57 Things We Don't Buy Anymore | Family Minimalism

number one kids toys number two new clothing for kids number three baby gear number four games number five books for kids number six those art kits that are like all pre-packaged um let's see i'm trying to get through all the kids stuff oh printed sheets that have characters on them birthday gifts for our kids i thought we should just start out with the most controversial ones so i figured kid step was a good place to start [Music] our family has lived as minimalist for about six years now and so today i want to share with you 50 things that we no longer buy however most of them aren't because we live as minimalists or we live really simply we actually got rid of most of these things when we were on the journey to becoming debt-free so really our main reason behind stopping buying most of these things was money the second was this idea of inventory and not having so much stuff to manage and then the third has become because it's better for the earth so i shared with you a few of our things for kids that we don't buy anymore and the main motivation with not buying brand new kids stuff is that there is so much out there already and so we especially we don't buy any kind of toys for our kids not new toys not used toys because they get plenty as gifts and what i've come to learn about toys and kids is that marketing tells us that kids need these new flashy toys to make them happy and to keep them occupied but science tells us that kids just need to play and use their imagination and actually the fewer toys they have the more creative are the longer they play and the better they play with others so i'll link to some articles about that down below but all of these decisions i didn't just say oh i'm a minimalist i'm not going to buy this stuff there was a lot of thought that went into it so similar to kids toys new kids clothing we do not buy because there is so much used clothing out there but they also still get new stuff from family members for christmas so their wardrobes still look current i've never felt like our kids look i don't know dumpy like they still have cute clothes but i save so much money we also don't buy like these printed sheets when they're gender specific or for a certain age range because they're just not versatile enough right i want stuff that will stand the test of time that anyone in our house can use these kind of age out time out and so if they're given to us as a gift of course we keep it but i do not buy these i buy these and along those same lines is baby gear whenever we've needed anything for our babies i like to ask friends and family first and then i mean could facebook marketplace make it any easier to get stuff for babies i read one time that there's 11 times as much baby gear on our planet as there is babies so we have too much and i think it's awesome if we can use up what we have first before we keep buying new stuff we also don't buy birthday gifts for our kids so their birthday party is their gift and we also have a tradition where they get to make their own cake and decorate it themselves and they love it they'll talk about all year how they're going to decorate their cake and all the different ideas that they have so that's been a fun tradition and they still get gifts from other family members so they still get gifts all right so before we move on to the kitchen and the bathroom a couple other things that i don't buy in here i don't buy much for seasonal decor anymore i did grab this pumpkin from the target dollar spot for three dollars but other than that i just try to make do with what we have we don't have a lot of spaces anymore that we decorate and so that has made a big difference but this was another thing we cut out when we were trying to save money i also do not buy storage furniture anymore and that probably doesn't surprise you but if anything i try to get rid of storage furniture because it just tends to accumulate stuff and again this goes back to that idea of inventory and how much stuff do we want to manage for me our house functions best and i can stay on top of it the best when we don't have a lot of stuff and we no longer buy those plug-in air fresheners or even scented candles so again marketing tells us it makes our house smell so good science tells us those chemicals in it and those artificial scents really aren't good for our bodies and i do still like to burn a scented candle once in a while but normally i get enough for gifts so i don't have to buy them myself all right so on to the kitchen so this is actually one of the few places that i decorate and our house definitely feels more spacious now that we don't have as much decor or those extra pieces of furniture in it also when it comes to food and the kitchen so even during uncertain times like right now i don't like to stock up on a lot of food because it's just more to manage and we waste it whenever we have too much food it just gets wasted and so we don't want to be foolish we keep uh we have an extra freezer in the basement that has extra meat in it and some extra can goods but you definitely have to do what you're comfortable with along those same lines i do not like buying bulk or big packages of things again it's just more stuff that we have to manage i find that our budget is used the best when we grocery shop every week and get just the stuff we need for that week and no more and i know that's not for everyone but for us that's fun how we make the best use of our grocery budget each week we also really try to stay away from pre-packaged snacks or anything that's individualized we also of course don't buy plastic water bottles ex i mean if we're traveling like when we're camping uh we bought some when we just weren't sure of the water and we haven't figured out a good water filtration system in there yet but when we're home i really like these so honestly i never thought i'd be a person drinking out of mason jars but i am got so tired of these types of water bottles these are the worst right but these lids that go on mason jars are super cool really easy really easy to clean the kids use them we use them and i like getting these kind of mid-sized jars that have the straight size they're 24 ounce jars they fit in cup holders and they're easy to hold onto if you don't have huge hands so i like this we also have some like this with the linen straw and it just it works awesome tom was worried about the kids like walking around with mason jars but they're really durable we haven't broke any yet i mean we try not to let them take them outside but they still do um they'll roll out of the car and they don't break so i don't know knock on wood so far we haven't broken any jars but worst case i mean as long as one gets hurt they're really they're inexpensive to replace i also really try to stay away from food that's on sale or on special i've