I get a lot of items. Stuff. And they are usually free.
I recently got 5 new mason jars for free, they look like a cup with a screw-able lid, so it's like a cup-jar derivative.
Hey looks useful right? Some restaurants use them as their cups to serve their teh-ping.
And my wife saw them and said, "Hey these are useful!"
And yes, that is right.
They ARE useful.
BUT, I know they will not be used.
Cos I already have cups for my home use, and I don't really need jars for anything.
And I think many of us fall into this "trap".
I have numerous pots and cookware. Some are Corning ware, which are expensive and thermal shock resistant. Great for cooking vinegar pork trotters. Cos can't be cooking vinegar stuff in metal pots right, cos the vinegar will strip some parts of the metal in the cooking process.
Number of times I've cooked vinegar pork trotters ... ZERO!
I have 3 different frying pans, one flat one for steak, one smaller one for eggs, one for usual stir fry of vegetables. I've only used the big one for stir fry of vegetables, cos I also fry my egg in that one when I cook dinner.
This issue comes about regardless whether the item is free or purchased.
I don't have much of these, but when I go to my parents' place, their house is cluttered with useful stuff.
And yet... they are unused.
So what's the point of having useful stuff if they are unused?
Means the item is USELESS to YOU!
Cos either you don't need it for that function, OR you already have something else that serves the funtion.
So for example, a smaller frying pan, I may not need it cos I don't cook small portions.
OR I already have a bigger frying pan which I am more comfortable with using.
How about a coffee machine? Is it a useful item?
It only makes coffee, but if someone really loves his coffee and uses it everyday, then it's a well used item.
Who cares that it can't boil an egg at the same time?
The thing is, humans love their "options", they like having the option to do things. But yet most of the time, they don't do it.
How many people have baking ware at home? A full set, egg beater, measuring cups, muffin trays, cake trays, stuff like that? And how often do people usually bake? Less than once a year.
It's pretty much, I can give you a free swiss army knife, and if you don't know what to do with it, it will be a useless item, although it can supposedly do a lot of things.
How many of us keep paper bags? Those DFS bags, or Taka bags, or any other paper bags?
And we have LOADS of paper bags, cos they look nice and are more presentable than plastic bags right?
So useful, and yet, we don't use them.
And what do we do? We go to NTUC or other super markets to take EVEN MORE plastic bags to throw away our rubbish...
Cos why? Cos sayang to use nice paper bags to throw rubbish right?
But if you don't use the paper bags, no matter how useful they look, they are still useless. So how many of us just keep the nice paper bags in the storeroom til they stack up and we end up just throwing the whole bunch away IN ANOTHER plastic bag???
This idea of useful vs used manifests itself in so many ways...
Great Singapore Sale?
So many things are on sale, and they all look useful.
How many people buy stuff just cos it looks useful and cos it's on sale?
Only to keep them in the storeroom after purchase? Or maybe use it once or twice and then it's kept and never opened again?
Would you rather buy something that seems useful but you don't use it for 50% discount? OR even 100% discount? But end up not using.
Or would you rather buy something that you would use but it costs 10% more?
Of course best is buy something useful that I would use at 100% discount.
But for most people, a lot of people buy stuff that they don't use at 50% discount.
And they don't use a lot of things.
But IF I really need it, I'm ok to buy something at 10%-20% premium. Cos I know I will use it.
The amount of money wasted buying many useless things at a discount, vs I buy ONLY 1 thing that I use well at a premium... there's no comparison that overall I've spent less money.
(Although it's highly likely I won't come down to that situation but I would if I needed to.)
I've had neighbours who prepared a separate room for guests during their renovation. Cos you never know when parents want to stay over, so they bought another bed for guests, installed another water heater for another bathroom, etc...
And many of them, after 3 years, they just dispose of the extra bed and maybe convert it into a room for their kids.
The thing is... a lot of times, we plan so much for things that don't happen.
Now of course we need to plan for contingencies. That's what insurance and financial planning is for.
But a lot of times, many people end up buying things that they don't use just cos they like the IDEA of using it, when being sold to by the sales person. But in the end the idea is just a dream, in reality, many people don't change their habits to incorporate the new purchases/habits...
Examples are people who buy a bread maker and tell themselves that they will make healthy bread for their family every day. Sure... it is healthier, some people really do it. But a lot will balk at the clean up after the baking. In the end, just spending a couple of bucks at NTUC to buy bread is just more convenient.
Or gym memberships. It's always a nice dream to exercise and be healthy... but how many people go to gym regularly enough for it to be considered a worthy purchase?
Shoes, bags, clothes, pots and pans, various kitchen appliances, that blender that's never been used, the list is long...
So bear in mind when you buy something, buy something that you will use, and not buy something that is useful. Cos useful doesn't mean that it will be used. Even if the item is free... keeping useful but unused items will end up being clutter and clutter isn't good for the living environment.
USEFUL ITEMS VS ITEMS IN USE... Remember the difference.
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