I’ll just go ahead and say it…I love to shop.
I always say shopping is to women like hunting is to men. Sure, we love to actually bag that trophy deal or bargain item we’ve been searching for, but even when we don’t, the hunt was still pretty fun. For me, shopping isn’t always about bringing something home with me…it’s about the hunting…the thrill of the chase…the creeping up on a prize item for a killer deal! Ok, pardon my dramatization.
My shopping has changed in the past years, and that’s good. I remember I used to come home from the mall with baaaaags of stuff when I was a teenager, only to turn around and go buy more bags of stuff the next weekend. I would cart home bags of clothes and accessories and cds and anything else that I thought would make me a cooler, awesome-er person (oh those teenage years…). I try not to think about how much money I wasted on all that stuff during those careless years…and I’m just glad I finally grew up and realized how all those things weren’t going to change anything about my life. It was only changing my wallet!
I still love a good shopping day, and honestly one of my favorite kind of days is one spent in town by myself…just browsing and trying on and hunting down things we need. But I have rules and parameters and discipline these days instead of the carefree sprees. I buy things, but not without careful deliberation and evaluating the true value or usefulness of an item. Now when I bring in the bags from a day of shopping, I feel good about my purchases (usually, anyway!) and know it was money well-spent. And if I realize that something wasn’t the smartest or wisest purchase or that we really don’t need something I brought home, there’s always the handy option of returning it.
I do have one main rule for myself when I’m out shopping, and it’s one that I read somewhere on a random blog a few years ago. It’s really changed the way I shop and purchase things! It’s a super simple question that I ask myself whenever I deciding on something…
Do I absolutely LOVE this thing?
This is most useful with clothing for me, because sometimes I buy something that is just sorta “nice” and that I “kinda like,” especially if it is on sale. I used to talk myself into getting something like that, thinking that I would take it home, put it with some other items from my closet, and it would somehow transform into something I love.love.love. That never happened. Without fail, those “nice” pieces would hide in the back of my closet….I would just never wear them.
But now I don’t buy “nice” things. I only buy things that I really, really love. If I’m in the dressing room, the only way I allow myself to take something up to the register is if I LOVE it. If I just like it, it stays behind, no matter how much I would “save” by getting it.
This simple rule has helped me keep my closet to a minimal amount of pieces naturally, and now I only have things to wear that I truly love and feel comfortable in. It’s a win, you guys!
What about you: what do you use to make decisions about purchases? And tell me your true feelings about shopping (haha)…
I’d love to hear your thoughts!