really found for myself that foods that i don't cook with on a regular basis they just get pushed to the back of the cupboard the back of the freezer the back of the fridge and a lot of times i end up throwing them away because they've expired and at the end of the day i don't want to cook new foods it doesn't matter if it was on sale or not i don't want to cook it and so that has made a big difference for us oh i feel i don't want this to be like i'm scolding or like this is the right way and this is the wrong way that is not my heart behind this at all i just feel like sometimes these things it just seems like the things we should buy right and then we don't ever stop to think like oh wait should we still do that so and this is just what works for us so you're free to you buy whatever you want to buy right all right and then cleaners so i try to buy just multi-purpose cleaners and not like but not lots of them or like you know i don't know you go to the cleaning aisle and you can just get all kinds of stuff this is my favorite like grease spray this i wouldn't need this is just an all-purpose cleaner that i'll like spray down the counters with but i do like that it smells good and that makes me happy but otherwise i always just have a bottle with vinegar and water and then this is my go-to shower and sink cleaner anything that gets like scaly lime buildup it's the dawn dish soap and vinegar solution and so i can link to that down below so we literally clean our whole house with these four cleaners bathroom's kitchen any room in the house this is what we use and i can just go down the cleaning aisle at target now with blinders on because i don't feel a need to try anything new because these all work really well so i would probably say that clothing is the area where i've made the biggest changes and really just deciding that i deserve to wear clothes that i feel good in no matter what size how good a shape or not good a shape i'm in that i should always have at least a few outfits and what i found for myself is that uh usually these things do not come from the clearance rack they don't usually come from amazon and that i don't necessarily have to spend a lot of money on them but i do need to try them on and when i try it on it needs to fit right i need to not be adjusting it i need to not have to make any alterations or suck in or any of that i donate a huge wardrobe that's what's so cool when everything in our closet fits and we feel good and we like wearing it we don't need a huge wardrobe and so that's been a huge mindset shift because in the past i had tons of clothes and nothing to wear and then for any of us that live where there's distinct seasons where you fully experience all four seasons you know that it's really easy to accumulate outerwear and so for me i keep a mid-weight winter jacket because if it's super cold out we don't go outside but if i'm walking i need something that's not too heavy so i don't get like super sweaty um or and it's comfortable that when you get in the car then you're not too hot or if you have to run inside and then one vest and so this is great for layering same with boots i just try to have one pair that's versatile that i could wear to church or i could wear running errands because again you could you could have lots of different options but for me i kind of like that i just know what i'm wearing like if i look in the closet i'm just grabbing one coat like there's not other options and i actually really like that a lot okay so shoes handbags accessories so when it comes to shoes for every season i just like to have three i have to take what i'm wearing one of them right now so for every season i have these are my summer so i have my just everyday wear around something that's dressy but neutral and then i have something that i can walk in and then when it comes to purses and handbags i just have this leather tote i actually got this at walmart two years ago and it's been holding up really well and i really like it and then i had gotten this wallet and it matches i did not even plan it but mostly probably the biggest difference is that i just don't go shopping for a hobby or for something to do both diana and i have a grade like we just don't do that anymore and that's definitely helped a lot with impulse purchases when it comes to clothes okay moving on to the laundry room we don't buy extra linens i have one set for each bed i know sometimes the question comes up like what if you have a stomach bug uh you know you always kind of want to wash it right away if that happens so we'll put a towel down or a blanket under the person get the sheets through the wash and then put them back on so it's truly never been a problem i also don't buy dryer sheets anymore but i also i don't really like dryer balls because i hate having to like hunt for them in the dryer and so i heard this tip that usually static is caused by over drying our clothes so most often you don't actually need anything but if i am going to dry something like fleece or nylon that i just know is going to be staticky i'll throw these in but the chemicals and these once you learn about it it's you can't unlearn it right it's really not good for us it's not good for our clothing either so and then we also don't buy fabric softener i'll put vinegar in the rinse spot and then we use molly's suds for detergent i don't try lots of stain removers these things work well enough so i don't feel the need to try new things or to accumulate more stuff i just try to again put the blinders on so at the risk of sounding like a broken record i think what i really found is that i just find stuff that works well enough and try not to always be searching for something that works better so this especially applies to buying extra hair products and makeup products my hair is what it is right like i mean it would be great if there was some magic project that would just give me so much volume i'd never have to do anything else to my hair but it's there's just not right and so i'm not going to try anymore and keep wasting money i hate wasting money on hair products but you know what's cool about that is when you stick to the same makeup and hair products you actually learn how to use them better over time and i feel like you kind of get the hang of them so i'm actually really happy with all of my hair and makeup products right now so i think that's been a nice side benefit of not buying more and more is that you figure them out and they actually work pretty well and then you're happy with them so that's been kind of cool accessories i really try to keep them neutral you probably saw me wear whoops or backwards these earrings for quite a while even though these have like the gold or the yellow on them um they're still fairly neutral i feel like until they go with a lot of stuff i have this one nail polish that i use for my feet and that's