Want to Be a Better Minimalist? Don't Go to the Shops
Wise words from a wise woman
This week, a fascinating article landed in my inbox by Farah Storr who writes the Substack Things Worth Knowing:
She’d interviewed Sarah Wilson, a famous Australian public figure who sold her company, gave away all her money, packed a bag to travel, and has written multiple books.
A woman after my own heart.
Sarah comes out with many pearls of wisdom in this interview, no more so than this one:
What’s your ultimate hack?
Don’t go to the shops. I’m a rather passionate minimalist and am constantly asked in the media “how to do it”. Honestly, it’s just a matter of not going to the shops.
Followed by:
People confuse minimalism with chucking stuff out. But that’s the wrong way around. Don’t buy anything in the first place.
I like to gameify it – I see how long I can put off heading to the mall to buy something- a week, another week, two months. In this time, I get creative in finding alternatives or using up what I already have.
We’re going back to basics today. Back to Minimalism. To what it means to be a Minimalist. To what people get wrong about it.
Most of all, how to not go to the shops.
Sarah’s advice is solid because shops are full of things designed to tempt even the most hardened minimalist.
Armies of people spend their working lives figuring out how to psychologically make you spend more from the layout of the store to the little treats you find at the cash register.
I rarely go to the shops. I will spend time in local food stores and markets, partly for my work at The Capsule Pantry, partly because I’m food obsessive so see this kind of shopping as a cultural exercise. And yes, the local indie wine store will get to know me pretty well.
But as for anything else? No. I have zero interest in spending what little time I have in a country traipsing around a mall unless I really, really have to.
Because I know how difficult it can be to resist.
Minimalists, simple or intentional advocates, whatever you want to call yourself, are not robots. We are subject to the same whims and desires as everyone else. We still want stuff, we’re still lulled by the temptation of those at-counter treats. We still convince ourselves life will be better if we buy X, Y, Z.
Which is why I really like Sarah’s little gem here. It cuts off the temptation at the source.
Of course, you’ll have to fill your time with something else, but that’s great because as a Minimalist, that’s exactly what you’re aiming for. Many people pursue a minimalist lifestyle because they want that extra time and space that isn’t filled with constant shopping.
Don’t go to the shops and you’re winning half the battle.
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I’ve rallied against the idea that all minimalism is about is throwing stuff out more times than I care to mention. Too many minimalist “gurus” spend all their time telling you how to chuck, chuck, chuck, but spend little time considering what happens after the chucking is done (or at least down to a manageable level).
Y’know, the bit where you’re in lifestyle maintenance mode. The bit where you have to resist re-filling your home.
The bit when you want to go to the shops.
As Sarah says, that’s looking at minimalism the wrong way around. It’s not about chucking stuff out — at least it’s not only about that.
There is no simple living lifestyle without cutting back the trips to the stores.
This maintenance mode is the hardest bit, IMO. Once you get into a rhythm of jettisoning what you no longer need that can be relatively easy, at least whilst you’re throwing out the superfluous. But not going to the shops means breaking a habit, one that is so intertwined with what we’re all told is normal that it can be one of the hardest to break.
Crack this and you’ve cracked minimalism.
***
There is one part that Sarah neglected here and that is online shopping. How do you not go to the shops when the shops can so effortlessly come to you?
I think this is where Sarah’s gamification idea comes into its own. If you make a thing of it — how long can you go without shopping online? — it can do wonders for breaking the habit.
Here’s another tip. If you’re the activist type, remember this.
Small independent stores — the ones that, if you’re interested in sustainability, you should support — are rarely online. Even when they are, they often have higher delivery fees or more cumbersome ordering processes thanks to a lack of both online infrastructure and delivery-based economies of scale.
When you shop online, often all you’re doing is putting money in the pockets of the big retailers who have a chokehold on the online market.
And I for one am not keen on putting any more money in Bezos’s coffers than I have to.
This idea might not work for everyone but I found it went a long way to mitigating unintentional online shopping. Either I would make the effort to find an independent online retailer but more often than not, I would just give up and not buy the thing-I-don’t-need.
***
In its essence, Sarah’s “hack” of not going to the shops is a perfect example of cause and effect.
Much like losing weight, you can think up all the hacks and tricks you want to keep on the right path, but at the end of the day, it’s a simple equation. You lose weight if you burn more calories than you consume. And you become a minimalist if you stop going to the shops.
That’s it.
Sure the path isn’t necessarily easy. And you may well need those hacks and tricks to get you there.
But take it from someone who rarely shops. Life is SO much more interesting when you don’t go to the mall.
Easy as that.
Give me your simple living questions
This coming Tuesday is our monthly Dear Charlie column when I answer all your simple living questions.
I’m a bit light on questions this month and I’d love a couple more to round things out. If you have any burning questions about simple living — and it can be anything at all — please do send them over. You can reply to this email, send a fresh email to charliebrownwriter@gmail.com, or fill out this form.
Although Dear Charlie is a largely paid subscriber perk, if you ask a question, you’ll get the answer from me whether you’re a free or paid subscriber.
Website recommendation: 1000 awesome things
I ended up down an internet rabbit hole this morning where I landed on a very old site called
The site sparked a book that Ryan Holiday recommended (which was where my rabbit hole started) and it’s all about tiny things in life that make us feel great. It’s got everything from making it through airport security without any beeps to high-fiving babies (“because they don’t usually leave you hanging.”)
If you have a few spare minutes today, look over the list. It’s a great reminder that some of the best things in life a small, free and happen every single day.
I love going shopping in my area. The merchandise is 2 years old, nothing fits, and there is no help to speak of... avoiding shopping online is easy for me. The process is too overwhelming. I'm on a new kick. If I (absolutely) need something and mange to find it, I buy multiple. My goal is to dress like Steve Jobs, female version, haha.
Good read. Thank you.
I enjoyed reading this Charlie! I'm going through a period at the moment where I'm not buying stuff (partly because I'm on a career break and have no regular income 😂) and what I've noticed is that I might sit and scroll my usual go to websites, thinking I could do with buying this or I need one of those. Usually I would buy said item without thinking but I'm now putting my phone down without buying the thing and you know what, I don't miss buying the thing. In fact, the thing goes out of my mind as soon as I stop looking at it. It has showed me how impulsive I once was and how I really don't need those things that I thought I needed. It's definitely freeing!