most thorough clean.
Physical books. Instead of purchasing a random paperback book at the airport for a trip, or buying a stack of 5 or 6 books from Barnes & Noble to throw on my nightstand that I may or may not end up reading or liking, I rely on my Kindle or the library for all my literary needs. And if I happen to have a physical copy of a book that I enjoyed, I can’t wait to get it out the door and into the hands of someone I think might also enjoy it.
Linens. I love a good set of sheets as much as the next person who enjoys a good night’s sleep, but I don’t see the sense in owning more than two sets of sheets per bed. I grew up with a linen closet stuffed full of sheets in every shape, size and color. I can nearly guarantee we used 10% of the sheets in that closet, and the rest became some kind of sheet museum. I love having an extra set on hand while the other is in the wash, and this keeps things nice and roomy in my laundry closet.