When I talk about the importance of reducing consumption radically (which I often do), I am often asked: how can I do that? (which is of course a very fair question)
My answer is that besides depriving yourself from temptation in the shape of shopping malls and online shops by simply trying not to visit such sites, investing in durable, aesthetically pleasing things that don’t get ugly when after a short while of usage, but perhaps even mature in an aesthetically pleasing manner with time can be a path worth following.
But, my primary, and slightly more abstract, advice is to avoid sensory deprivation. Because sensory deprivation leads to overconsumption! When our senses are sedated due to boring, smooth, monotonous surroundings, we are (simply put) more inclined to over-consume new, shiny, glittery things in order to fill an aesthetic void that we might not even be aware of ourselves. We are aesthetically malnourished, and looking for empty calories to fill us up.
In order to avoid sensory deprivation, you should surround yourself with as many tactilely stimulating, visually exhilarating objects as possible. Fill your home with things that you wish to engage with, again and again: to touch, wear, look at, sit on/in (and run you hands over), drink/eat from, be together with.
Feed your senses! Keep them alive and alert! And your need to buy insignificant knickknacks will disappear. I guarantee.
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This post was previously published on medium.com.
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Photo credit: Aleh Tsikhanau on Unsplash
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