by Hanzky — Monday, August 16th, 2010 at 2:00 pm
in Eco Friendly, Shopping and tagged with Live with less
I have never considered myself as a shopaholic. In fact, I think I always take pride in being a smart shopper (masaa?) but I recently realized that even I, sometimes, can’t avoid the allure of new clothes, the smell of leather, the discounts and just the whole “buying things I thought I needed” phenomenon. It’s just too easy to fall into the trap of consumerism, especially when you work at Fashionese Daily 
Now I am on a mission to live with less. Not only to reduce shopping but also getting rid of the stuff I have accumulated that I have never touched. I’m taking baby steps but I have gotten rid of many stuff including shoes, makeups, clothes, magazines and old stuff I kept for ‘just in case’. This living with less thing is different than black period where you stop buying things altogether for a period of time. I still buy things when I need it, so basically I’m moving from a conspicuous shopping to a (very) calculated shopping. I cannot just buy things in an instance, or just because it looks cute or because it’s-the-only-one-left-I-better-get-it-before-someone-else-snatch-it-and-I’ll-regret-it-for-the-rest-of-my-life kind of purchase.
So to make sure the purchase is necessary, I need to ask the following questions to myself before I bring it to the cash register.
Pheww, that’s a lot of questions to ask, right? It disgusts me that most of the time I couldn’t careless about the story of the stuff I was going to buy and just decided it in an instant that it was going home with me. It’s been two months since I’ve started this project, I’ve promised myself not to buy things other than one or two tunic for Idul Fitri. I have bought the tunic in Thamrin City for only Rp 100,000 (wanted to buy local but the one from Denny Wirawan is around Rp 1,500,000, easy choice there!)..and one black jersey dress from XSML. My defense was black jersey dress is a staple and it’s a local brand. But I regret that I didn’t try it on when I bought it and turned out it’s too tight on me even though it’s size 4!!. Jeezz..this living with less thing is not going to work if I keep on adding weight. But let’s save that for another post
@ditzditz " @hanzkyy: Marii dibaca: 10 Questions I ask My Self Before Buying Things http://t.co/6sLtCWp via @fashionesedaily "
Smart article!! "10 Questions I ask My Self Before Buying Things" http://t.co/L74pTl5 via @fashionesedaily
10 Questions I ask My Self Before Buying Things http://viigo.im/4yjT
RT @yuncesbeibeh: 10 Questions I ask My Self Before Buying Things http://viigo.im/4yjT
can i???it sounds hard..and the practice can be harder… http://t.co/lr4xLui
Hal-hal yang perlu dipikirkan sebelum berbelanja http://tinyurl.com/2dz6sy2
10 Qs to ask yourself before buying things by @fashionesedaily – http://bit.ly/dalkHy – nice article for us, shopaholics. it works for me!
RT @sergeantkero: 10 Qs to ask yourself before buying things by @fashionesedaily – http://bit.ly/dalkHy – nice articl … http://tmi.me/Rgre
RT @sergeantkero: 10 Qs to ask yourself before buying things by @fashionesedaily – http://bit.ly/dalkHy – nice article!
really important to read —> 10 Questions I ask My Self Before Buying Things http://t.co/zotXRT0 via @fashionesedaily
[...] the idea of living with less have been intriguing me for the past 1.5 years. I made this post on August 2010 to help me with my purchase decision making process. So have I been living with less [...]
Hahaha! Great article, Hani! Wish could turn those questions into a blackberry apps so we can just refer to them when we’re walking down the cash register. I usually just asked myself 2 questions before buying stuff: 1) what’s my state of mind; angry/sad/elated?; and 2)what’s the cost-per-wear. Obviously judging from my recent way-beyond-budget purchases,I need to ask myself more questions.
Ohh emang ini mesti di print dan ditaro di jidat..LOL. Atau kertas print-annya dipake buat bungkus debit/credit card?
btw, the thing with cost-per-wear itu masih nggak jelas diawal kan..cuma kira-kira aja, setelah beberapa bulan dibeli baru deh bisa diitung berapa…
Hahahaha nice subject Han.
Basically we all know how to avoid or not being a shopaholic… in theory but not in practice
When we are in shopping heaven area, all of the sudden the theory is gone… and we are too busy to get it back because the offer sometimes is something that is too hard to be missed and resisted.
Iyaa niatnya sih cuma liat2 yah, iseng2 nyobain sepatu..ehh kok muat..lagi ke kaca…ehh kok lucu…lagi diskon pula! Bungkus deh…hehehe
hahaa.. gara-gara baca ini, gw jadi mikir-mikir untuk beli tas idaman.. do I really need that branded bag? while i already have some comfortable bags to use..?
