Want.

what a wake up call this is for me! I am a stay at home Mom and you're so exactly right- since I've been home this past year, i shop like crazy! I say oh' we need this' or order scrap stuff (when i have way too much already!) and we really don't NEED anything! I'm just at home so it's all too easy to just go shopping or look online. I need to take back control, be a better example for my daughter,and hold off/wait for some things for a change! maybe writing down wants can really help me too-thanks so so much for sharing this post!

Thanks for the great advice, from all of you ! I´ll get one of my muji notebooks ready for this. As they are really cheap they fit my goal this year : spend less and think before I buy - do I really "need" or only "want"? A great inspiration for this outlook has been a book written by Judith Levine " Not Buying It". It was really interesting how she discusses consumerism and society, and also made me realise more about the likeness and differences between USA and Sweden ( where I live)We all really need to think about our consumtion,be it scrapgoods or anything else....

I love this idea - I use Kaboodle (www.kaboodle.com) for the same purpose - stops me making online impulse buys and just notes them for future reference. It's great to go through and weed things out and to be surprised on birthdays by my brilliant sister-in-law who (shock!) actually looks at my wish list! ;-)

love this idea! I too have a little moleskine book. I've used some fabric to cover them too, they can take a rough tumble in my bag! :)

Love this idea and I've been thinking about it for a while myself. I'm really trying to live in a "Less is More" way and I think this will help. Thanks for posting this. :)

Love this idea and I've been thinking about it for a while myself. I'm really trying to live in a "Less is More" way and I think this will help. Thanks for posting this. :)

Love this idea Ali. It's amazing how alike all of us women are when you read all the amazing posts regarding this topic.
A favourite saying of mine is 'The best things in life aren't things" beacause God do I looove things! Pretty things, pink things, scrappy things. I have decided this year the only way I can buy something that is a want not a need is to sell something on ebay first, and then with the proceeds, buy my favourite thing of the moment-It works great-doesn't break the bank, and controls clutter-love it!

I meet someone who taught her kids how to control impulse spending this way: They had to write down what they wanted with the date and put it on the refrigerator. Then it had to stay there for 30 days. At the end of thirty days if they still wanted it then they had to pay half and the parent paid the other. Oh! Ijust thought of something. For Children who need a visual, stamp small caledar for them to tick off at the bottom.

Wow, I love, love, love this idea! I'm definitely going to do this. :)

Girl you are sooo right. I truelly don't need anything else in the craft department! Now I may really need a new couch but that's another story! ^-----^
Have a relaxing day honey,
-Karla

hi ali, really good idea. i started working out this past week after being "off" exercise for the last two years since my son was born. now that i'm back in the gym, my "old" ipod suddenly seems so big and bulky and i had to do some serious self-talk to keep myself from driving to target after work to buy one of cute little, very portable shuffles.
really love the look of this little moleskine book. can you tell us what "category" it falls into. the site didn't show any that looked quite like yours.
thanks!
beth

Last fall my hubby and I finished a year-long project of finishing our downstairs. Unfortunately, soon after we fell behind on our house payments and came dangerously close to foreclosure. It was an awakening for me. I suddenly found myself saying "I don't want another single thing as long as I can keep my house". It's a pretty drastic eye-opener to make me not 'want' so much stuff, and learn to appreciate what I already have. But, it worked.
However, because I do still want things I know I will probably never have, this little book idea is really a neat idea. It might be just what need. Your timing on this inspiration is PERFECT. Thank you so much!

OMG Ali, get out of my head. I just had this conversation with my friend about this. We choose to help each other out on all these wants we always have, especially when it comes to scrapbooking products. We are really blessed to be able to not to want or need anything... Have a great day...

I briefly started doing this late last fall (not a journal just for that but listing out the wants). It was a combination of things that I want personally, and things that I wanted for the house. The best part is looking through just a few months later and seeing items that I was able to buy scratched off (with the date the purchase was made). Even though the items bought were more like new space heater for the family room, it still feels good to see wants met.

I just wanted to say I kept this post in mind today when I almost placed a scrapbook order because I was afraid the product would be gone if I waited to long.
Then I thought, do I need it or just want it.
Well of course I don't need it.
It's just scrap stuff.
So I'm leaving it in my cart because I want it, but I am not going to buy it.
Not yet :0)
I do like this journal idea though.
Actually dh and I could both use it!!

That's funny....I've been thinking of doing the same thing. I was just going to call it "Stuff I WANT". I just never got around to actually making a book. We do "want" a lot. Sometimes I think about people who cannot afford to even "want", which makes me appreciate what I have and encourages me not to be so selfish. I have it good! I will though, make myself my "Stuff I WANT" book. Thanks for reminding me. ;-)
Take care,
Jax

Ali, you always inspire me. I am amazed that I will be thinking about something and see a post about it from you. Please keep up your good work!!

Love this. It's so hard to not give in to the instant gratification monster. I like how you've tapped into the mental similarity between documenting and possessing. Sometimes they feel very similar. To document something can give a sense of ownership. Often, that's enough.

I've had one of these for a very long time but it's not as nice as yours! I also put in there wall + shelves measurements of particular rooms in case I stumble upon that special trinket, vase or small furniture and I will know if it would fit or not. You've inspired me to revamp it or update it to my newest wants!

You can also take a photo of the space (say a hallway you want a side table for) and put the photo in the book. That way you can easily "picture" the side table you see in the antique store in your hallway! :)
Thanks again for all the great inspiration!

One of my goals this year is to spend less. No compuslive "I have to have it NOW" shopping. No throwing an extra item in the cart without thinking about it. Really planning ahead and not buying lunches out. All of the "Oh it's just a couple bucks" here and there really add up. I've started the "want" list in my own journal, and I've taken it a step further (for me) and added ideas I've torn out from magazines, whether it's things I want or ideas of what I can do with what I already have. Making do, so to say. It's been fun to track and as someone else above me mentioned, crossing things off that you just don't have the desire for anymore feels really good!

Ali Oh My Gosh!!! I seriously made something like this last week. I took a little photo album and did a cute little cover for it. Then for each item I cut peices of paper that fit in the sleeve. Then I glue the item on it and put it inside the album. (if the item is in a magazine I will just cut it out) I even hand wrote some things. Hope that made sense. Once it is down I have found that after a while I really do not want it as much as I thought I did. I am trying to make do with what I have, use what I have ... live a simpler life.

Neat idea with the want book! I may have to make one of those...
btw...if you're looking for a cool coffee cup with not handles, look here... http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=81916 If the link doesn't work, it's a place on etsy called Circa Ceramics. They make awesome stuff!

I do the same thing except I put stuff in a folder, because sometimes I come across a picture in a catalog or magazine. I have everything from a print of Vermeer's "The Knitting Lesson" to Latino CD's. I also keep a list with me of things that are not life sustaining needs, but are not unattainable as wants.

I have a want book too! It does help me from not buying as much (I am the worst impulse buyer!) but it also helps my husband out when he needs/wants to buy me a gift!