Inside: Learn 27 things I won’t be purchasing in 2024 to save more money and avoid clutter in my home.
If you’ve ever decluttered your home, you likely know it is easy for clutter to creep back in if you aren’t vigilant.
With the ease of shopping online, it’s become very common to buy extra unnecessary items that can add up to quite a lot of money.
To avoid overspending and prevent clutter from coming into your home, it takes thought, planning, and intentionality.
Read on for 27 things I’ve decided that I won’t be purchasing in 2024. You can use this list for inspiration in considering what items you want to refrain from buying this year.
Making a plan and putting it on paper will increase your likelihood of carrying it through. Save money and prevent clutter this year by creating your list of things you won’t be purchasing in 2024.
Why I Won’t Be Purchasing These Things This Year
One of the things I didn’t know before I started decluttering was what a clarifying process it would be.
As I sorted through my stuff, I had to face past purchasing regrets which helped to inform what I brought into my home going forward.
I became more intentional with shopping and am now better able to determine what items I should and shouldn’t be buying.
For the list below some of the items are ones I am not buying this year simply because I already have enough of them. Others are items I bought at one point but realized that I didn’t need or use them.
I’ve also learned what things work for me so I don’t feel the need to continue spending time and money trying alternative options.
If you want to simplify and save more money consider which items you’d like to include on your list of things you won’t be purchasing this year.
27 Things I Won’t Be Purchasing This Year
Your list likely won’t look just like mine and that’s ok. Each person gets to determine what does and doesn’t work for them.
Here is my list of 27 things I won’t be purchasing this year.
1. Notebooks, journals, & pens
I love a good notebook, journal, and pens. There are many benefits to journaling and it’s a great habit to have.
The challenge is, I already have more than enough of them and definitely don’t need more. They’re all going on my no-buy list for this year until I’ve used up what I already have.
2. A planner
After buying a pretty new planner a few years ago I realised that a typical paper planner isn’t a fit for everyone. I found that I was diligent with it for about a month or so but then would forget to use it.
Doing a combination of checklists and Google calendar is what works best for me so there’s no need for me to buy a yearly planner, no matter how pretty they may be.
3. Sale items
Now don’t get me wrong, I do love getting a good deal, but I also realized that sale prices often meant I was talking myself into things I didn’t really need or love.
It’s one of the things I stopped buying after simplifying as I saw how this habit created clutter in my home. I still do try to get good deals on the things that we need, but I don’t get swayed into buying things just because they’re on sale.
4. Grocery bags
The state I live in charges you for every bag that you use from the grocery store. While I was already using reusable grocery bags before this was implemented, it has helped to ensure that I never buy the bags from the store.
I also do not need to purchase any more of the reusable bags either as I have enough of them to suit our needs. Therefore, it’s on my list of things I won’t be purchasing this year.
5. Grocery delivery
For some people, grocery delivery is great. In my case, it’s not. I like picking my own produce and getting the deals on items we eat when I shop in the store.
While I did try grocery pick-up for a while in 2020, I haven’t gone back to it because it takes more planning and all too often I’d end up with odd substitutes or items missing. It’s not something I will be paying for or even doing for free this year.
6. Excess food
Shopping the sales in stores is great when it doesn’t mean that you’re overbuying on groceries. I know what our family likes and doesn’t like so I won’t be spending money trying a variety of new things that I’m not sure about.
When you declutter and organize your pantry you get a better sense of what items get tossed and what you need to restock. Knowing what works for your family means less food waste and less money down the drain.
7. Food delivery
We have attempted food delivery a few times and have never had a great experience with it. They charge premium prices and our food was often cold or our order wasn’t right.
If we want to get food from a local restaurant we order from them directly and pick it up ourselves. That way we can make sure the order is correct and it’s less expensive. I will say we are eating out less these days though due to the cost and feeling like many options aren’t very healthy.
8. Glass jars & other storage containers
This is another type of item that we already have enough of and don’t need more. We prefer using glass storage containers, but we have the sizes we need and therefore it’s on the list of things we’re not purchasing this year.
9. Kitchen gadgets
There are many home gadgets on the market that you don’t really need. Any single-purpose gadgets or trendy appliances that don’t fit our lifestyle are ones I avoid purchasing.
We have what works for us and therefore won’t be buying more this year.
10. Single-use coffee pods or coffee on the go
We won’t be buying single-use coffee makers or pods that go with them. We opt to use an old traditional coffee maker instead.
