Awhile back, I read Marie Kondo’s infamous tidying book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up. I spent some minutes telling my husband about Kondo’s methods and how I’d implement them into our usually untidy life. His response?
“Does she say anything about how to stop buying stuff?”
OK, this conversation happened months ago, but that’s the general gist of what he so politely implied about my purchasing habits. I mean, he is right. The less stuff I bring into our home, the less stuff I have to tidy and/or ditch.
So, in the spirit of avoiding the Konmari tidying method, here are a few items (in my personal opinion) that are a complete waste of money:
Instrumental tracks on soundtracks
So, these don’t take up any physical room, but I have a vast collection of never-listened-to tracks on CDs and in digital formats. I don’t like background music. If music doesn’t get me dancing or singing, it just annoys me. It doesn’t help me study. It prevents me from concentrating. The Frozen soundtrack for instance? I know the first 10 songs word-for-word. The last 21 tracks? A complete mystery. I may just have to let it go, y’all.
Convertible bra
First off, I had an exhausting, frustrating battle with a removable bra pad yesterday, and I thought of y’all and my past ramblings. It’s a struggle. Anywho. Has anyone else been suckered in by a underthings salesgal pitching you the “convertible bra!”? Like, this insanely overpriced gadget is supposed to solve all of my wardrobe problems! Y’all. I have more than one set of removable straps in my drawer. Have I ever once converted said underthing into anything more exciting than how it came home in its shopping bag? Yeah, that would be a no. It ain’t worth the extra Washingtons.
Steam dryer
In the not-too-distant past, we sprung for a new washer-and-dryer set. We’re mid-price-range people, so it wasn’t anything super fancy. The dryer had a steam dry setting (ooo!), and this setting cost a bit extra. However, it’d be perfect for all of those times I’d forget to take the clothes out of the dryer and let them get super wrinkly, right? Yeah, I completely forgot that setting existed and never used it (then we moved 500 miles north). My poor husband and his sometimes-wrinkly work clothes…facepalm.
Extra earbuds
When we moved, I decided it was time to toss these little rubbery nubs that filled random drawers throughout the house. Every set of earbuds we buy or acquire comes with three differently sized, exchangeable ear pieces. Has anyone ever needed a different size? Not in our house!
Too-small underwear
Am I allowed to talk about two different types of underwear in the same post? This is feeling a bit risque. Sorry, Dad. OK, I’ll make it quick. For some reason, those in the women’s underwear industry make underwear too small. I’m not talking about the style; I’m talking about the actual size on the tag. I don’t know how many pairs I’ve snatched only to get home and realize they’re too small. Yes, I realize this sounds like a testament to how I incorrectly perceive my body size, but it’s not! I’ll even buy the next size up! Therefore, it’s the fault of the manufacturer!
Anything at the grocery store purchased solely for the cartoon-character packaging
Do not, I repeat, do not purchase a grocery-store item for your child simply because your child is screaming to hold the character on the package. I made this mistake with Paw Patrol-themed Kix cereal. Olivia hollered excitedly to get her little hands on the puppy-covered box. I decided it’d be a nice treat. After she tried a few pieces, I found myself dumping entire bowls of uneaten Kix into the trash can. In Olivia’s defense, Kix basically taste like Styrofoam, but still!
I’m sure I could come up with some other wastes of money, but I really want to squeeze in a few more pages of Leigh Bardugo’s Six of Crows. I should keep to a stricter bedtime, but, well, it’s a struggle when a good book happens to fall open in my general vicinity.
What are some money-wasters in your life?
LOL so true about the convertible bras! 😂😂
They are the wooorst! I throw a tantrum everytime I pull one out of the laundry and have to waste minutes fixing it. 🙄🙄