How To Make More Mindful Houseplant Purchases
Save Money and Purchase Houseplants With Intention By Following These 4 Simple Tips
If you caught the houseplant bug and filled your home with as many houseplants as possible in the past few years, you are not alone! In 2020 alone, the rise in houseplant collectors and enthusiasts reached an all-time high. As a houseplant hobbyist with quite a few years under my belt, this surge in interest in houseplants has been great news! This means more plant friends to share in the joy of this beautiful hobby. As a result, it seems that many in this community have been feeling a little bit burnt out. They may be a little overwhelmed, and ready to get more intentional about their plant collection. The rise in houseplant social media accounts and the endless options of beautiful plants have lead to many of us over-purchasing and over-consuming. With that said, here are some tips for making more mindful houseplant purchases.
Why does making mindful houseplant purchases matter?
There could be a few reasons why you may want to switch over to more mindful plant purchases, or where you could see benefits to buying houseplants with intention. I cannot recommend this short video from Bloom and Grow Radio enough. This video highlights the importance of being intentional, and how houseplants teach us how to do this.
- If your goal is to limit the number of houseplants you bring home.
- You are looking to reel in your general spending habits.
- If you found yourself overwhelmed by your collection or struggling to find joy with your houseplant hobby
- You notice that you are getting caught up with buying plants simply because you see them on social media.
- If you want to stop impulsive houseplant purchases.
- You want to pursue different financial goals, either in the short-term of developing this habit long-term.
Disclaimer: If buying houseplants gives you joy, it isn’t my place to tell you to stop buying houseplants. This is directed at those of you who would like to make more mindful houseplant purchases.
1. Evaluate and Appreciate Your Current Houseplant Collection
Before you decide to add to your houseplant collection, spend a bit of extra time with the houseplants that you currently have. Clean their leaves, check their soil, and take some time to appreciate the joy, peace and serenity that growing these houseplants give you. Evaluate if you are taking care of this plant effectively. Sometimes we just need a reminder to love and appreciate the collection that we have before we decide to add to it.
2. Evaluate Your Conditions and What You Are Able to Accommodate
There is nothing wrong with changing up your current conditions to accommodate your houseplant collections. Adding some grow lights, a terrarium for that magnificent anthurium, more shelving with prime natural light, an extra humidifier to keep up with that fussy calathea. Your current conditions are something to certainly consider when adding to your houseplant collection, particularly if you are trying to be more mindful of the houseplants you are purchasing.
3. Evaluate Your Budget
Much like you should determine if your space can accommodate a new houseplant, you will want to evaluate if getting a new houseplant is within your budget. Whether you are struggling financially or perhaps you are just looking to curb your houseplant spending, you may benefit from setting a practical monthly or seasonal houseplant budget. You may find creating a houseplant budget helpful. Setting a budget and sticking to it will really cause you to pause and consider the houseplants you bring to your home and will really help you make more mindful houseplant purchases.
Some houseplant budget ideas for more mindful houseplant purchases may include:
- Buying one houseplant per month
- Buying one houseplant per season
- Setting a per-dollar budget per month
- Setting a per-dollar budget per season
4. Evaluate The Houseplant You Wish To Purchase
Now that you have been mindful of your houseplant collection, your environment and your budget, the next step towards making more mindful houseplant purchases is evaluating the houseplant your are considering. You can, of course, pre-determine a criteria that matters most to you, and determine how this particular houseplant measures up to that criteria.
For example, some of these filters may include:
- Is this houseplant on my wish list?
- Have I wanted this houseplant for a pre-determined amount of time?
- Can I propagate or re-sell this houseplant?
- Will this houseplant bring me joy long after this purchase?
- Is this houseplant in my budget?
- If I walk away from this houseplant today, will I miss it?
- Do I only want this houseplant because it is all over social media?
- Will I be able to buy this plant at a cheaper cost in a year’s time?
Other Tips For Making More Mindful Houseplant Purchases:
- Avoid shopping for houseplants online.
- Create a wish list where you evaluate the houseplants you may purchase ahead of time.
- Sell, trade or give away certain houseplants that no longer give you joy before buying more.
- Limit time spent on social media if you tend to “keep up with the Joneses” and feel like your collection isn’t good enough.
Final Thoughts:
It can be a long and difficult journey towards making more mindful houseplant purchases. You may occasionally make a mistake and make an impulse purchase. Remember to have patience with yourself during this process and continue to practice gratitude for the houseplants that you have, as well as the growth that both you and your plants experience. If you find that you have made a slip and purchased a houseplant without intention, for example, don’t beat yourself up about it. You can simply reflect and make choices you are more comfortable with in the future. And don’t forget, this hobby is a journey and you have the power to find more joy in your houseplant collection.
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