The Practice of Enough: Contentment in Consumer Season

Why having less stuff might be the secret to feeling better

It’s that time of year again. The commercials are telling you to buy, buy, buy. Your email inbox is full of “limited time offers.” Everyone’s decorating, shopping, spending. And somewhere in the middle of it all, you might be asking yourself: Do I really need more stuff?

If you’ve been around for a few decades, you’ve probably noticed something. That new thing you bought last year? It’s sitting in a closet now. The excitement wore off pretty fast. Maybe you’re even thinking about downsizing, looking around at all the things you’ve collected over the years, wondering why you have so much.

You’re not alone in feeling this way. And the research actually backs up what you might already suspect: more stuff doesn’t make us happier.

Why More Stuff Doesn’t Work (The Science)

Scientists have a name for what happens when we buy something new: “hedonic adaptation.” Basically, it means we get excited for a little while, then go right back to feeling however we felt before. That new sweater, that gadget, that decoration, they give you a little boost, then fade into the background of your life.

According to research published in 2025, people who consciously chose to live more simply reported being significantly happier than people who kept buying more things. Studies from New Zealand consumers found that simpler lives led to greater happiness and life satisfaction (source: Forbes)

Psychology Today reports that using shopping as a way to feel better is expensive and doesn’t last. It’s a temporary fix that can lead to financial problems and regret, especially during the holiday season when we’re already stressed (source: Psychology Today)

The evidence is pretty clear: retail therapy might feel good in the moment, but it’s not a solution. The good news? There are things that actually do create lasting contentment.

What Actually Makes People Happy (What The Research Shows)

The Harvard Study of Adult Development followed people for over 80 years, across multiple generations. Their finding? The number one predictor of happiness isn’t money or possessions. It’s good relationships. Source

Research consistently shows what brings lasting contentment:

• Time with people you care about. Coffee with a friend. Phone calls with your kids or grandkids. Playing cards with neighbors. These are the memories that stick.

  

• Having a sense of purpose. Volunteering, helping others, working on projects that matter to you, whether it’s gardening, crafting, or mentoring someone younger.

• Experiences, not things. A walk in the park. Learning something new. Going somewhere you’ve never been. These keep giving you joy long after they’re over.

• Being grateful for what you have. Research on gratitude across different ages shows that practicing thankfulness is especially powerful for wellbeing as we get older. Studies specifically on aging found that gratitude contributes to wellbeing by providing an antidote to stress and helps develop resilience.

There’s even a growing movement called “voluntary simplicity,” and the research from 2025 confirms it: people who choose to own less report higher happiness, better life satisfaction, and a stronger sense of purpose (source EurekAlert)

How Stores Manipulate You (And How to Stop Falling For It)

Ever wonder why it’s so hard to resist those sales? It’s not just you. Retailers have this down to a science.

“Only 2 left!” “Sale ends tonight!” These create fake urgency. They’re triggering the part of your brain that used to help you survive actual scarcity. Research on holiday shopping shows that stores deliberately overwhelm you with choices to weaken your decision-making. Psychologists call this “ego depletion,” a state where you’re more suggestible and your willpower is worn down (source Forbes)

Seeing what others have. When your neighbor puts up elaborate decorations or you see photos online of everyone’s perfect holidays, you feel like what you have isn’t good enough. But those pictures don’t show the whole story: the stress, the debt, the exhaustion.

“It’s for someone else.” We tell ourselves we’re buying to show love, but often we’re just responding to marketing. Recent surveys show 58% of people find holiday shopping stressful, not joyful. (source The Well News)

And something many people discover after decades of accumulating: most people don’t care about your possessions as much as you do. The memories live in you, not in the objects.

Five Simple Ways to Protect Your Independence From Clutter

Too much stuff becomes a real threat to your independence as you get older. It creates fall hazards, makes rooms harder to navigate, and turns your home into a storage unit instead of a comfortable living space.

1. The 5-Minute Daily Clear Each morning, identify five things you don’t use or need anymore. Just five. Put them in a box. At the end of the week, donate the box. This keeps clutter from building up without overwhelming you.

2. The “One In, One Out” Rule Every time something new comes into your home, something old goes out. Bought a new shirt? Donate an old one. Got a new book? Pass along one you’ve already read. This keeps your space manageable.

3. Keep Clear Pathways Walk through your home and make sure there’s a clear, wide path from room to room. No stacks of magazines to step around. No boxes in hallways. This simple practice prevents falls and helps you stay safe in your own home.

4. The Reach Test If you can’t reach it easily, you probably don’t need to keep it. Things stored in hard-to-access places are things you’re not using. They’re just taking up space and creating hazards when you try to get to them.