Hmm hmm hmmm…hehehe
I was laughing at the question number 5…I mean..this is like a wake up call …i will save these questions or print it..and read it whenever I am before the stuffs that call me to get adopted :p…thanks hanzky…
hihi..iyaa kalo logikanya kaya yang diatas, 500 ribu itu hasil kerja 3 hari lho, worth it nggak dituker sama selembar baju? Masa kerja 3 hari cuma jadi baju aja..:D
I need this article, I’ll go to a printer and get it printed, and get it attached on my room/my desk, everywhere I need
Hihihi..I need to get it printed too
nice article! harus diprint nih artikel, trus dilaminating & taro di dompet. haha..=P biar bisa ngerem hasrat utk blanja..
Thank you..kalo dilaminating berarti printnya di perkecil ya
really great article but hard too do ;(
apalagi kalo kerjaannya buka femaledaily… hiks tiap hari berkeliaran yang menariik
kalo begini urusannya kudu di tempel depan monitor
Gue juga setiap hari berkeliaran di Female Daily..tapi nggak pernah buka Market Plazanya..haha…duh apalagi yang Mini Fashion Sale tuh, biasanya selalu tergoda di situ.
Thanks Han, I will print it and taro di JIDAT gw
I too start getting rid my make up, from 100 pcs of blushers to only 20 something, more than 10 pcs foundations to only 2 pcs.
Last time, I bought 3 pairs od jeans and decided to sell another 2 bcoz they ended too big for me.
Now I’m trying to safe my money, from zero per month to something.
thank u so much for the useful article
WOww from 100 blushes? Kudos to you..:) It must be hard to part with them…but once you realize it’s actually make your life easier, it’s liberating, isn’t it? Seneng juga waktu dikasih ke orang dan orang itu seneng banget..barang yang kita pake can be useful for others and put a smile on their face
very inspiring, Han. Gue cengar cengir di 2 kalimat terakhir. hihihi
Pindahan cukup memberikan dampak psikolog nih ke gue..bayangin “cuman” 3 thn di KL, gue blm kelar2 ngebuang/nyumbang brg dr bulan lalu…dan kalo ngeliat bungkusan2 plstik sampah isi baju2 gue+suami gue, rasanya nyessss…itu uang brp yah jumlahnya di dlm plastik itu.
Gmn kalo lo rajin2 tweet ttg live with less, han? ngingetin kita2 gitu…hihihih
Hihi..padahal itu cuma tiga tahun dan cuma berdua yaa Rik..dan tinggalnya di apt pula..:D. Apakabar kalo tinggal di rumah yg lebih besar dan punya anak?..hehe..Siip2 nanti pasti gue tweet2 deh sambil mengingatkan diri sendiri..:)
smart article. like this soooo much
Thank you
Great article Han
stiap mau beli sesuatu, gw pikir2 kira2 gw perlu atau tidak. kalo jawabannya perlu, terus gw blg ke diri gw utk sleep on it kira2 masih pengen ga. Usually sih besoknya udah ga pengen. tp kalo kayak iPad, udah berbulan2 sleep on it, tetep msh mau ya udah deh dibungkus ajah :p
kalo gw skrg ini udah lumayan berkurang deh Han belanja2nya
Nah kalo udah berbulan bulan berarti emang pengen banget tuh Ran..hehe..dan kalo udah pengen dari lama kan begitu terima barangnya rasanya bahagia tiada tara..hehehe..beda kalo kita langsung beli begitu pengen.
nomor 5 hihihi gw banget sekarang. kalau mau beli barang ngitung dulu ih, harganya = pendapatan dari fumigasi 1 kontainer, sayang kalo jadi barang ga jelas. akhirnya jadi lebih sayang duit karena sayang suami udah capek2 kerja fumigasi 1 kontainer, eh duitnya jadi barang yg ga butuh2 amat
Iyaa apalagi kalo uang suami ya Ren..tambah nggak tega buat buang2nya
Tau gak sih, Han..
setelah ngejalanin black period kurang lebih dua bulanan, gw mau belanja jadi itungan banget lho :p
Kan beberapa minggu lalu gw sempet beli beberapa potong baju dan udah berencana beli satu sepatu (Yang bagusan dan tahan lama)
Nah kemaren ini gw pergi liburan sama sekali ga belanja, lho. Eh beli sepatu Rubi ding, tapi cuma SGD 5 doang. Sisanya ga beli apa-apa. Karena tiap kali mau belanja ingetnya udah ngabisin jatah belanja minggu kemaren :p
Dan tiap kali ngeliat barang yang gw pengen, gw selalu mikir no. 1, 2 dan 7 di artikel ini
Pinteeerr..:D Emang nafsu belanja itu gampang dikendalikan sebenernya yaa..gue kalo sekarang bener2 yang kayanya ilfeel aja sama yang namanya belanja, nggak ada kepengen kepengennya sama sekali..
