Reducing My Impact: A Year Long Adventure. Month 8- Reducing Consumption

For the past 7 months I have been trying to reduce my impact on the Earth, with a different focus for each month. For the month of December I will be focusing on permanently reducing my family's consumption of stuff. And the timing is pretty fitting if I do say so myself.... the holidays tend to be times of complete over-comsumption, and I hope that I can change that just a wee bit.
I am not going to forgo buying anything, or claim that I will never buy a new item again, but I want to re-focus the way my family and I think about buying things. About needs versus wants. And about quality. Before bringing something into the house, I want to make sure it is something we need, not just something we want. Is there a space for it? What is it's purpose? Do I like it enough to keep it until it is no longer useful? Also, deciding to buy high quality items that will last a long time instead of having to continuously replace things. For example, last year we bought Finn a $20 pair of rainboots which had holes in them 2 months into the winter. This year, we splurged and bought a $50 pair from a local shop, but we know that they will make it through this winter and it is likely that Phoebe will be able to use them and then we can pass them down again. So, in the long run we are probably saving money, and we are using fewer resources in the process. Plus, in buying local, we were able to keep the money circulating within our own economy.
We are also trying to indulge more in experiences instead of 'things'. For Finn's birthday we asked for memberships to the local children's museum and science playground... so instead of more stuff to store and take car of, he could have access to somewhere fun and exciting on a rainy day.
We already do try to make or buy a lot of what we need used, but I do sometimes get lazy or buy something as a splurge, so there is definitely room for improvement.. trying to be more prepared for things like birthday or holiday gift giving, for example. This year I am not going to be able to make as many handmade gifts as I had hoped because (once again) I did not leave myself enough time. I really do need to start preparing next summer! And keeping my eye out at the second-hand shops for things I will need in the future, instead of waiting until the last minute, not finding what I need, and having to buy it new.
Lastly, in terms of food, I want to reduce what we are purchasing, by using everything we buy and letting nothing go to waste. We are really good at forgetting stuff in the back of the fridge, which ultimately means that we need to buy more food to replace what we lost.
Yesterday, Finn actually said to me "mom, our house is really tiny (which it is), so I think we need a bigger house". I asked him why he thought we needed a bigger house and his response was "so that we can have more stuff". This launched me into a deep discussion (with a 4 year old, mind you) about needs versus wants and how we really didn't need anything. It made me realize that the best way for him to learn this is through watching his parents make good choices.
For more on the environmental impacts of your "stuff", check out my previous post on The Story of Stuff.
Do you have any good tips for reducing consumption? Pin It Now!