5. Daily Use Zone Keep only what you use regularly within easy reach. Everything else can go into storage or, better yet, out of your home entirely. The less you have to manage, the easier it is to take care of yourself without help.

These aren’t just organizing tips. They’re ways to stay independent longer. Every item you remove is one less thing to clean, maintain, worry about, or trip over. That’s freedom.

Figuring Out What “Enough” Means For You

In a world that’s always telling you to want more, deciding what’s “enough” takes some real thought.

Look at what you actually use. Not what you think you should use, or what was expensive, but what genuinely makes your life better day to day.

Know the difference between needs and wants. Real needs are pretty basic: a safe place to live, enough food, healthcare, people who care about you. Everything else is on a sliding scale.

Count the real cost. Every purchase costs more than the price tag. It takes your time (earning the money, shopping, maintaining the thing). It takes your space. It adds to your mental load. When you add it all up, a lot of purchases aren’t worth it.

Try the 30-day rule. When you want to buy something you don’t really need, wait 30 days. Most of the time, the urge passes. You realize it was just an impulse.

Decide what’s enough for you. This is personal. It changes over time. But having a clear idea of your own “enough” helps you ignore all the marketing noise.

For a lot of older adults, this gets clearer naturally. Physical limitations make excess things a burden, not a blessing. And you don’t want to spend your limited time managing possessions.

Real Ways to Push Back Against Consumer Culture

You need actual strategies when you’re getting bombarded with “BUY NOW” messages.

Clean up your media diet. Unsubscribe from shopping emails. Mute the social media accounts that make you feel like you need more. Every ad is designed to make you dissatisfied with what you have.

Set spending limits before the season starts. Decide now what feels right for gifts and celebrations. Write it down. Having a plan makes it easier to say no in the moment.

Give time, not stuff. The best gift at any age is attention. A handwritten letter means more than an expensive item. Cooking a meal together creates better memories than exchanging purchases.

Talk to your family about changing gift traditions. Many families find relief when they agree to scale back on gifts. The conversation might feel awkward, but often everyone’s secretly hoping someone suggests it.

Practice gratitude on purpose. Write down three things you’re grateful for each day. Research shows this is one of the most effective ways to feel content with what you have. Studies specifically on gratitude and aging show it particularly helps wellbeing in later life.

Keep celebrations simple. Often the best holidays are the simple ones. A walk together. Making your grandma’s old recipe. Looking at old photos and telling stories. Playing games. These cost almost nothing but mean everything.

Stop comparing yourself to others. Their choices don’t have to be your choices. Their decorations, their gifts, their celebrations, that’s their business, not a standard you need to meet.

What Happens When You Choose Less

People who embrace “enough” instead of “more” report some benefits worth noting:

Your mind feels clearer. Less stuff means less to organize, clean, and worry about. When you clear physical space, you clear mental space too.

Relationships get better. When you’re not focused on gifts and presentations, you can actually connect with people. Conversations become real.

You have more time. Shopping takes hours. Choosing not to participate gives you that time back for things you actually enjoy.

Your money situation improves. Money you don’t spend on impulse buys stays in your account for actual needs. For those on fixed incomes, this matters.

You feel more in control. Making conscious choices about what comes into your life, instead of just going along with what stores tell you, feels empowering. You’re running your own life.

It’s better for the planet. Less buying means less waste.

Research from 2025 confirms that people who live with less really do report higher happiness and stronger purpose than big spenders. ZME Science

You Already Have What You Need

The practice of “enough” doesn’t mean doing without. It means recognizing what you already have.

You have people who care about you. A roof over your head. Food to eat. Health to enjoy, or the strength to deal with challenges. Time to spend how you want. Decades of experience and wisdom. Stories to share. The ability to help someone else.

This abundance is already yours. It doesn’t depend on the holiday season or what’s on sale. It’ll still be there after the decorations come down. It can’t be stolen or break down. It doesn’t need storage space.

Consumer culture trains you to always look ahead to the next thing. The practice of enough asks you to look around at what’s already here. That simple shift, from wanting what you don’t have to appreciating what you do, changes everything.

Let’s talk: What does “enough” look like in your life right now? Have you found that owning less brings more peace? Or are you still figuring it out?

Leave a comment below. I read every one, and some of the best wisdom comes from you, not me.

The bottom line

The abundance you’re looking for is already surrounding you. Sometimes we just need to clear away the excess to see it.

This holiday season, you get to choose. More stuff, or more contentment. The marketing will keep shouting. But you already know better.

You already have enough. Maybe it’s time to start living like it.