How to drink less alcohol at home

To drink less alcohol at home, make the drink harder to reach and easier to measure: buy only what you plan to drink this week, keep it out of the fridge and out of sight, pour into a small glass with a measure, and put the bottle away after one pour. Then change the moment you usually pour, after work, while cooking or in front of the TV, by starting with a cold non-alcoholic drink and a different routine. Most home drinking is habit, so changing the house does a lot of the work.

Why drinks at home add up

Home is where most drinking happens. In Drinkaware's 2025 survey, 55% of adults who drink in Ireland said they were most likely to drink at home. And home drinking has none of the brakes a bar has:

• No measure. Bars pour set amounts. At home, a wine glass can hold three times a standard pour, and spirits are poured by eye.
• No cost per drink. A bottle in the fridge feels already paid for, so each glass feels free.
• No closing time. Nothing ends the evening except going to bed.
• Strong cues. The same kitchen, the same chair, the same time every day. Cues repeated daily are the ones that turn into automatic habits.

The upside: you control the house. A few changes to what you buy, where you keep it and how you pour can cut your drinks without you having to say no every night.

Step 1: Know what you really pour

Measure once. Pour your usual glass, then tip it into a measuring cup. Most people are surprised.

If you'd been counting "two glasses a night," those may be 3–4 standard drinks. Knowing the real number is often the first cut: you can keep two glasses and drink less by making them proper-sized.

For a full week's count and what the numbers mean, see how many drinks a week is normal.

Step 2: Buy less, and buy on purpose

What's in the house gets drunk. The simplest rule: decide this week's number, and buy only that.

• Shop with a list. If you plan 6 drinks this week, buy one bottle of wine and a few cans, not a case "because it's cheaper."
• No bulk deals. Twelve-packs and three-for-two offers mean more in the house and more in you.
• Smaller sizes. Small cans (8 oz), half bottles of wine and single-serve bottles end at a set point.
• Edit the online order. If wine comes with the weekly grocery delivery, take it off the saved list. Buying it then means a deliberate trip.
• Skip the store on the way home. If you stop for "just milk," take a route without a liquor aisle, or shop at a time you don't drink.

Step 3: Store it out of sight and out of reach

A cold bottle in the fridge door is an invitation every time you open it. Make the drink take a few seconds of effort:

• Keep it out of the fridge. Store wine and beer warm, in a cupboard. If you want one, you chill one, which takes planning.
• Put it somewhere you don't pass. A high shelf, the garage, a closet. Not the kitchen counter.
• Fill the front of the fridge with alternatives. Sparkling water, NA beer, a jug of iced tea, a ready syrup for a mocktail. The first thing you see is the first thing you reach for.
• Don't keep open bottles. An opened bottle of wine pushes you to finish it "before it goes off." Use a stopper, buy half bottles, or cook with the rest.

Step 4: Change how you pour

• Use a smaller glass. Pour 5 oz of water into your smaller glass once and note where it reaches: that line is one standard drink of wine. Large glasses make a big pour look small.
• Use a measure. A jigger for spirits, a marked glass or a measuring cup for wine. A few days of measuring trains your eye.
• Pour once, then put the bottle away. No bottle on the table. Topping up makes counting impossible.
• Finish one before you pour the next. And have a glass of water in between.
• Make spirits longer. More tonic or soda and more ice per measure means a drink that lasts longer.
• Try lower strength. A 9% wine instead of a 14% one, a 4% beer instead of a 7% one. Same number of glasses, less alcohol.

Step 5: Swap the first drink

The first drink at home usually answers a cue: you're home, you're thirsty, the day is over. Answer it with something cold and good instead, and decide about alcohol after. Often you'll find the moment was what you wanted, not the alcohol.

Good first drinks: sparkling water with lime and a dash of bitters, NA beer, a spritz of alcohol-free aperitif and soda, iced tea, a ginger and lemon soda. Our non-alcoholic drinks to make at home has 12 measured recipes with their sugar per glass.

A plan for each home cue

Home drinking usually comes at one or two set moments. Plan for yours:

Not sure which is yours? The free drinking pattern quiz sorts your answers into a pattern, like "evening unwinder," in 2 minutes.

