Get Organized in 2020 with This Sustainable Habit

A new decade, a new wave of trends. The Los Angeles Times recently ran an article highlighting 20 trends that will design and shape 2020. Home design and decor is a side passion so, I naturally gravitated to this article. As a Professional Organizer, I was equally happy to read that per research, people’s shopping habits are changing, specifically, there’s a trend towards less: “For the last couple of years we’ve really been shifting into, OK, do I need this item? There was the moment of the Marie Kondo toss-out, but this is raising the bar.” One reason for this trend? More people are starting to shop with intention. Well if that isn’t music to my organizing ears!

In addition to being “in vogue” or “on trend” there are numerous benefits to shopping with intention including:

Less clutter.

I tell all of my clients that one key to keep the clutter at bay is to shop with intention.

More time.

The less you have, the less time you spend cleaning and organizing.

It’s sustainable.

You generate less waste and you use less energy.

It’s supporting small business.

You’re buying one handmade sweater from a local business owner instead of buying three cheap (and cheaply made) sweaters that you’ll likely toss in the next year or two.

What’s not to love, right? Now, how do you turn this trend or practice into habit. Here are a few tips:

Make a list and stick to it.

Target receipt: 10% what I came for; 90% what Target told me I needed. Or, “I love this but I have no idea where I am going to put it or how I am going to use it but I am going to buy it anyway because it’s pretty.” It’s pretty until it sits in a pile with other “waiting to be used” items in the middle of your office floor. This will not only save you money but time and stress.

Ask yourself: “Is it worth the money AND the space?”

You continue to pay for everything you buy with space in your home. What is more valuable: that necessary, important, and treasured items get lost in the too-much-stuff shuffle or that these items have proper place in your home?

Pause.

Keep it in the cart for a day or two and see if you still feel the same way you did when you initially added it. Even a small amount of time can lead to a change of heart. When shopping in a store, stop and review your list against what’s in your cart before heading to the checkout line. 

Unsubscribe from promotional emails.

Would you have purchased this item if it was not on sale? Would you have even gone on this website today if you weren’t alerted to the sale? What you don’t know can’t hurt you. In an Instagram age, this may mean “muting” store accounts. 

Bonus tip: Don’t save your credit card details. This makes impulse buying that much easier. 

Match buying and saving 1:1

I recently came across this amazing tip and have to share it here: Tie buying to saving. So, go ahead, and complete your fall wardrobe by buying yourself the latest cut of Hudson jeans. But, as a rule, put the same amount you just spent into your savings account. As Kristin Wong, author of Get Money: Live the Life You Want not Just the Life You Can Afford points out, tying buying to saving can help curb spending. Even if you give into the impulse, you’re still doing something good for your finances. 

Leave FOMO behind.

There will always, always be beautiful things. Remember, less is more.