A blog about everything

Is anyone else tired of this fast food world we live in? I’m not talking just about food, either. I’m talking about fast convenience. Prices have gone up, but quality and intentionality have gone way down. One thing that living in a city has made me aware of is how much people, especially those living outside of cities, are willing to spend on cheap stuff. When you’re required to travel in your car everywhere you go, why not spend the extra 10 minutes to drive to Target or another home goods store where you can bulk purchase low-quality home decor to fill every crack and crevice of your home? Living in a city, where I’m increasingly reluctant to travel anywhere by car, has forced me to become more resourceful with finding alternatives to these cheap home good stores, alternatives that are near metro access points.

What surprises me is how many people spend exorbitant amounts of money on rent or a mortgage each month and yet fill their homes and apartments with cheap-quality furniture and knick-knacks. With my generation–gen Z–in particular, I find it interesting how people are willing to thrift their clothes but not their furniture or decor. I grew up with parents who shopped frequently at antique stores and carefully curated each and every item that went into their home. They never bought decor on impulse but, rather, would spend days mulling over an item before finally deciding to go back to the store and purchase it. This behavior is in stark contrast to the highly impulsive behavior facilitated by none other than the Internet. We’re practically swimming in a millennial gray sea of cheaply made items; all we need to do is just click a button to have one delivered to our front door in less than 24 hours!

My husband and I have taken a number of measures to try to combat this culture. When we make a purchase, we try to buy something that will last for a very long time. I don’t always succeed in this endeavor, however. For instance, the other day I fell into the trap of buying a “very cute” Mason-type jar off of Amazon, one that had a flower pattern on it and a bamboo lid. I stored flour in it, and after about a week the lid stopped properly sealing. I noticed that it was also not a glass jar but a hard plastic one. We ended up replacing this jar and a couple other plastic containers in our kitchen with Kilner jars, which are much higher quality and have durable seals and thick glass lids. Another change we made is we canceled most of our streaming services with the exception of Peacock (which is paid for with our credit card) and bought a CD player to listen to music and watch movies on instead. With streaming services, you pay a monthly subscription to listen to music without the ability to own it, which seems rather wasteful and, over time, expensive. If you visit our home, your ears will be graced with lovely jazz tunes brought to you by our proudly owned CD player!

With all of this in mind, am I saying to go out and replace every item in your home with a better, more expensive version of it (unless you buy antique, which is usually less expensive)? Of course not; this behavior is also wasteful. However, I think we can do a much better job of slowing down and thinking about our purchases and the items that we bring into our homes.