How to consume more mindfully

Published on March 5, 2023

For me, it’s kitchen appliances. You see something useful online or in a magazine and think, “Oh, that’s handy. It’ll make my life much simpler.” After ordering and receiving it, you use it once and it disappears into a cupboard.

How can you stop this happening, or at least make it happen less often? By consuming mindfully.

That starts with deciding what matters to you. For me, it’s function. But you might care more about sustainability, by your own definition, or shape and color.

You decide what matters

The beauty of being a conscious consumer is that everyone decides for themselves what matters. Something matters because you’ve formed your own opinion about it, rather than because an advertisement told you so.

Does it make your life easier?

The most important thing is that buying something makes your life better.

That can happen in many areas, and it can be as simple as a glass water bottle from IKEA that you put beside your bed each night.

There are all kinds of ways to improve your life.

1. Process — Does it make something else easier or quicker to do?

2. Multifunctional — Does it mean you need less other stuff?

3. Focus — Does it reduce distractions? Old-fashioned phones are back in fashion because all you can do with them is call and text.

4. Space — I have a small kitchen with little surface space. A kitchen trolley for my appliances has freed up room on the counter. Creating extra surface space makes everything easier.

Sustainability

Sustainability is a broad concept. Define it however you see it. Should it be vegan? Or plastic-free? That’s absolutely fine!

Your definition can also vary by product category. With food, I want everything to be GMO-free, organic where possible and as close to nature as possible. In other words, not ultra-processed.

Maintenance

Maintenance is often overlooked, but it’s an important part of the picture.

You don’t just want your blender or car to avoid letting you down. Ideally, it works as well as when it was new.

Even something as simple as a blender really needs its blades replaced every six months.

This takes time, money and effort. Ultimately, you’ll have to remember and act on it. In a sense, everything you buy also owns you: your time, your energy and your future cash flow.

You have to do the maintenance yourself or outsource it. Paying someone costs money, and getting the object to the shop or garage costs time, and so on. Be aware of the maintenance you’re taking on.

That isn’t necessarily bad, but it’s worth considering in advance.

How often do you see people buy a pet, only to have no time for the poor animal a few months later?

The same applies, though a little less sadly, to your belongings, car and even your blender.

Every purchase is an experiment

In a way, there’s no such thing as a bad purchase. Discover that something doesn’t work quite as you expected? Now you know.

It may cost a little more, but you’re consciously testing whether something solves a problem. You’re simply investing a little money and time to see whether it improves your life. It’s okay to get it wrong a few times.

How do you know whether your conscious purchase was worthwhile?

Test whether something works for you

The first step is buying something. After that, pay attention to a few things:

1. Do I keep using it? If so, in which situations and places?

2. Can I use it in different ways? If so, how does it fit the things I do?

3. Does it end up in a cupboard? Are there alternatives with a function I actually need, and so on?

Do you keep using it?

If you don’t use something, it hasn’t served a purpose. Things that are truly useful always find a way to keep being used.

Something as simple as a lacrosse ball for physiotherapy exercises gets used daily here, for example.

Why? Because:

1. It works — It really loosens up the muscles in my foot.

2. It’s accessible — There’s almost always one by the sofa, beside my bed and in the gym. I have three.

Try the cheap version first

Nothing feels worse than spending a lot of money on something you won’t keep using or that doesn’t work properly.

That’s why trying the cheap version first can be sensible, even if it comes from China or Action.

Look past the flaws and mainly test whether something is handy or useful, and whether you keep using it.

If something really works well, you can always buy the good, expensive deluxe version later.

You can use the cheap version in another room or keep it as a duplicate.

Buy duplicates of things that work

When a purchase experiment works really well, make the most of it!

There are so many useful things you can do with good purchases.

Make it accessible. Buy three extras.

Here are a few things I’ve bought duplicates of:

1. Yoga mat — In the living room in front of the TV and in the fitness room.

2. Lacrosse ball — In the bedroom and living room.

3. Keyboards — For my PC, at work and one for my phone. Having the same mechanical keyboard makes typing much easier and more enjoyable.