We are constantly assailed by ads every minute of every hour of every day – each one demanding we pay attention to them right now. This cacophony is so overwhelming that we have to develop strategies to protect ourselves from this never-ending assault.

My primary strategy is pretty simple – I just avoid places and things where I am likely to encounter advertising:

I have ad-blockers on all my devices – computer, phone, tablet, etc.

I generally listen to Spotify in my car rather than the radio.

I rarely watch free-to-air TV and if I want to watch a show which is only available on free-to-air, I use their online apps like iView to watch the show without the ads (or at least without as many ads).

Junk mail never makes it past my front door – I throw it out unopened on my way in from the letterbox.

This works to filter out a large chunk of the advertising which would otherwise compete for a chunk of my attention each day, but what about the stuff I can’t eliminate – Billboards, product placement in movies, websites I like which won’t operate with ad blocker on?

These are a little harder to deal with and require more self-control on our part since the avoidance strategy doesn’t work with these.

The main thing that helps me avoid the pull of advertising is that I don’t really like stuff. I consider myself a minimalist (although not the sort with only 10 things in my wardrobe), which means that anything I even consider bringing in to my home needs to serve a purpose. Now, this doesn’t mean only practical items make it into my home, their purpose can be decorative, but I have to truly believe that I will still want to look at it in a few years’ time.

This brings us to my second strategy – buy things which will last. This serves two purposes:

Reduces our waste Buy less stuff

We just bought a new bedroom suite after 10 years on a starter bed frame I got when I first moved out of home.

The old bed had moved with me half a dozen times and somehow it never quite went back together right after the first move, but it was functional so we hadn’t replaced it. Unfortunately, the last move to this place was too much for it and it was not in good shape.

We had been looking for a bedroom suite that we both liked for about a year and, just after Christmas, we finally found one. It was a bit more expensive than my old bed, but since we fully expect to use this same bedroom suite for the next 15 – 20 years we consider it worth the cost.

Another strategy I like to employ is the old “leave it for a few days and see if I still want it”. This gives me time to shake off any lingering influence from advertisements or other parties and make a choice based purely on my own wants and needs. Now, sometimes I still want the thing and I will buy it, but a lot of the time, I forget it even exists. How important could something possibly be to me if I forget it exists an hour later?

I’ve got some bonus strategies to share with you that I use when it comes to my wardrobe.

The first is “Have a plan”. Shopping willy-nilly rarely results in a cohesive wardrobe. You’ll end up with 10 pairs of jeans and no tops to go with them (ask me how I know :P). Instead, I’ve earned to keep a running list in your phone of things I need and shop for them, rather than buying maxi dress number twenty. I still get my shopping fix, but it is directed towards my wardrobe goals.

I’m also very picky when it comes to whether something fits or not. If I love something on a mannequin, but if it doesn’t look right on me, I’m not going to buy it. It is so easy to get caught up in shopping and buy things that don’t fit well, but we will wear them once and then they will languish in the cupboard forever.

I’ll be honest – this will frustrate you. You will want to but the super cute dress, you’ll even convince yourself that a tailor can make it fit properly, but you need to be strong and say no.

There have been many shopping trips where I have gone home with nothing, and it definitely irritates friends when they come shopping with me, but the end result is more money in my pocket and less clothing I’ll never wear clogging up my wardrobe.

I’d love to hear your strategies for coping with advertising overload in the comments below.