Decluttering and buying less

I've been working hard on decluttering my house recently, because we need to move to another city in time for me to start a new job at the beginning of August. The photo above shows the latest bag of clothes destined for a local charity shop.

I am also trying really hard to buy less stuff. We can't afford to keep wasting money on things we don't really need.

It's fun to find bargains. But I also think that thriftiness involves buying less stuff. So every time I spot something I fancy buying, I ask myself the following questions:

1. do I really want this item?
2. will I still want the item by this time next week?
3. do I actually need this item?
4. is there room for it in my life and home?
5. do I already have something that will serve a similar purpose?
6. can I justify the purchase to my husband?
7. can we actually afford it?
8. what else will I have to not buy so that I can pay for this?
9. is there any chance that I will want to get rid of the item 6 months after I've bought it?

Here are three examples of how these questions work in practice:

Example 1: I've been coveting Pandora and Troll bracelets. They look so pretty on other people's wrists. But they are also expensive, even if you take time to shop around and get the best deal. So questions 7 and 8 are the really significant ones in this case. Question 5 also comes into play - I already have bracelets that are pretty and don't get worn very often.

Example 2: I spotted an Ercol Windsor sideboard in a charity shop recently for a bargain price. It was gorgeous, just my kind of thing. But I had to admit that we didn't actually need a sideboard, and there isn't room for one in our current house. Also, there was no way I would have been able to justify the purchase to my husband, not least because it would be yet another large item to find space for and possibly have to put in storage when we move house. So with a regretful sigh I left the sideboard where it was.

Example 3: When it comes to clothes and handbags I tend to gravitate towards particular styles and end up with too many similar items. But now I am really strict about asking myself questions 1, 2, 3, 5 and 9 from the above list and this has helped to stem the flow of new stuff into the house.

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Frugal February starts here!

I'm signing up for Frugal February, inspired by Gemma Cartwright.

Frugal February participants stick to one simple rule, which is…

I vow, for one month from 1st Feb, to avoid shopping for anything other than essentials.

Food and drink don’t count but I'll try to make frugal choices. Essential beauty products (toothpaste, shampoo etc) can be replaced, but no expensive ‘treats’ – just the stuff I really, really need.

This is also about looking more carefully at the stuff I already have, and making sure that I use things up and read the books and watch the dvds I've already got rather than splashing out on new stuff.

The only fun-but-frugal shopping I'm going to do is to keep popping in the local charity shops!

I'm not very good at being frugal all the time, but find it useful to set myself this kind of challenge every so often in order to make sure that I think more carefully about what I'm spending.

Our household income is half what it used to be when my husband and I were both working, so expenditure needs to be kept under control. Also, we've had some success on the decluttering front over the last few months so I don't want the clutter to build up again.

Wish me luck! And let me know if you have any tips, or if you decide to sign up for Frugal February along with me.