7 Things I’m Not Buying In 2022 | Minimalism & Saving Money

10 Things I’m Not Buying In 2022 | Minimalism & Saving Money

Hey everyone, and welcome back. Today I want to share a few ten things that I won't be buying in 2022. And as the year comes, something that I like to do is to take some time to look back on the previous year and then to look forward and think about what do I want my life to look like in the coming seasons?

And as I've been doing that, I've identified a few things that I really want to refrain from buying in 2022. And these are all things that I either have already or have wasted money on in the past. And so I really want to challenge myself to refrain from buying them. So I have 10 things that I won't be buying in 2022 to share with you.

Plants

So the first thing that I won't be buying in 2022 is plants. And I'm just gonna be honest here, I probably have too many plants right now. I think at my last count I had over 30 plants which as someone who tends to live a more minimal life is a lot. And so while I love plants and I love the life that they can bring to a space.

I think that in 2022, what I want to focus on is caring for the plants that I have well, rather than always trying to figure out what's the next plant that I'm going to buy? I think it can be really easy for us to always focus on what's next. We get one thing. And then immediately our minds go to something else. And so this year I really want to focus on appreciating what I have especially when it comes to my indoor plants.

Additional Subscription Services

The second thing that I won't be buying this year is additional subscription services especially for streaming platforms I feel like there's a new one coming out every week. And for me at least, I can feel a bit overwhelming at times. And so this year I don't want to get caught up in the subscription service craze and to feel like I need to have them all. Honestly, unless you regularly use a subscription service, it's just a waste of money. And I really want to be a responsible steward of the resources that I have.

So this year I want to stick to the subscription services that we have without adding any. And I'll add one caveat with this one. If I do decide that one subscription Service feels like something that I would genuinely use and get value from, then I want to challenge myself to, rather than adding to the subscription services that I'm currently paying for to have a kind of one in one out a policy where if I'm going to add one that I need to get rid of one too. And that way, it's kind of a net neutral.

Clothes That Don’t Fit

This is a lesson that I really want to drill home for myself in 2022. I have a really bad tendency to if I like a particular item, to justify purchasing it based on the fact that I liked it even when it doesn't fit me perfectly. And the problem with that is that even though I might really like that item, I tend to only reach for into-wear clothing that fits me well.

And so as a result, there are so many instances that I can point to where I bought an item, hoping I would wear it really loving that item and then never actually wearing it because it didn't fit properly. So when it comes to clothing this coming year, my motto is going to be if it doesn't fit and fit well, it's a no.

Fast Food

Number four is that I don't want to buy fast food. I feel like recently, I've gotten into a bit of a bad habit of buying food that's convenient, even though it might not necessarily be what's best for my body or for my wallet. And really, that's not even to mention the fact that my body doesn't feel as good when I'm eating a ton of junk, and so this year as much as possible, I really want to eliminate fast food from my diet, and instead to come up with some easy, healthy homemade meal alternatives.

Books

This year I really want to try using buying a physical book as a bit of a last resort. While I love reading I don't feel the need to physically own most of the books that I read. And so before just going to buy a book that I want to read, I want to start trying to see if there's maybe a friend that I can borrow a book from, or maybe if I can rent it from our local library. There are a lot of different options that don't require us physically buy a book. And so I really want to try to pursue those first. But then if I do try to exhaust all of my options and I'm still not able to find the book, then I'm going to give myself permission to purchase it.

However, I really want to implement a one in one out rule here as well. So if I buy a book, it means that another one has to leave my bookshelf. I can sell it, I can donate it. I can pass it on to a friend whatever I want, but it has to leave my life. And that way, I'm not just accumulating a ton of books that I'll read once, and then never read again. I'm able to read a book, enjoy it and then pass it on to a friend, or if I think that it's something I'm going to reread, I can pass another book on.

Kitchen Appliances

This includes things like toasters, blenders, slow cookers, all of that. I feel like there are always people obsessed with this kitchen appliance or that kitchen appliance. But at the end of the day, I think most of us make the majority of our meals with a relatively simple and a few numbers of appliances. And so personally, I want to try to just stick to what's essential, what are the things that I'm going to get the most use out of, and to only on those. For me, at least anything beyond that quickly tends to become clutter more of a nuisance than a blessing.

Mass Produced Art

The seventh thing that I won't be buying this year is mass-produced art. And honestly, for years now, I've known that I love meaningful handmade art and prefer over those kinds of mass-produced box store pieces of art and decor. But I will say, in the past year or so, I've noticed myself buying a few more mass-produced decor items that I'd like.

And so this year, I want to go kind of back to Basics in a way and to refrain from buying any mass-produced art or decor so that I can instead focus on buying intentionally, some thoughtful handmade pieces that are really going to be meaningful to me. And then I'm going to want to have in my life going forward not just for a season, but for years to come.

That's everything I've got for you today, though I love you all so much, and I'll see you in the next one.