Tag: Habits

Why We Buy Things We Don’t Need (And How to Stop Making Impulse Purchases)

- Alexis Leave a comment
Close-up of twenty-dollar bills

Despite my stated intention to embrace a smaller wardrobe and buy less apparel, I’ve been been doing a good bit of online clothes shopping lately. Much of the browsing and clicking feels more habitual or impulsive than intentional. In order to feel more in control of my spending and acquiring, I wanted to try to understand what is driving this behavior, both for me individually and for modern consumers in general.

Lately, my impulse purchases have all been clothes and shoes, and they’ve all been made online. I rarely shop at physical stores anymore, and I don’t feel much of a desire to buy, say, home decor items, sporting goods, or kitchen gadgets. I’ve embraced a less-is-more mindset when it comes to the objects that surround me and fill my physical environment. Why, then, has this mindset not expanded to the objects that adorn my body?

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Why Self-Imposed Rules and Challenges are Good for Us

- Alexis Leave a comment

Trigger warning for those with eating disorders: This post discusses dietary restrictions.

I’m a big fan of 30-day challenges, and I’ve done a bunch of them throughout my life. Project 333, the Minimalist Game, Whole 30, a month as a vegan, 30 days of daily yoga, meditation, writing…you can make a 30-day (or 3-month, or 1-year) challenge out of just about any goal. I also frequently impose rules on myself, like the time I didn’t allow myself to buy any more clothes until I had worn every single item already in my wardrobe at least once, or when I tried the Every Other Day Diet or becoming a vegetarian. So why do I keep doing this stuff? We live in a free society! Why not just let myself do whatever I want to do in the moment?

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The Year of Less and Keys to Breaking Bad Habits and Building Good Ones

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Cover of The Year of Less audiobook by Cait Flanders

A couple of months ago, I heard an interview of Cait Flanders talking about her year-long shopping ban and her book The Year of Less.  I was intrigued by the concept of giving up shopping for a year, so when I saw that the book was Audible’s Daily Deal last week, I decided to check it out.  I’m so glad I did, because it is a fantastic read.

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My On-Again, Off-Again Relationship with Decluttering and Tidying Up

- Alexis 3 Comments

A black metal filing cabinet with papers on top and folders learning against each side
My filing cabinet, surrounded by papers that have yet to be filed.

Yesterday, I spent some time tidying up my living room.  I hadn’t planned to spend my morning that way, but I came downstairs and saw the ever-growing pile of papers on the table that serves as a catch-all, and I just couldn’t bear to look at it anymore.  This is usually how cleaning goes for me.  I have no set schedule for it, no weekly cleaning routine; it happens in bursts when I feel the urge.

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The Power of “Can I Just…?”: Building New Habits, Motivating Ourselves, and Progressing Toward Our Goals

- Alexis 2 Comments

Close-up of a pair on sneakers on a trail through the woods
Photo by Will Shell

We all have things about ourselves and our lives that we’d like to change or improve.  A study published last year showed that less than three percent of Americans meet all four markers of a healthy lifestyle (regular exercise, healthy diet, low body fat percentage, and not smoking).  I would guess that most of us know we need to eat better, exercise more, and quit smoking, but change is hard.  Though setting ambitious goals might cause us feel energized at first, lofty goals can make change even harder.  We have an idea of where we want to end up, but we don’t know how to get there, or we get overwhelmed along the way and give up. Read more