The Money Was Wasted When You Bought It

I know this sounds a little brutal. But yes, the money was wasted when you bought it - whatever it was.

When I was in the thick of totally ruthless decluttering a few months ago, I had two storage totes filled with old home decor and stuff I was planning on selling. You know, because I spent my hard-earned money on that stuff and I wanted some of it back! But a few accounts on here actually reminded me - I already wasted the money - it was gone when I bought it. Did I want to waste my time, too? Listing items, waiting for people to pick them up and dealing with the inevitable remainder that would still need to be donated felt worth it to me - at first. Then as I got more and more ruthless, I realized it absolutely wasn’t. The small amount I might make back (I did sell some larger and more expensive items) $2 here, $5 there, was already wasted.

I took those two totes and donated them a week later. I really, really struggled to just let them go. But as I drove away, I felt relieved and I haven’t thought about anything in them since (aside from a few passing ridiculous thoughts like, “I wonder if someone wound up liking that candle that I thought stunk.”).

I keep this in the back of my mind as I do my best to shop intentionally now and in the future - buying with a need and purpose in mind and purchasing quality products. You can have a beautiful home, be a minimalist and even have a “decor storage cabinet” (as I do) of some favorites I like to switch out, WITHOUT impulse buying, over-spending and buying on-trend just because (most of what I donated in those two storage totes). It doesn’t matter whether it’s a tool, a piece of furniture, a kids toy, or home decor, buy with purpose and you won’t regret it.
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