I am one of those people who tend to take my time and don’t rush into purchases, I guess you can call me a slow shopper. When I am after something new for my home I like to think about it and make sure it is something I really need or want to avoid lots of clutter and unwanted items. I think it is something that has been with me from my childhood, because when I wanted a new clothing item or toy my mum would ask me to give her 3 reasons why I should have it. This made me think a lot about whether it was something impulsive or actually something useful – and to this day I always ask myself for 3 reasons why in my head when I am getting something new for my home or myself.
As I have become older I trend to focus a lot on whether an item is useful, and especially if it has several different ways I can use it in my home. For instance, if I get a decorative candle I like to use the jar it came in afterwards as a planter or to store trinkets inside. Since I have so many beautiful mugs I also like to rotate and use some of them as vases because I like to display the things I love the most instead of hiding them away inside a cupboard. This is a reason why I love my open kitchen shelf so much; it gives me the possibility to showcase decor items and useful tools I use in the kitchen. My fiancé always jokes that it is like my little shop shelf. Obvious sometimes an item is solely for decorative purposes and that is totally fine, but keeping those purchases to a minimum makes it easier to keep a minimal and tidy home in my eyes.
My latest purchase is this adorable little onion-shaped terracotta jar in cream colour. I love that it is decorative and useful at the same time. So, here are my 3 reasons why I got it:
- It is decorative. I can have it displayed on my kitchen counter and it fits very well in with my minimal space.
- It is useful. Onion is something you (almost) always have in your kitchen and always need to store somewhere. For me, one of the best tips for keeping a tidy and clutter-free home is to make sure everything has a designated place to be stored, something I wrote more about in my article Daily Habits For a Tidy Home. So this little jar helps me to keep organised and have a tidy home.
- It is environmentally friendly. I do not need to use single use plastic to store my onion or garlic in which is better for the environment.
Here is my tip to you next time you are thinking about buying something; try my method and see if you can come up with 3 reasons why you should get that particular item. It has helped me so many times to avoid getting something I later just hide away inside a cupboard and never use again…
Let me know if you try my rule or if you have a similar method you live by?
Items seen in this post:
- Onion-shaped terracotta jar from Zara Home
- Small salt (or sugar) jar with wooden spoon from Mia Maya Design
- By Hand soap dispenser from Mette Ditmer (sed for dishwashing liquid)
- Recipe notebook from Zara Home
If you want to see a full home tour of my space including a better view of the kitchen, you can find it here.
// Photo credit: Ingrid Opstad
