Are you overpacking your self-care routine? I don’t think we ask ourselves this question enough. I’m editing an interview I did with Rainesford Stauffer, author of An Ordinary Age, and it’s one of the main topics we discussed. The economy around personal development has become so fruitful that everyone from big brands to smaller influencers (like me) are conscious of how much money comes in and out of pushing products, or lifestyle choices, or a routine that honestly may not really make sense for your real life.

I’m incredibly aware that the lines between self-care and consumerism are overlapping more than they ever have. It’s prompted me to revisit how and what I share with my community. I choose to embrace a less is more approach in my own life because less is more manageable, more intentional, and less driven by the comparison game. I rotate what my “less” is regularly because I’m always trying new things and that’s the process I’ve chosen to share with you all.

During a Q+A a few weeks back someone asked me what the difference was between mental health and mental wellness.

In an effort to have something tangible to answer, I shared that mental health is something we all have (same as we do our physical health), but mental wellness comes down to intention, routines, and trial and error. Mental wellness is everything we know to do on a bad day to help us cope but it’s also the routines we discover through therapy, reading, or getting to know ourselves better.

I’m a big believer that building a self-care routine that makes sense for your life is way more important than buying one-off items that are on trend or only have a one-time use. For instance, I find that having a humidifier in your home that makes it easier for you to breathe can actually help your quality of life exponentially. It may not be the sexiest product, but in a time when we’re spending most of our days indoors and especially as we get closer to the drier, colder months, added items like a humidifier can be the difference-makers between a good day and a dreadful one.

I spent some time on Amazon searching for Prime Day deals that would add more to your days than just the adrenaline rush of buying something new (although, I admit there were a few items that did just that for me).

My goal when compiling this list rested on a few factors — price, long-term use potential, and where and how it could incorporate into your existing self-care routine or help you start a new one.