Distinguishing keepers from temporary thrills

We all love to browse something. It may be clothes, decorations, power tools, crafting materials, jewellery or that new selection of phones.

I believe that nobody is totally unaffected by this, although some are more prone to browsing than others. Either way, we often end up buying something for the most diverse of reasons. Each of us is different and we function in our own way. This can make it hard to figure out the 'why' of buying, but it's not impossible!

Why do you buy something? Let’s go through a basic list:

• you need it (you just moved out from your parents and need kitchen utensils)
• you like the look of it (that scarf works wonders for that outfit)
  
• everyone has one (you don’t want to fall out with your posse)
  
• it’s an investment (if you are in that lucky position of having to park money)
• it’s beautiful (you may be in the market for some modern paintings)
• it makes the neighbours envious (the beautiful garden pagoda)
• etc. (you may find other reasons that work for you)

With all that acquiring stuff you will ultimately end up with things that felt exciting at first but the quickly lost their appeal and either ended up somewhere in a box or maybe even start haunting and taunting you with their presence:

• some of the kitchen stuff was bought because you felt it’s necessary but you never used that poached egg maker after all
• the scarf was replaced by another one that did an even better job
• suddenly your peer group has moved on to another fad
• the investment turns out to be less than good
• those modern paintings looked good in the gallery but are too big for your walls
• the garden pagoda looks decidedly shoddy with a big of moss on it

You see, all those items had the potential to be beloved and useful items forever, or become obsolete in after a short or long period of time. And let’s face it, most items become obsolete at some point. You may think of yourself as thrifty and reuse things in other ways, but some things are just remnants of dreams that didn’t materialise quite in the way you thought they would.

How can you tell if your excitement about an item has faded to a point where you could allow yourself to let it go without remorse?

There are a couple of tell-tale signs. Keepers tend to remain useful or fill us with joy whenever we see them. If your item does neither, it’s a candidate for ‘temporary thrill’. Another thing to consider is this: do you get your thrill from the “act of buying” or from “owning it”?

• If you fall in the first category, you may want to revisit that thrill and find ways to fulfil it without clogging up your space.
• If you love owning something, ask yourself if the joy your extract from that ownership is more important than the limitations the items bring with them: some things are too bulky or accumulate to a point where they form an obstacle that keeps you from doing something more exciting.

It’s important to occasionally review the reasons for certain items to remain in your life. Do you keep them because you feel obliged to? Because you feel silly for having spent all that money and it feels like you’re losing money if you let it go? Because you cannot part with an item for sentimental reasons (that’s a tough one)? There are as many reasons to hang on to items as there are to acquire them in the first place, but it is useful to look into your motivation and find out if that is a good enough reason to hang on to each of those items.

If you have enjoyed reading this, you may find these other articles interesting:

• Impulse buying
• Loneliness / Shopping
• Keepsakes: a gateway drug for clutter?