Wow Hanz, km bijaksana bgt! Kadang kl gw cuma mikir sampe point nomer 8 (walau ga urut dari nmr 1) but point 9 sm 10.. geez never occured to my mind! Bravo deh..
Tp setelah pindah ke Cairo, baru ngerasain gmn lembut and comfy nya Egyptian Cotton…Atapiuloooh bakal ngelus jidat deh mikir brp bnyk excuse yg bakal muncul kalo lg didalem toko ky Mobaco Cottons:( Hope I survive here..hiks2 at least gw menggunakan point 9 kan (tuh kan ngeles lagi…)
Gue juga biasanya nggak sampe kepikiran gitu kok, walaupun sebenernya udah tau..makanya ignorant banget kan
. Sekarang baru deh mulai mikirin hal2 diluar butuh gak butuh atau budgetnya, tp yang dampaknya lebih luas lagi.
Egyptian cotton is the finest cottons in the world kaan..lucky you..nyetok lah selama disana..hehehe…:)
Hanzky! Ini Deisha. I just read your comment on my America-In-Five-Weeks blog. Wow, do u remember we’ve met during Cotton Ink webstore launching party??
Saya cuma 5 minggu aja di SIU, dapet beasiswa untuk summer program, but i’m thinking to get my master degree there, after finishing my bachelor degree here.
I love SIU! The student center & rec-center are awesome. I don’t maintain that blog anymore, because it was just a project i have to do for the five weeks program.
Kalo sekarang udah balik di Jakarta. Oh, baru tau Closet Quickies punya Hanzky, itu deket banget sama rumah saya, jalan kaki 10 menit kurang sampe. Hehe..
Alright, hope to keep in contact. Nice to see you here in the web world (:
Hi Deisha..yess I remember you know, kita kan duduk depan2an..coba waktu itu udah tau kalo elo mau ke Carbondale yahh..I could’ve talked about it non stop
. Glad you like the town..mudah2an bisa balik kesana untuk ambil master yaa. Iyaa Closet Quickies punyaku dan disebelahnya itu kantor Fashionese Daily. Mampir2 yaa…:)
waktu di cotton ink sih belum tau, baru tau bulan juni.
haha, i miss wal-mart ;D amin bisa balik lagi.
Yep, nanti mampir2 deh ke butiknya, nice to meet you again here ((:
Great tips, Han!
The challenge is to put into practice. You know how women (at least me) struggle to resist the temptation, where the rush & excitement of getting the new stuff beats all the logic and sense. And sometimes I find difficulty separating the NEEDS and WANTS =D
But thanks for reminding us to have more self-control next time we shop… or perhaps like Ligwina said: black period =)
Well..the needs & wants can be easily distinguished if we go through each step above
. Asal jangan keburu kalap trus langsung ngacir ke kasir yaa…hehehe
thank you so much 4 this article,, awalnya mw beli ssuatu yg sebenarnya setelah dipikir2 aku d punya juga,, pernyataan 1,2,6,9 meyakinkan untuk g bli,, makasi untuk merefleksikan diri buat lebih menghargai uang
Sama2 Mai..glad to know that the article is useful..:)
nice tips, Mbak Han…Thanks for sharing…
smart enough to include point 9 & 10 :p
gw untuk diri sendiri sekarang udah lumayan bisa ngerem…susahnya kalo trus belanja buat anak…bisa gak ya gw menerapkan pertanyaan yang sama???
great article deh han!
idem sama vanya, beberapa bulan kemaren ini gw lagi puasa beli apapun buat gw *buat gw ya, bukan Langit* nah skg kalo mo beli apapun termasuk baju buat kekantor itu aja rasanya mikir beribu kali deh. semoga bisa bertahan
Hani,
Good, useful tips! I have another point I usually use and works like a charm: Do I like it because it’s in my favorite color, or because I really like it and need it?
I love purple (all shades), so whenever I was thinking of buying something in that color, I always asked first if they had it in another color I’m either neutral or dislike– if I still liked the other option, means I liked it, liked it.
great piece hanz!
good article…terutama no.1,2,3,6,7…
great article.. i went through that phase before and it was so hard to control yourself. my quick fix now is just try to stay away from shopping malls period. stop looking around, ignore the sales, and do not try on things you can’t buy. all that works for me to prevent heartache!:D
aaaa smart article kak.. may I share it on my tumblr?
)
Nomor 5 jleb jleb jleb! :s