Hi.
I’m Lorie Marrero, creator of the Clutter Diet book and on-line program, and today I
have for you some Black Friday clutter control strategies.
You know, when people are trying to lose weight, they try to cut their calories and one of
the best methods for doing that is portion control.
So if you’re going to eat a half-cup of something, then that is really different than
eating a whole cup of something, and that’s double your calories, right?
So you want to take this idea and apply that to your house.
You want to have fewer things crossing the threshold into your home and one of the best
places to practice portion control is when you are shopping.
So let’s talk about some of those traps that you might fall into when you’re out
there on Black Friday looking around at all the great deals.
So marketing professionals make it their life’s work to help you get ready to buy more than
you intended to buy.
And that’s great, and that’s what they do, that’s how they make their living.
And sometimes the way that they engineer a sale, it really is a good deal for you, but
sometimes you buy something because you’ve been manipulated into these traps.
So it’s about being judicious about when this is a trap and it’s not right for you,
and when this is a really good deal.
So let’s talk about some of these little traps.
So one is the “buy one in every color” or “collect them all” kind of trap.
And that is great if something has an inherent value and being sold in a set.
So like a set of china or chess pieces or something where you really do need all of
them to make it work, that’s great.
But if it’s a sweater, a piece of clothing, that may not be the right thing for you to
have every color.
You probably don’t have room in your closet for that.
So don’t think that you need to get sucked in to that little lure.
Another one we see a lot, especially at makeup counters, is the “free gift with purchase”
trap.
And that entails buying usually a lot of things that you probably would not have bought in
the first place, like colors of lipstick that are not good for you, some aging serum that
you never intended to buy, and you’re buying all of that just so you get the free little
makeup bag that’s really cool.
Well, it isn’t free, because you bought all that other stuff.
So I would like to suggest that instead of spending that money that way, take the same
money and go buy something you like equally or even that you like better and not bringing
home all the clutter of those other products that aren’t right for you.
Another trap we see is – especially seen in the bulk warehouse stores, like Costco
or Sam’s – and that is the “bigger is better” trap.
So if you need to buy one can of pineapple slices, just because they’re sold in a six-pack,
it doesn’t mean that you need to buy all six cans.
You may not have the storage for that.
And you may never use those.
So it might be better for you to go to the regular grocery store to buy those kinds of
items instead of succumbing to the “bigger is better” trap at the warehouse store.
Now, if those items are not perishable and you have storage for them, that can be great,
because you probably will get a lower cost per item.
But make sure that they’re not perishable because then you’re in trouble having to
use something up quickly and you may not get to it.
So another trap that we see is “free shipping when you reach a minimum amount of purchase.”
So maybe $25 or $50.
This is a great deal.
I have offered this kind of thing on my own shopping cart and on my own on-line store.
I mean, these are good offers a lot of times.
But if you find yourself buying another extra item and hunting through the catalog to find
something just so you can get to the free shipping limit, you need to take a pause there
and make sure you really need that item and you’re not just falling into that little
game.
I have fallen into that myself.
It’s really easy to do.
So calculate, do the math, and see if the shipping cost is going to be more or less
than what you would pay to get this other item, and hopefully you really want that other
item.
So look at that really carefully.
Also just in general, when things are on sale, sometimes you get hooked in by the urgency
of the sale.
“It’s going to be over at 5:00 o’clock today,” or “It’s buy one get one free,”
or some kind of amazing thing, and you just – it’s just so enticing.
And then you have to stop and think, if you did not want this item [POP] or need this
item, it is not a bargain, because you did not need to buy it in the first place.
So make sure you keep yourself in check in general.
Here are some ideas for when you’re out shopping that might help you with all of these
lures and enticements.
First, shop with a list.
So on Thanksgiving, maybe when football’s on, go over your Christmas list or your holiday
gifts that you need to buy and get clear on who you need to buy for and maybe some ideas
on what you want to get for them.
Look at the Sunday circulars or the holiday newspaper circulars that come out before Black
Friday, and see what deals they’re offering, and start thinking about them before you get
caught up in the rush of the store, and maybe even fighting with people over these items.
Also, don’t shop near closing time because that can give you another element of urgency,
or you feel like you have to do this before the store closes.
And even better, if you can shop with a friend, somebody who will talk you down off the ledge
when you’re about to buy something you don’t need.
And we have something for you, if you want to go to our Free Tips page – it’s http://www.clutterdiet.com/freetips
– you can get our clutter prevention wallet reminder sleeves.
These are sleeves where you keep your favorite debit or credit card inside and they have
on them the five questions you should ask before purchasing anything.
And you’re forced to look at them because you have to get your credit card out of them,
and it will help you decide if you really need these items or not.
We hope you have a great shopping day on Black Friday, and a great holiday season, and we’ll
see you next time.
May you always be happy and grateful for having more than enough.