We rarely get coffee in coffee shops these days either due to the cost. It’s more of a special treat for us than something we regularly do. And we plan to keep it that way.
11. Bottled water
We’ve never regularly purchased bottled water and it’s something we plan on continuing to avoid. Reusable bottles work better for us. They keep our water cold, it tastes better, and they are less wasteful.
12. Reusable water bottles or travel mugs
And speaking of reusable water bottles, we won’t be buying any more of them this year or travel mugs either. These are high on the list of things that most people don’t need more of.
The Stanley water bottle collection trend is lost on me. I don’t understand the popularity or appeal of owning that many cups so this will be an easy one for me to avoid buying this year.
13. High-maintenance fabrics
After ruthlessly decluttering my clothes I realised that I don’t like pieces that are high maintenance. I won’t take clothes to the dry cleaners nor do I enjoy ironing so I plan to continue avoiding buying fabrics that require special care.
14. Jewelry
This is another one on the list of I already have enough and don’t need more. I understand the temptation to buy a cute new pair of earrings or a necklace that will look great with a certain outfit, but to avoid clutter and save money, I’m not purchasing any more jewelry this year.
15. Shoes
After going through and decluttering my shoes I noticed that I very rarely wore dressy shoes and gravitated towards the ones that were the most comfortable.
I reduced the number of pairs I own, but I don’t have a need to buy more, no matter how cute they might be. I’ll be avoiding purchasing these this year.
16. Salon services
This one is one I won’t be buying much of this year. I will likely get two haircuts but that is all.
I won’t be dyeing my hair, getting my nails, eyelashes, or eyebrows done. And I don’t plan on getting any facials either. For some people, this may feel like an essential part of self-care, but it doesn’t for me so I’m planning to skip it and save some money.
17. Trending beauty products
It’s hard not to get tempted to try new products when you see influencers raving about the benefits of some new miracle product.
I’ve decluttered my makeup and gotten it down to a minimal amount of products I know I like. I don’t feel the need to continually spend on the newest trend which saves me a lot of money and helps to avoid clutter.
18. Apps & monthly memberships
Apps and memberships are two of many money drains that can ruin your finances. All of the small costs add up over time.
So this year I won’t be buying any apps or signing onto any monthly memberships (or other forms of recurring charges).
19. Cable & streaming services
Cable is another money drain that can cost hundreds of dollars per month. We quit cable years ago and have no plans to ever get it again.
As far as streaming services go, we only have Netflix. While there are a plethora of options available minimizing your services and not buying more will save you money and time.
20. Cleaning products & gadgets
We use cleaning tools that save us time and have likely more products than we really need. So the plan is to use them up before buying any more.
As far as laundry products go we only use detergent and don’t plan to buy softeners, scent beads, or any other unnecessary products.
21. Hand soap & candles
I love both hand soap and candles. They’re one of the reasons I don’t think I’ll ever consider myself a minimalist.
But I do know I have enough and should use up what we have before buying anymore. So they’re on my no buy list for this year.
22. Board games
Our family loves playing board games, but we have our favorite family board games and we don’t need to further add to our collection.
The game armoire we store them in is full which means no buying additional games this year.
23. Throw blankets and pillows
I still love me some throw blankets and pillows. To me they make a home feel comfortable and cozy.
As much as I may love them, we don’t need more of these either so I don’t plan to buy any this year.
24. Furniture
We had the same hand me down furniture for many years. We saved our money and replaced a few pieces with higher quality items a couple of years ago.
Furniture can be a great item to buy second-hand, but at this point we don’t need anything else. We’re happy with the pieces we have and don’t plan to buy more this year.
25. Fitness gimmicks
These are another one of the things people buy and rarely use. The new year is when we are most often marketed to with these products and gimmicks.
I’m not a big fan of fitness trackers or extra unnecessary equipment. I enjoy walking and that doesn’t require me to purchase anything.
26. Updated tech devices
Technology changes at a rapid pace. While my phone and computer aren’t new, they work just fine so I don’t plan to spend any money on updated tech devices unless it becomes necessary to do so.
27. A home
This is by far the most expensive item on the list. While we would like to buy a home eventually and have been waiting years while the market has skyrocketed, we don’t plan on purchasing a home this year.
Instead, we will continue waiting and looking for things to love about the home we’re living in now.
What’s on your list of things you won’t be purchasing this year? Let us know in the comments section.
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Hand soaps and bar soaps! I love nice hand soap and in love with French triple milled soap. But I am running out of room to store them.
