Product Reviews, Hauls

There have been a few times I've started to write a product review for an everyday item on this blog, and every time I hesitate or falter. I have saved drafts of these things that I don't think will ever be published. Maybe it means this blog won't be as popular as those that do lots of product reviews and hauls, but I'm okay with that.

Even though I know reviews of things can be helpful, and lots of people really enjoy reading or watching videos about shopping "hauls", really it's very consumerist, and I'm not comfortable promoting consumerism as widely as that. I'm not interested in keeping the cycle of buying things going.

I do want to promote brands I like and can stand behind the policies or ideas of, like the products I've reviewed already from Seamly.co and Toms shoes, and products that have helped me achieve a specific goal (like my water bottle and drinking water). I have recently gotten into Lush products for body cleansing and moisturizing, so I may talk about some of those. Also, I find recipes and food items easier to write about and promote, as they are "consumable" items and not possessions to hoard.

People also do "Hauls" on things, and do posts or videos on what they've bought recently. Reading about what other people have bought, especially if it's a huge amount of stuff, is almost a kind of validation for the things you buy yourself. "Well, I don't buy as much as that girl, so I'm not as much of a shopaholic" or whatever. It's not that I don't buy frivolous things myself, but it's just not productive to see what other people have bought unless you're looking to buy things you didn't even know you wanted or needed. This is a habit we should be working to get rid of, not encouraging! You shouldn't be jealous of someone who has a lot of stuff - it's not objects that create happiness, so really there's nothing to be jealous of - you can be just as happy without an excess of stuff.

Think about practicing delayed gratification - remember, wanting things is more pleasurable than actually buying them, and experiences will always hold more personal value than stuff. So start up a savings goal for a trip to a foreign country, go see a few shows or sports games or concerts instead of buying stuff (but you can still leave that stuff on the "want" list), and fill your life with more meaning.