I have 36 rolls of toilet paper in my basement. Until that number falls to single-digits, toilet paper is on my NOPping List. NOP as in No Over-Purchasing. NOPping as in not-shopping.

Introducing my 2nd commandment: Thou Shall Not Purchase from the The NOPping List.

Buying only items on your shopping list is an important step in curbing impulse buys and stemming the tide of stuff into your home. That's why it's my first commandment.

You can up the ante by following your nopping list, too.

The nopping list can and should include comestibles and toiletries that you will use up. Let's say you stocked up on an item you use often while there was a sale. Great! BUT, before you forget about the multiples in your pantry or your bathroom the next time you’re on autopilot at the store, add it to your nopping list so you don’t overpurchase.

Consider adding other goods to your nopping list, as well. I won’t buy another pair of jeans until one of my current pairs wears all the way out. My jeans have filled the space I have dedicated for them, and to acquire more would be needless and burdensome. I am not willing to redesign my closet organization for the sake of yet another pair of jeans when the ones I currently own serve me perfectly.

Add your weaknesses here, too. Cait Flanders, author of The Year of Less, banned herself from buying take-out coffee for two years. I’ve banned myself from buying anything you could call a school supply until I've used up the many pens and notebooks I have now. I should probably add houseplants to my nopping list because it’s getting a little jungly in my house. Scarves should also have a semi-permanent slot on my nopping list, when I finally face the reality of my scarf-hoarding tendencies.

I keep my shopping and nopping list as one note in my phone, so I can consult lists before checking out and avoid overpurchasing items that would then overflow their dedicated space assignments.

How long an item stays on your nopping list is up to you. Maybe that item stays on your nopping list only until you’ve used up your supplies at home, and then it’s transferred to your shopping list. Or, maybe you decide to give something up forever.

Either way, commit it to writing, and JUST SAY NO.