it and so if this would ran out like run out like i would maybe buy another one or ask for one but otherwise i don't try to have like a variety or a bunch of different shades i don't think that many people pay attention to my toes and here in minnesota sandals season is kind of short anyways so i've had this for like two years and it works great then i also try to stay away from like the scented bath bombs and shower gels and uh body sprays again just the stuff with the artificial scents in it just because i know it's actually not good for us to be breathing in but i do like to take a bath and just put in um like some epsom salts and a little apple cider vinegar to make like a detox bath and i don't know it makes it feel like a fancy treatment i guess i don't know but maybe that's just me we also stopped buying wedding gifts we'll just get a gift card to wherever they're registered basically because i mean even though we got married 12 years ago we really appreciated the gift cards and cash gifts when we were first getting started and so we kind of figured that others appreciate the same we also don't buy a gym membership which is probably self-explanatory but along those lines we also don't buy workout clothes workout shoes workout equipment or weights or anything until we have proven to ourselves that we have a track record of getting our steps in so something to track your steps is awesome even if it's an app on your phone or an old-fashioned pedometer and so tom and i have both made the commitment that once we are consistent at walking or running on our own consistently and then doing body weight exercises then we would reward ourselves with like workout clothes or a nice pair of tennis shoes or getting some exercise equipment guess how much exercise equipment we bought we also don't pay for family photos and this was something that we cut out again when we were trying to get out of debt and haven't gone back to and so i think because so i love photographers right we have friends that are family photographers but we just feel like it's gotten a little out of control with like having a photographer for in the hospital and then newborn pictures and first birthday and all of these different things and then yearly family photos and so you do you but for us we feel like because cell phones have gotten so good we're able to capture pictures all of the time that we try to only do like a formal family photo every four or five years and so far that's worked out well for us all right a few more things um so we i also i don't get any subscription boxes i've i've signed up for a few but inevitably you end up like there'll be a couple really good things in it and then you end up with stuff that you don't need don't use can't think of someone to gift it to so no subscription boxes no meal boxes i love the concept and the idea but i can't get over how much packaging goes into it it just seems so wasteful so i haven't been able to bring myself to do the subscription meal kits uh notebooks journals planners like i think all of us have enough for a lifetime movies like who does anybody buy movies anymore i don't know that's probably a no-brainer magazines i felt like they made me want to buy stuff or do different projects to our house or change stuff it caused me to feel dissatisfied with my life or our house and so i found that it wasn't actually good like i didn't find it helpful reading magazines um books i just get them on my kindle app i know people are like oh but you to hold a paper book or i can't get over it i don't i would have thought i was the same way in the past and then i started using my kindle app faithfully and i don't miss them i don't know so i just like again not having to manage them and so if books are your thing and you enjoy keeping them and organizing them and dusting them and having them that's awesome for me i don't care to manage them uh souvenirs whenever we travel now we try to just take lots of pictures if the kids want to bring their own money and buy something they can do that like that's totally up to them but tom and i don't and we don't encourage the kids to buy souvenirs and then the last thing that we don't buy anymore is stuff we can't afford uh yeah getting out of debt is a lot of work but man it is just so worthwhile and so while we were on that journey there were so many things we had to say no to but it was good because it retrains your brain and it makes you realize all of the stuff you can live without all of the stuff you bought that didn't live up to what it said it was gonna do i mean how much stuff gets so hyped up like it's gonna be so awesome and that it's not actually that great right it gets pushed to the back of the cupboard or the closet we regret buying it and so that's really what fueled a lot of these decisions was just trying to save money and just cut out any excess that we could possibly think of so we could get out of debt quicker and so through that process it has made not buying these things super easy and then of course living a simplified lifestyle and realizing like hey i don't like managing so much stuff that's probably been the other biggest thing that has made it really easy not to want to re-buy these things or to feel like we're missing out on anything and so if right now you're like that like i would like to simplify i'd like to buy less but it just feels hard right now just keep going down this path is simplifying your house and it really does retrain your brain and it makes it so that like all like none of this feels hard anymore like it just feels natural and if anything it feels weird that other people buy all this stuff so right and so if you're hoping to simplify your house further we would love to help you i love sharing tips and tricks to help you and so it can go quickly and to help you over the roadblocks and the hang-ups because it truly is one of the most worthwhile things that we've ever done and i i try to say that like i'm aware i've just been talking about like marketing and gimmicks and like now try minimalism it'll change your life but truly it it like how do i say this now that it will change your life and i love reading the comments of people that say that you've been doing it and it's been life-changing for you too so it's not a gimmick it's not a sale thing but i i would love to spend more time with you and help you too so if you haven't done so already we hope you subscribe a thumbs up is the best compliment that you can give us you can even share this with a friend too if you wanted to but we love you we hope you have a really good day and we will visit with you again soon

Channel: The Minimal Mom

Views: 616,369

Rating: 4.9308043 out of 5

Keywords: minimalism, family minimalism, minimalist, the minimal mom, the minimalist mom, minimalist home

Id: jTX02y0nJBw

Length: 18min 50sec (1130 seconds)

Published: Fri Sep 18 2020