Living with someone who drinks

A partner's habit is often your habit too: the shared bottle with dinner, the "want one?" from the kitchen.

• Tell them the plan and what would help. "I'm doing dry Tuesdays and Thursdays. Could we skip opening a bottle those nights?"
• Ask, don't require. They don't have to change too. But asking them not to pour for you, or to keep their drinks out of your sight, is fair.
• Make a shared swap. A mocktail you both like, a walk after dinner, a new show on dry nights.
• Don't split a bottle by default. Two people sharing a bottle each have about 2.7 standard drinks. Open one only on planned nights.

Working from home

Working from home removes the commute, which for many people was the gap between work and the first drink. Without it, the laptop closes and the fridge is right there. Make a new end-of-day ritual: a walk outside "home from work," a change of clothes, the laptop shut away. Keep alcohol out of the kitchen if that's where you work.

Hosting at home

• Serve food. Eating slows drinking for everyone.
• Have a good non-alcoholic option on show, not just water, so it's easy for you (and guests) to pick it.
• Don't top up glasses, yours or theirs. Let people ask.
• Send leftovers home. Unopened bottles go with the guests, or into a cupboard you don't open.

For drinks outside the house, see how to drink less on a night out.

A 2-week home reset

1. Day 1: Measure your usual pour. Count last week honestly.
2. Day 2: Move all alcohol out of the fridge and out of sight. Stock the front of the fridge with two alternatives.
3. Day 3: Pick this week's number and your 2 dry days. Write them on the fridge or in your phone.
4. Days 4–7: First drink every evening is non-alcoholic. Small glass, one pour, bottle away.
5. Day 8: Shop for week 2 only, with a list. No bulk deals.
6. Days 9–13: Keep the dry days. Try one new routine at your main cue.
7. Day 14: Compare the two weeks. Keep what worked, change one thing that didn't.

For a step-by-step reduction after that, see how to cut down on alcohol gradually. If you drink at home every evening, how to cut back on daily drinking goes deeper on the first dry days. The full method is in how to cut back on drinking alcohol.

Mistakes that keep home drinking high

• Buying in bulk "to save money." It costs more in drinks.
• Counting glasses, not drinks. Big glasses hide extra drinks.
• Leaving the bottle on the table. Every look is an offer.
• Keeping the evening the same. The same chair, show and time pull the same drink.
• Going without a replacement. A cue with no answer gets the old one.

When to get more help

If you hide drinks at home, drink in the morning, or can't keep to any limit even with alcohol out of reach, get more support. If you drink heavily every day, or feel shaky, sweaty or anxious without a drink, see a doctor before cutting down quickly. The NIAAA Alcohol Treatment Navigator explains the options. SAMHSA's National Helpline is free, confidential and open all day, every day: 1-800-662-4357.

Questions people ask

Should I get rid of all the alcohol in my house?

If having it in the house means you drink it, yes, at least for a few weeks. Otherwise keeping only this week's planned amount, stored warm and out of sight, works for many people.

Why do I drink more at home than at a bar?

No measured pours, no price per drink, no closing time, and cues you meet every day. Home pours are often 1.5–2 standard drinks per glass.

Is drinking alone at home a bad sign?

Not by itself. But drinking alone to cope with stress, or drinking more alone than you would with others, is worth noticing. If it's your main way to switch off, plan another one.

How can I relax at night without a drink?

Keep the ritual and change the glass: a cold drink you like, a shower, a walk, a book, a show. Many people find the "day is done" moment matters more than the alcohol.

How do I stop drinking wine while cooking?

Have a cooking drink ready that isn't wine, like sparkling water in a wine glass, or pour one measured glass that ends when the food hits the table. Our guide to cutting back on wine has more.

More on drinking less: all our drink-less guides.

Sources: NIAAA, Rethinking Drinking (what counts as a drink; drink size calculator; tips for cutting down). Drinkaware Ireland, "Reduce drinking at home" (Drinkaware Barometer 2025: 55% most likely to drink at home). Drinkaware UK, "How to start drinking less at home." GoodRx, "How to drink less." NIAAA Alcohol Treatment Navigator. SAMHSA National Helpline, 1-800-662-4357. This guide is about habits and is not medical advice.