Are you feeling the pull to spend lots of money now? Are you getting anxious about finding gifts for people difficult to buy for. Are you getting pulled into the annual spend fest? Can you actually afford it, or will you still be paying off the credit card months later.

All those marvellous offers. Oh the fear of missing out. Sale Now On, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Special Offer, Buy Now.

For the rest of the year, many of us talk about de-cluttering, getting rid of surplus ‘stuff’ that is clogging up where we live. I don’t know about you, but when I have a good old sort out, it feels quite liberating and I enjoy the cleaner lines of my rooms. Having less dust attracting stuff that I never actually use is a good feeling.

So why, in December, do we all feel a strong desire to buy lots, and lots, more ‘stuff’.

When I feel the desire, and I think I may have been manipulated into wanting it, one of the things that I’ve found quite helpful to distinguish between stuff I actually would like to acquire, and mere ‘stuff’, is to substitute the word ‘clutter’ or ‘stuff’ for other words that are exerting that pull. So when a sign says ‘Sale – up to 80% off’, change it to ‘Clutter – up to 80% off’. Or how about ‘buy 1 item of clutter, get another bit of clutter free’. Or ‘Clutter Sale Now On’. Perhaps not quite as appealing now is it.

I would never say to anybody else, don’t buy that, you don’t need it. But maybe the annual binge spend is a time to reflect on what we, and the people we are buying gifts for, really do want to have in our homes, and what we’d rather leave in the shops, thank you very much.