Read A Bunch of Pretty Things I Did Not Buy

I began to define my person by what my person wanted.

I see this too in the overstrong association of self with what you like: constructing an identity from your preferred intellectual properties and universes.

[W]e’ve long thought of shopping as frivolous leisure, when in truth it is real work.

Amen! And exercising patience in waiting for the right item — high quality, right price, not too trendy — is excruciating in a world of instant gratification.

(…this dismissal is also because women and shopping are linked in our society, and women are “responsible for” the home…)

Sarah Lazarovic

The buyerarchy of needs:

The wanting never goes away altogether, even as you restrict your purchasing: I still lust after items on my wishlist years after adding them. The collector’s urge is strong in me, particularly when it comes to art, one of my exceptions for impulse purchases. I have also found what the author has: that my buying desires have been turned and concentrated on home goods. These I justify as making my house more beautiful and comfortable, my life easier and more efficient — but many are not necessary. (Yet, some are worthwhile: buying a handful of storage crates this year has made my home tidier and nicer to be in.) As with all of life, shopping will be an area of continuous learning and mistakes.