Lulled by a beautiful bedroom setting into the comfortable feeling of a must-have item is a practised artform retailers have honed for decades – and what a feeling it is!
The feeling tends to fade when you arrive home with arms full of your purchases, only to wonder who took over your body for 45 minutes of creative craziness, netting you a bunch of homewares you’ve nowhere to put and no real need for.
You’re not alone. At HB we’re all for creating a beautiful home and embracing the latest homewares trends, but it’s wise to take a step back and examine the real reason you’re making these purchases.
Before you reach for your credit card, ask yourself these five questions:
1. “Do I have something that could serve the same purpose or could be worked into this use?”
“Waste not, want not,” the saying goes, with a view to using only what we need in order to never find ourselves in need. If you have this item at home already but think the one immediately in front of you looks better, think again.
2. “If I buy this, what will it replace in my home?”
Three cheese graters that don’t do a good job is not a good solution to your problem. Do the research on a model that’s better made, then replace your old one. Justifying a new purchase by simply throwing out something you’re sick of is not the same.
3. “Can I see exactly where this item will go and what it will do?”
Must-have vs lust-have tends to take over in store so unless you have a place in mind for the item, or it’s something you’ve been in search of for some time, let it go.
4. “Will it last the test of time?”
“Buy once, buy well” is now our responsibility as consumers. Buying good quality homewares, bedlinen and furniture with the long-term in mind makes better use of resources already on the planet and reduces unwanted landfill.
5. “Can I afford it?”
This is a tricky one as many homewares come at incredibly affordable prices or, you may have already budgeted for a big-ticket item and finally finding it may come as a great relief!
Parting with your money is not the issue here - it's more about sustainability and living responsibly.
Try waiting 72 hours before you commit to the purchase. If after that time you find you still want/need this item in your life, ask yourself the above four questions and, if you are satisfied you still need it, go ahead.
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