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?

There's a balance to be struck between buying "pointless" in the sense of functionless things just because they are pretty and make you smile (which is a point anyway) but not getting carried away

I think you are covertly encouraging me @IHaveNeverLivedintheCastle

my granny was like that now I think of it. she liked to collect a type of china ornament and whenever anyone said anythign to her about it, she just said she liked them and they made her very happy to see them. so I suppose you cant argue with that as a point of view. we all want to be happy.

I think there's a balance to be struck.

So far as your grandmother I hope when her house was cleared people thought, "not my taste, perhaps, but it made her happy" and maybe kept one piece, rather than thinking "why did she keep all this rubbish, waste of my time getting rid of it".

@ClownsFear just keep reminding yourself that there will always be nice things. And that you can’t buy them all!
Or you could put the money that you’d spend on such decorative ‘stuff’ aside for say, 6 months and see how much you’ve saved. Then donate it to a charity! And save dusting/wasting finite resources/money/time.

All the photos on here are truly hideous, can't believe that grown adults buy them, I recall my Gonk phase but I was about 12. A girlfriend of my brother, in her 40s at least, collected what looked like these wrapped toffees made from glass, the only thing that surprised me more than their hideousness was their price!

All the photos on here are truly hideous

In your opinion. Opinions are not facts. Thankfully we are all different.

My mums house is covered in dog stuff, pictures of dogs, cups, ornaments etc. I really dont like dogs. She's also into all that "live, laugh, love" stuff that I personally find hideous. But I'm glad it makes her happy.

You walk into her house and you know exactly who lives there. Unlike the current trend to have a home devoid of any personality whatsoever.

This totally, it makes you realise all the 'stuff' we accumulate which we don't need and then someone else has the emotional trauma of house clearance. I am also very sorry for your loss, I know how hard this experience is, for me it was worse than the funeral. I knew I was going to be upset at the funeral but was in mo way prepared for the emotion of the house clearance 😢.

I find this an absolutely bizarre thread. I’ve never bought stuff I don’t want. Why on earth would I?

I find the jellycat stuff cute. I love cute things. I have lots of cute things surronding me but I clear out every 6 months at least and have cut out buying nearly completely now because I enjoy the things I own and don't need more. I have a "jellycat" from aliexpress it was £3 I think and it looks identical but with sewn eyes rather than glass which I prefer.

Your life doesn't have to be completely devoid of things you enjoy, that would be incredibly dull to live. Everyone has different things we enjoy too and that's ok.
Don't yuk another persons yum just because it's not your taste.

Well at least you'd get 10% off OP!

I find thinking of the poor sods making them in sweatshops and the pollution involved in shipping them round the world puts me off quite nicely.

Yes we live near the coast and seeing all the vast container ships every day really drives home the horrendous impact over consumption has on the planet.

There is so much people could change without even making any huge sacrifices, just by buying less.

@ClownsFear

How was your childhood?

Did you lose soft toys/cute kid stuff in any kind of traumatic way??

Do you have any soft toys now?

if you do, then think about having to give that one away to make space for the new one, if you don't, then maybe allow yourself to choose one to cuddle, if you then see another you want you have to let the first one go.
it does sound like you're needing to fix an emotional issue with this stuff you're drawn to.

We are hoping to move at some point so I am trying not to,buy stuff where possible and declutter

It is hard

@JudgeJ

Your post Reminded me of those 70s Glooks and Happy Gang

 

I tried to post images but it didn't work

70s toys

Totally agree with this post. Getting a rescue dog has totally shifted my shopping habits as I now prioritise my time in terms of being with the dog rather than shopping. However, John Lewis are dog friendly! 😂😂😂