to ask if you've achieved the nirvana of not wanting to buy stuff you REALLY don't want

[ClownsFear]

I have really want to buy all of the jellycat fruit and vegetables (these kind of things

https://www.gracegentle.co.uk/collections/jellycat-fruit-vegetables )

and display them in a massive basket. I really want them.

I don't need them and I don't really truly want them. If I bought them I'd waste a huge amount of money. I'd be happy for about a week and then I would just become stressed out by the amount of dust they are collecting.

I frequently feel like this about stuff - not just stuffed toys, but random stationery, ornaments, strange furniture and often stuff posted randomly on MN. For example I saw recently a table shaped like a burger not this but a bit like this:

www.amazon.com/TAUODUYY-Decorative-Modelling-Material-Changing/dp/B0CL2CQTNS

I really wanted to buy it but same thing - know I don't really want it and it would just end up annoying.

I would have hoped by now I'd have grown out of this desire for junk stuff. I think it must be peak adult to not have this.

I suppose I'm better as I tend to resist but I want to rid myself of the urge to buy utter crapulous stuff I don't need.

How do you attain this state?

Great.

Now I want them.

Argh now you've made me want them too

This is life op! pure capitalist 1st world stuff! I often do this think where I put things in a ‘basket’ and wait and then only if I still want it later do I get it. And hopefully I get bored and move on.

I achieved it by clearing out two houses after losing beloved parents in in laws.
I've realised that the next time our house is being cleared might be when my DC are clearing out my and DH's stuff. So I'm getting rid of all the stuff I don't need, and consciously not buying things unless I really need them.
Except books, obviously 😁

As I've never seen the point of buying things I don't need then there was never a 'nirvana' for me.

Do these people not have a cost of living crisis to endure?

Me and my partner have forced ourselves to agree EVERY non essential purchase! Joint money, joint decisions. If he asked me to buy those I’d politely tell him no way is that tacky crap coming in my house. And when I try to convince him we desperately need new titanium cookware for £££ he kindly reminds me we can’t afford it 😂

Moving house a six times in 8 years cured me of anything other than essentials.

To be honest I’d see that stuff as naff crap - train yourself to think like that 😊

Also … and apologies for the following, but if I saw them in someone’s house I’d think the owners were not too bright.

I hope this helps 😉

I'm free of this because I really loath clutter (as cute as these are, I would be looking at them gathering dust and be filled with rage).

Also, think of the resources, both human and natural, that went into making those for nowt use at all.

Same here. Those clear outs really put things in perspective.

Now I just try to appreciate that things I like (antique/vintage/retro stuff) exist without needing to own them myself.

And have been madly giving up my own clutter to Freecycle and charity shops.

I may come across as an arse here but I have never been overly interested in “stuff”. It rarely lives up to the high that it generates short term.

Age is a pretty good cure for shopaholism. You come to realise that the genuine happiness you have experienced in life has never been due to the acquisition of things. It’s almost exclusively caused by experiences, things you have learned and people.

Just think of it as being like addicted to crack cocaine or McDonalds food. You know it might make you feel good for about ten minutes but you will feel a bit soiled and disappointed when the rush wears off.

Me too!!

This isn’t one of my vices. I’m not a big fan of clutter. My problems are different. I contemplate for ages before buying anything new - even useful things. I’ve been thinking about which blender to get for 12 months. Which means I probably don’t need one as I’ve managed so far without it… 😂

That burger table is horrific!

But those Jellycats……..too cute. I just go into shops and look at them, say “too cute” and then leave very fast!

Just think about the kids in some developing country who probably sewed them.

Yep, I do the same. I force myself to at least "sleep" on every purchase. I'll put it into the online basket or "save" it but am very strict with myself not to go through checkout and actually buy it.

Once I've "slept" on it, I usually lose interest and often forget to log in the next day to complete the purchase.

I also try to only buy things from places where I know it's free and easy to return stuff, whether on line or in store. If I'm looking to order from a website I use rarely or never used before, I'll check their returns policy to check how I can return it and whether I'd have to pay postage, and if it turns out I'd have to pay postage or drive the parcel miles to a store or drop off point, it usually stops me from buying it in the first place.

As a result of the above, I have very little "clutter" nor unused items and live a very minimalistic life. I either don't buy stuff in the first place or will return for refund if I do buy it and later realise I don't need it.

3luckystars · Today 18:44
Great.

Now I want them.

@3luckystars @WouldYouLikeMeToSpellThatForYou @LightSpeeds

Come and join my club. You aren't helping here. 😅

The clearing out thinking just doesn't help me. I just don't care because I want them. Now!

Just think of it as being like addicted to crack cocaine or McDonalds food. You know it might make you feel good for about ten minutes but you will feel a bit soiled and disappointed when the rush wears off.

@Thepeopleversuswork - this is exactly what it is. Short term desire. Short term pleasure. At least I realise that and hold off but I want to get rid of the want in the first place.

That’s easy. Not spending money on useless, pointless crap = more money to spend on my next holiday.

Start a PInterest board to save these things to. Then you still have something to do with them other than press “Buy”.

No, sorry not interested in Jellycats. Garden plants are my weakness, but I now limit myself to perennials (long lasters) while I am sorting relatively new garden no annuals.

I walk around TK Max feeling thinking “ooh look at this stuff I don’t need” then put the 25.00 I might have spent in the holiday find or buy a premium bond. When the garden is done I hope to do the same at nurseries.

Same for me - cleared out grandparents' house in 2018 and mother-in-law's house in 2019. Huge, huge amount of stuff to get rid of compared to the things I (or other family) kept.

I still have loads of books but now when I'm tempted to buy holiday souvenirs/cute ornaments/other unnecessary tat I think "one day my DDs will be hauling all this to a charity shop" and it's made me a lot more minimalist.

I have absolutely no interest in buying ‘stuff’ - but I have bought land! It’s given me so much pleasure: now I buy seeds and am learning about grazing management programmes. I love the idea of creating something of meaning for the future

Think about when you don't want them anymore and they have to be either burned or buried in the ground. That usually helps put me off pointless shit!

My Mum works in a charity shop and I recently had the (dis)pleasure of seeing the lock up behind the shop, full of all manner of absolute pointless crap. Oh my god. Actually made me feel physically sick thinking how that must be replicated in about 10 charity shops in our town alone - and then what that would look like across the country. We humans are absolute dickheads aren't we.

DS is like this, but he is 7. I agree with a PP, I have enough tat in the house already (belonging to DS and DH) without buying more, sp I don’t really share this desire to buy random stuff any more.

Like a pp, I like holidays and KG handbags, so don't spend on what I don't need. I struggle with energy levels (late 50's), but I'm still busy because I do a lot of childcare and care for two adults, I want a easy clean house. I've had clear outs and realised the money I've wasted on stuff. I'm concentrating on getting as much travel in as possible.

Yes, I have realised that the trick is just to enjoy that the beautiful/cute etc thing exists, I don't have to actually own it.

I am a magpie for colour and sparkle.

But with four children even if I buy nothing we still seem to accumulate endless "stuff".