The Clutter Fairy Weekly #92
Resistance is Not Futile: Avoid or Escape the Consumerism Mindset
Some of us love to shop, and stores and online retailers with stuff to sell know how to push our buttons to make the sale. But it’s easy for our spaces to get out of balance if we bring home more than we’re using up, giving away, or getting rid of. In episode #92 of The Clutter Fairy Weekly, Gayle Goddard, professional organizer and owner of The Clutter Fairy in Houston, Texas, talks about the effects of consumerism on clutter and offers strategies for resisting the onslaught of advertising messages to “right-size” your shopping habits.
Documentary mentioned in this episode: A Cluttered Life: Middle-Class Abundance.
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The Weekly Tittle is an exercise designed to focus your attention on a specific space, aspect, or challenge of decluttering and organizing your home. We assign a new tittle in each webcast/podcast, then check on your progress the following week.
Consumption Be Done About All This Stuff?
This week’s assignment is to examine your home and habits for evidence of “consumerism clutter.” Try one of these suggestions:
- Scan your space for an item that you bought on the basis of unrealistic advertising, but now it’s become clutter. Let it go!
- Are you holding on to an oversupply of something you purchased at a dramatic sale price? Consider giving away or donating the excess.
- Unsubscribe from a retailer’s e-mail list or visit catalogchoice.org to remove yourself from one or more catalog mailing lists.
- Identify a category of buying where you tend to overspend. Consider implementing a strict budget and shopping list for this specific category of stuff.
For the full discussion of this week’s tittle, watch the Weekly Tittle segment on YouTube.
Chat Transcript
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One way to reduce impulse buying on the internet, is by setting up a rule on your inbox to automatically put all the e-mails you get from companies that you buy from online. Have them go into one folder (I call it “Offers and Ads”) and only look at that folder when you need to buy something. This way it won’t pop up in your daily mail.
Good idea! Great to keep them hidden.