How to stop buying stuff: 7 tips

We all want to waste less stuff. But when we get to the point of deciding whether an item goes in the trash or the recycling, it’s too late to make much of a difference. Here are our seven top tips on how to stop buying so much stuff in the first place.

1. Just stop buying stuff

We just had to get that out of the way. Where were we…

2. Avoid overbuying groceries

We throw away 17% of the food we buy, according to the UN Environment Programme.

Planning and preparing before you shop is a key way to stop buying too much stuff. It’s important to take stock of what we own and what we throw away. If half of every loaf you buy ends up in the bin, then try to buy smaller loaves, or freeze half as soon as you get back from the supermarket. Take a look at our toolkit on how to waste less food, produced with low-waste chef Max La Manna.

The same approach goes for things like fashion and gadgets. As many as half the clothes in our wardrobe go unworn for a year. And we’re sitting on piles of unused electrical equipment. We clearly don’t need everything we buy!

3. Resist that upgrade

It’s hard to stop buying stuff when businesses are determined to sell us more, more, more. Over the years, marketers have become adept at persuading us we need to update our decor to this year’s colour or buy the latest version of a car or a device. It’s why we fall out of love with the things we buy so quickly and look to replace them. 

It doesn’t help that companies offer us upgrades for free if, for instance, we sign up for a new phone contract. The old phone may be working fine, but who’s going to turn down a shiny new one? We console ourselves with the knowledge that the old version will be recycled.

We need to be alert to these marketing tactics. We also need to become more attuned to our true taste, so that we buy things we’ll love for longer. That means looking at what we hang on to and why. Do we love that old chair because of its shape, colour, or just because it is really comfortable? If we know what we like, we will buy more things that appeal to us over the long term.

4. Buy stuff that lasts

Many goods are cheaper than they used to be. A washing machine costs 10-20 times less than it did in 1960. It’s often not commercially viable to build something more cheaply and to the same standards, so many of these items are now lower quality and break quickly. Spending a bit more to get a better quality product will mean it lasts longer. (It’s partly in our heads: we also see more expensive items as an investment, and tend to keep them for longer.)

But it’s not just about price. Design is also important.

Rechargeable batteries can be used over and over again, avoiding the need to buy regular replacements. A lot of clothes pegs are made of two pieces of plastic joined together with a spring, which wears out with constant use and eventually breaks. That’s less likely to happen with a peg made in one piece. Buttons and zips can reveal a lot about how clothing has been made. If a button is attached with just a couple of stitches, then it’s likely that the rest of the garment has been made quickly and cheaply. If there is a back button (a little button on the back of the button), then the clothing has been made with a lot more care.

Checking for these things before we buy helps to identify products that will last.

5. Learn to love preloved

Saving up for a quality product used to be the norm. That means vintage items were often better made. Furniture was made from solid wood, while clothing was made of hard-wearing natural fabrics. Second-hand items are a true bargain; they are often cheaper than new and last longer.

Buying preloved is still buying, of course, but it’s a way to stop buying new stuff, which is better for the planet because it doesn’t drive more production and waste.

There’s also a beautiful bit of serendipity to discovering that vintage coat, dress or bag in the right colour and size. As a result, it seems we love our second-hand finds a little bit more. On average, we keep hold of vintage clothing for five-and-a-half years – over a year and a half longer than we hang on to new garments.

6. Be more minimalist

Buying less stuff is a key part of minimalist living – and embracing the whole minimalist mindset might make it easier for you to cut down. It’s about simplifying your whole life and rethinking your relationship with stuff. It’s about focusing on meaningful experiences, and being more intentional with how you spend your time hear on earth. 

Sound tempting? Take some inspiration from The Minimalists, and others who have succeeding in stopping buying so much stuff.

7. Really want to stop buying stuff? Learn to repair and upcycle

Thirty ways to use newspaper, 20 things to do with old CDs or 50 uses for old plastic bags. If there’s a new use for something that we’d often throw away, you can guarantee that someone has made a YouTube video about it.

Equally, someone has probably created a video on how to make simple repairs, such as sewing on buttons or fixing a zip.

It is also surprising just what might sell on marketplaces such as eBay. Some sellers even collect up their old toilet rolls to sell for craft projects.

So before you start shopping for something new, take a moment check if there’s an alternative. The Fixing Fashion community is not a bad place to start.