Wishlists Are Good For The Soul
and your wallet
I used to think that wishlists were frivolous and to be honest, a little pretentious. I attribute it to growing up in a home where I was often only given what was deemed a necessity. There wasn’t much opportunity to express desire for things we wanted outside of those necessities because our parents didn’t have the means. Let alone create a wishlist. Don’t get me wrong – I am very grateful for never wondering if we would have food, a home to live in or running water, but it took me a while to grow past that way of thinking. As I pushed past that mentality, I grew accustomed to the idea that having a “need” doesn’t diminish the validity of also having “wants.”
My childhood aside – here are a few reasons why I’ve come to see wishlists as a good thing and some ideas on how to create your own.
No Shopping Addiction
I believe wishlists have curbed a potential shopping addiction from fully forming for me. Forcing myself to sit with the desire and seeing how it feels for a week or a month has saved me from a lot of buyer's remorse and inevitable attempts to resell clothes purchased on a whim. While it’s not exactly the same, I have found that saving and categorizing something I may want to immediately purchase often emulates the same euphoria I feel when I do end up buying an item.
Helps Reduce Future Pain
Wishlists save us from future pain. What do I mean by this? There comes a time when something you once loved becomes irrelevant to you - maybe it no longer fits or the vision is no longer there and you opt to get rid of it. If you’re like me, you attempt to resell things in the hopes that your previously loved item will become someone else’s treasure. My husband thinks I am the most patient person in the world for still having things listed on Poshmark that are well over a year old. While that is a problem to solve for another time, let’s get back to why I think wishlists can be our saviors.
Priorities, Priorities, Priorities
Wishlists help prioritize your spending. I unfortunately do not have the ability to buy whatever I want whenever I please and even if I could, I wouldn’t. Personally, I think there is beauty in the time it takes us to acquire new items. It gives us the space for our styles to evolve.
I find it’s helpful to have a full view of what I'm gravitating toward. I often find myself weighing an item against another. I consider what I might find more useful and in turn which one brings me the most joy.
Gifting With Purpose
Wishlists come in handy around gifting seasons. They help the gift giver ensure they are giving their loved one (with a wishlist) something they want while also reducing any potential waste or headache around the gift. Around the holidays or my birthday, my husband loves to know what I’m eyeing. I notice that the list I give him contains all the things I’ve been really giddy about. They’re the items I’ve been sifting and sorting through for a while and have bubbled up to the top of my priorities after much time and consideration. Ultimately, you want to love and use the things you get. Personally, I get excited to parade around in my new item and telling my loved one how much I love and use their gift.
How I Create Wishlists
If you’re like me, you have so many tabs open in your browser that your computer fans make it sound like it has a one way ticket to space. I’m not proud of it, okay. Acceptance is the fifth and final step and I’ve definitely reached that. You might not need advice on this, but in case you do here are a few ways you can keep track of a wishlist outside of keeping a million tabs open in your browser:
Notes App - Create a “Priorities” and “Noteworthy” section on your phone’s note app to keep track of things that you’re definitely interested in and what has piqued your interest. Move them up and down as your priorities or desires change!
Pinterest - Create private (or public!) boards to save inspiration or exact items you like. I love that Pinterest will recommend similar images and items based on what you save. If you’re open to alternatives, I think it’s a great way to peruse.
Locker - If you prefer to keep exact links of items, Locker lets you create collections to save your links to. I like to categorize my boards by items (purses, denim, shoes, etc.). For me, these are often things I haven’t fully vetted but are interesting enough to take note of.
I use a combination of all three - I use my notes app for high priority wants, Pinterest for general inspiration and Locker to save specific links for things that I’m interested in but I feel less attachment or desire toward at the given moment.
I’d love to hear if you wishlist and your preferred method of doing so! I find they can be very unique for everyone as we all process information differently.
Let me know if you’re loving these style reflections or what you’d love to see in a future newsletter!
xx Ofelia
I have saved (or rather not spent!) so much money by adding to a wishlist/clicking on the heart icon INSTEAD of actually buying. Or most times I just add to cart and then walk away. When I go back to the site, sometimes weeks later, I look at what’s in my cart and 9/10 times I say, “phew. So glad I didn’t actually buy that”. I think it’s the act of pretend buying that feels good at the moment…I may need a therapist 🤣
Loved this! Are you using any AI tools to find your wishlist items secondhand? Ex: Beni chrome extension to find secondhand items of your fav brands, Encore like ChatGPT for secondhand searches, ThredUp image search, etc.