Mindful shopping, mindful living

Make a mindful shopping list. A mindful shopping list is one that serves to separate your daily expenses into “needs” and “wants” on an emotional level. A “need” fulfils an essential, practical purpose which may or may not be pleasurable, like buying groceries so that you can feed yourself and your family.

If we choose to spend, we can spend this money mindfully or on impulse. If we choose to spend on mindful purchases, the options are limited by our budget. This amount of money won’t go far on new ethical or eco pieces because it’s not enough to pay the full production cost. It might score you some new underwear or socks. Perhaps a basic tee or tank if the design is simple. It could rent a nice bag for a week or get a huge pile of clothes from a swap or charity shop.

However, it’s best to pay attention when thrifting because it can be easy to shop on impulse for second-hand goodies.

Impulse spending is easy to do. We are encouraged to do it by the media and the way that stores are designed. Mindless spending usually results in items that aren’t quite right due to poor fit, quality, or the fact they aren’t our style. A budget of $44 AUD will buy a bag load of fast-fashion items. An exciting day out, but this purchase costs people and planet in damages and exploitation.