In this blog post, let’s talk about what avoided buying at IKEA
Yesterday morning, I drove 2 1/2 hours to Atlanta, GA. And yesterday evening, I drove 2 1/2 hours back home. I’d driven there to see my sister, Ana, who had flown in from CA to finalize some things at their home left behind in GA, when they moved to CA last month. We got a flat tire on the way, and I thank God that we were able to slow from 70 m.p.h. in the far left passing lane to safely stopped in the far right median.
(When we arrived, we spent some time together at her church, then later, at The Cheesecake Factory).
I also went to Atlanta to shop for some things I needed at IKEA. I wandered around the store for 3 hours with my family, and we had a blast! We took pictures, pretended the mini display houses were ours
(Miss A, my college girl, straightened each space as we went along! Yeah, we’re related.),
I gathered a bunch of stuff, and then I had a big yellow bag full of stuff. Here’s what I put up on the conveyor belt at the end of the spree.
- A Hessum Rug. Needed for the floor by the back door.
- Four Kasset Paper Holder Boxes. Needed for school papers in the office.
- Four Kasset Magazine Holder Boxes. Needed for magazines in the office.
- Projs Clear Plastic Desk Pads. I needed two. One for each side of our L-shaped desk.
- Trogsta Floor Lamp. For the office, we needed one next to the bench settee at the window.
- Drommar Cake Decorating Set. For well, cake decorating. I need to decorate cakes.
- Senior Bamboo 3-piece Utensil Set. Needed.
- Rajtan spice jars. I totally needed these.
- And the chocolate was on sale. 3/$2.49. And I definitely need chocolate.
However, once all the things were rung up, and the cashier gave me the total of approximately $62.82, I discovered that the paper holder boxes hadn’t rung up correctly, and I brought that to her attention. This prompted her to call another employee in the Office Organization Department to see if, in fact, said items were indeed ON SALE, which prompted THAT employee to come up to the register to see if, in fact, said items were indeed ON SALE, which then prompted another call back to another employee in the Office Organization Department to see if in fact, said items were indeed ON SALE.
This took 10 minutes. MEANWHILE, the line behind me, was growing longer, and I started assessing the items I thought I needed. Why, when I really didn’t want to, was I about to spend $62.82?
(Yes, I realized I drove myself and my wallet to the store and perused it of my own free will.)
However, I wondered if I NEEDED the rug, the paper holders, the mats, the lamp, the cake decorator, bamboo utensils, and jars. I already (actually) have one Hessum rug. I already have other containers for paper, different lamps, cake decorating supplies, utensils, and two sets of unopened jars.
As the items lay there, waiting to be retrieved, I decided that these things weren’t necessary for my happiness. As I assessed each item’s usefulness, price, and mass, I concluded that this stuff could not contribute to my goal of simplicity.
I determined that my riches could not be collected into a giant yellow bag, nor could these treasures (though they are stored in a box called “my house”) compared to the riches contained in a simpler life. I became more aware in those 10 minutes than at any other time in my life that the looming shelves, aisles, and bins full of everything during my floor-arrow-directed mile trek through the store had enticed this consumer to spend.
In those 600 seconds, my pile of NEEDS became a pile of WANTS. I changed my mind and asked the cashier to avoid the receipt (and if she’d like me to return all the items to their locations on the sales floor). She said no that they had associates who did that. Now, don’t get me wrong—IKEA is great. The prices are reasonable, and the quality is, too. But you should know what you buy and what you avoided buying at IKEA.
I will shop there again when I NEED some things. But yesterday, while standing there, waiting to haggle over a few dollars and not buying anything, I became content. With blessings I already use. With stuff I’ve already purchased. With what I already have or what I avoided buying at IKEA.