I change up hand soaps depending on my mood, the decor…it’s an opportunity to trim some clutter!
I quit buying body wash as I noticed I owned a lot of bars of soap. I kept finding them tucked into drawers and such. I pulled them all out and placed them in a pretty dish and I am using them up before I buy any body wash. They last a surprisingly long time!. Ditto for lotions. I am resolved not to purchase any more underwear, socks, or bras also. Then the last two of each are holey and worn, then I will treat myself to new ones.
All great ideas, Julianna. I admire your resolve and hope to cut back greatly on excess groceries this year, because I tend to over-buy in this category. We are retired and have few guests, so I really just have to chalk it up to my wanting variety in meals; my husband is happy to eat the same lunch, etc. every day, but I’m not! I need force myself to make a meal plan each week; when I actually do, I save on both time and money. Sigh.
You’ve inspired me! When we run out of liquid hand soap, I plan to get out all those little hotel soaps and use them instead…along with all those hotel shampoos/conditioners as the ones from our last two overseas trips are very high quality brands.
When my husband and I visited family out of state after Christmas, we totally loaded the truck with clothes (lots of jackets and sweaters especially) to give away, plus antique/vintage dishes, Christmas decorations, etc. Family members took all but 3 pieces which we’ll donate here at home.
Thanks for your post.
You’re welcome, Sue! I’m glad it was helpful.
I am sorry house prices are insane because I truly believe that owning is better than renting. At the end- you own your home and it is an asset. Renters end up with nothing especially if their rents have been too high over their lifetimes prohibiting saving or investing for retirement.
Owning is worthy if you can buy cash other than you never has the property but continue paying “rent” for many many years & being responsible for ALL the repairs and many others expenses at the point to loose the property if you loose your job!….
Thank you so much for writing this. I can resonate with so many of these categories and it has me thinking of writing these (and adding some personal ones) down, as you said. Plooutting things in writing definitely helps put it into practice. Thanks so much!
Love your blog and you are so pretty. We r retired and just downsized a huge house so I can relate. In our case the stairs going to our 2nd floor apt are a deal breaker on lugging heavy groceries upstairs. I gladly pay for instacart and get big cases of H20. We have a Berkey water filter but I like having the water bottles too. So delivery services fit a real need for some boomers. God bless
Not to sound dismal but at the age of 77 there is no reason to be accumulating more stuff! I just finished decluttering And hauling the last of things off to saint Vincent’s and I sure don’t want to start over LOL! It feels good to have plenty of what we need but no excess and no clutter! Just enough is good! I love all your blogs and you Are the reason our home is now A quiet sanctuary! No clutter!
What good ideas! I am glad to see that you mentioned that these strategies must be modified to fit the needs of each family. For instance, my husband likes to eat out, so we do so at least once a week. But, we are not subscribed to any internet streaming services at all since we just wouldn’t use them. You have shown sensitivity while suggesting ‘This works for me.’ Great post!–Anne
I love your ideas and will never be a minimalist. You certainly give me a lot to think about because I do need to control my impulse buying. There are many things I won’t be buying this year. Keep the good ideas coming because they help even us maximalist 😂
Hi — my current DO NOT BUY list includes:
*** towels, sheets, curtains, journals, blankets and pillows;
I sorted out my closet this morning – boots and sweaters are ready to donate
*** the hardest things for me to stop buying — decorating accessories, and school/office supplies!!
already do most of that but I definitely need someone to cut my hair but I have taken to dying it myself, not so hard after practice, I don’t want to look old and grey!
and we own our own home, stability, we can put nails in the walls and no inspections. I find most of my clutter is gifts, so I give them to other people or just straight out regift!
Currently, on my no buy list…
Notebooks (I too love them and think they are cute but I currently have 2 in my work bag half used)
Body sprays (everyone seems to give me these lovely body sprays from Bath and Body Works. They are nice but I have so many!)
Candles (we have so many of these too. I work in a school and get them as gifts from students a lot).
Definitely shoes 🤦♀️ I just found a pair or shoes in a corner, that I brought two weeks ago! And completely forgot about them…Clearly I don’t need to buy anymore shoes…
This is my second year with a no-buy list and it has been fantastic! I have a few of these on my list, too.
I keep my list on my phone so that while I’m out in stores I can quickly remind myself of what I already have and/or don’t need. It definitely helps curb the impulse buys! ☺️
I won’t be buying unnecessary snacks for my kids. Most snacks out there don’t do anyone any good as it is. So only healthy snacks like fruit, veggies, nuts ect.