If you were to look at any of my desks, you would see pens. Lots and lots of pens.
Most people would draw the conclusion that I love pens and that is why I have so many.
The truth is I have so many pens because I hate them.
{insert dramatic pause}
I can’t write with most of the pens that I own, and I keep buying more with the hope that I will find one that works. If I do find one that works, I buy several, only to have them be discontinued by the manufacturer a month later.
I’m a leftie. Which, all jokes aside about weird writing positions, means that I drag my hand over what I have just written. There is no way around that for a leftie. And for 99% of the pens I have tried, this means I get ink on my hands and clothes. Not cool.
I’m constantly on the lookout for the next new pen, thinking that this will be the one that will be better for me. In spite of the fact that I have many pens that function adequately.
So it’s not a question about why I have purchased so many pens.
The Myth of “Better”
The first question is why do I keep looking for the mythical better? I know I’m not the only one that does this, and it’s not limited to pens. All one has to do is glance at social media to see the posts that promise better.
It’s big business, selling us on that marginal increase in whatever area we are feeling vaguely dissatisfied. The elusive level of improvement is always out there, dangling just out of reach. The whole point of marketing is to create a sense of want or need, after all, in the hopes that we will purchase the product and thus solve a problem we didn’t have yesterday.
Sunk Costs
The second question is why do I hang on to so many pens that don’t work for me? It’s not like they are going to suddenly start working or that I will find a way to write that doesn’t involve going left to right. If I had to use one because I couldn’t find any of the pens that work for me, I would still be using a pen that smears.
I know this is a sunk cost. And yet I hang on to pens that no one in the house will use. I don’t see it limited to pens, either. I have many things tucked away in many nooks that I will never use, but I won’t get rid of. Other people could use this stuff, and I don’t need to hang onto it.
A Change…for Earth Day and Beyond
Maybe it is because Earth Day is coming up, but I feel like I need to stop this craziness.
I need to stop buying what I don’t need, and get rid of the things I don’t use so that they could be useful to someone else.
How am I going to do this? I’m going to implement a 30 day rule on anything outside of food and medicine – I will have to wait at least 30 days before I can buy something; no more impulse shopping. I’m going to be participating in a local Buy Nothing Fair, taking a bag of stuff I won’t use to let other people have a shot. I will also be starting a purge of my house with the hopes that I can get rid of even more.
What do I hope to gain? I hope to stop spending money on pointless purchases. I hope to stop giving space in my home to things I don’t use or love. In the end, I hope to make my home a better place to be in.
I’m going to encourage to join me in doing this. If you want to join me, leave a comment below and let me know what you will be doing.
