Stuff… Our homes are consumed with it! Until we get a handle on the stuff that’s already in our homes, we can’t really grasp the thought of what comes in that we buy… Most days we buy, just to buy. We don’t really know why we buy things sometimes, and most of the time it’s not because we need it, but because we want it. We may not even LOVE it, but just like it.
Decluttering my home has really changed my buying habits over the past year. I was a spender! I still am, but I now make better and more clear decisions about what comes into my home because I respect my space more! I understand and love my home more, and I don’t want to fill it with something that I don’t love just to get rid of it shortly after…
You know what they say about buyers remorse? I’m sure you’ve had it before, we all have. But what about ‘donation remorse’ ??? It’s a thing, ladies! And once you feel that donation remorse once, you will think more about what you buy! Because it’s a feeling of waste. (Waste of money…) But you know what that donation remorse teaches you? THAT YOU DIDN’T REALLY NEED IT IN THE FIRST PLACE! And it shows up as guilt, guilt for buying something that you didn’t need, and in the end wasting your money… Now this doesn’t apply to everything. Sometimes things just become useless to us, but maybe they were useful to us before. Or we outgrow things, etc… But for the things we don’t need, what if you’d taken the time to really think about it before buying? Would you have bought it?? Probably not…
Try this next time you’re at Target and you come across allllll the cute things you think you need… Ask yourself these questions! Will you feel like you’ve wasted your money if you donate this in 6 months? Do you already feel ‘donation remorse’ just thinking about it?
If yes, then put the item back and appreciate that it’s CUTE just like everything else at Target. It doesn’t have to come with you just because it’s cute! Or I’d own the entire store!
So, where does the experience more things come in?? Well, if you learn to leave things at the stores you don’t NEED, you’ll have more money to actually experience more things with your kids and your family/friends!
Imagine that you waste approximately $100 per month on random things you don’t need, thats $1,200 a year. That is a 4 day cruise with your partner, or flights for your family to Florida, or memberships to all of the museums in your city for the year! Saving money on crap you don’t need can help you save for experiences that are more FUN!
Once you practice this way of thinking, and have experienced ‘donation remorse,’ you WILL change your buying habits without even knowing it. The first time I went to Target and didn’t buy anything was the day I knew I was changed! It was crazy!!! I remember sharing about it on my Insta stories and people being like, “What is wrong with you!?” Haha, but it will happen to you, too, if you learn to leave some things in your cart…
Have you ever experienced donation remorse? What was the item? And what experience would you have chosen in place of that wasted money? I’ve personally bought way too may online photography courses that were way too much money. I will just say that I could’ve probably sent my family on a small vacation instead. Just don’t tell Chris, he doesn’t even know what a blog is, so he won’t even read this! Haha!
