20 Things I Don’t Buy

Hi friend!  I hope your week is off to a great start!  Since I’m always sharing things I buy and recommend,  I thought it would be a fun change of pace to share a few things I don’t buy.

Some of these are just personal preference, some are to save money and help the environment with less waste and chemicals.  I know that I can do much better in that regard, but it’s a step in the right direction.  I’d love to hear some of the things that you don’t buy and some of the alternatives.

20 THINGS I DON’T BUY

Off the top of my head, I came up with 20 things I don’t buy:

1. Paper towels. I use microfiber cloths to clean my counters and wipe up spills, hand towels to dry our hands. We use cloth napkins at meals.  This is so foreign to both my Mom and Brian and they think I’m nuts.  I put the cloth napkins out for my kids, but they rarely use them. The napkins really don’t get very dirty, so I reuse them until they need to be washed.
2. Bottled/flavored waters, juice & soda. We drink water filtered straight from our refrigerator and only buy gallon water bottles in case of emergency for if/when we lose power.  I don’t buy juice and that was also a recommendation of my kids’ dentist. The drinks I buy are almond milk and Fairlife chocolate milk and, on a rare occasion, Gatorade (G2) for the kids during sports (which I guess is technically flavored water- but I consider that ok since it helps replace lost electrolytes).  If we need water on the go, we just fill up a water bottle with water from the fridge.
3. Precut fruit & vegetables. I buy them whole and cut them myself.  I don’t think it’s worth the money and then we end up wasting the plastic containers they come in.
4. Greeting cards for kids birthdays. We always make our own. I have a good stationary supply and I get the kids to decorate/personalize them with markers and stickers.
5. Halloween decorations. I buy costumes for the kids and we will pass out candy, but that’s one holiday I don’t decorate the house for.  I do love decorating for Fall and Christmas!
6. Disposable razors. Once I started using the Billie razor, I never went back to disposable.  The Billie razor gives you the closest shave without any nics or bumps, and it has a convenient magnet so it hangs right on your shower wall!  I also really like their shave cream.  Before trying that, I would just use shampoo, conditioner or body wash as my shave cream, but I find this one so much better and soothing.
7. Air freshener.  I just don’t like the thought of spraying chemicals into my home to make it smell better.  I do open windows to help circulate the air.
8. Cling wrap.. That is so annoying and never sticks to anything!
9. Plastic Tupperware. I still have a few pieces that I’m keeping because they’re in good condition, but now I use glass containers and these glass meal prep containers.
10. Plastic loofah. I switched to a natural loofah that is eco-friendly and biodegradable.
11. Disposable plastic toothbrush. My dentist advised me to use an electric toothbrush a few years ago and I’m still using the one I bought, just changing out the brush heads as needed.
12. New nail polish colors. I have about six bottles of nail polish in my drawer and know that those are my colors I like, I don’t need more.
13. Multiple fragrances. I have one signature scent I wear occasionally if I’m going out at night and I keep it at that. I do love this body mist and wear that often.
14. Low quality/uncomfortable workout clothes.  There’s a few quality and favorite athletic pieces I’ve stocked up on and wear on repeat : sports bra, high chest sports bra, leggings, tank top, long sleeve tops, and socks.
15. Souvenirs. I used to buy a little something from every trip I would go on. Now if I buy something it’s just because I love it, not as a signal or reminder that we went to that place.
16. Souvenirs for kids.  I also don’t bring my kids back anything from trips I’ve gone on.  I’ve done this in the past, and the trinkets usually end up as garbage.
17. Multiple magazine subscriptions.  I do enjoy Magnolia Journal that comes out quarterly, so I subscribe to that one, but that’s it. There’s so much good content online via blogs, pinterest and google, so I prefer to spend my money on books if I’m going to read something.
18. New technology. I have an iPhone XS released in 2018 & it works great, does everything I need and I don’t feel the need to get a new phone every time they upgrade the technology.  I had and used an original iPad until it accidentally fell out of a car and smashed into pieces.
19. Impulse Toys.  OMG, this is a hard one, but those cheap, plastic toys drive me crazy and the kids lose interest in them so fast!  If I have to take my kids into a store like Target or Walgreens, I always say we can LOOK at the toys, but we’re not BUYING any.  I like to make the rules clear ahead of time.  Jordan says, “looking is playing.”  So, she has fun looking/playing with the toys while we’re there.  If I want to buy Jordan a new toy, I do it intentionally, and I’ll tell her, “you can pick out a toy today.”  Also, James earns money each week via allowance, so he can buy whatever he wants with his own money.
20. Tons of kids clothes.  My kids have a very minimal wardrobe.  When they were little, I’d buy them all kinds of cute clothes and they always wanted to wear the same thing.  My son loves to change into pajamas after school, so I buy him several good quality pairs of pajamas when they are on sale.  He has several of the same pair of black athletic shorts and different colored dry fit shirts so it’s easy to mix and match.  I’ve learned that my daughter doesn’t like to wear dresses, so I rarely buy her any- maybe a nice one for Christmas or one summer dress that she chooses.  She prefers athletic shorts and tees and also likes to wear the same thing on repeat.  My kids also wear uniforms to school, so there’s less of a need to buy them lots of additional clothes.  Sometimes I wish they’d like to dress more like how I’d like them to (there are SO many cute things!), but I’ve learned to pick my battles. I’d rather them be comfortable and feel good about what they’re wearing.  I am a stickler for brushing teeth and hair before leaving the house though!

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this!  What are some things you don’t buy or other alternatives?

Have a fantastic day friend!

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