Buying Replacements For Old Favorites? Don’t Miss This Key Step.

March 15, 2017

I know we’ve touched on this at some point or other before, but I feel it’s time to rehash the topic of replacements.

Replacing an old favorite? This step is key.

I find that, with a high tendency, people buy items meant to replace versions of things they already own that need to be relieved. That is: they’re falling apart, stained, threadbare, pilled, and generally haggard.

Except something happens, which is that these individuals don’t actually discard of the items they’ve bought replacements for. (Do you do this, too?)

Months later, I’ll sort through dish towels with a client and she’ll tell me: “I actually got these to replace those, but then just never got rid of the old ones.”

Or a client will say: “I love these shoes so much that I bought an identical pair to replace them. That’s what these are. But I just haven’t gotten around to getting rid of the old ones yet.”

The replacements, rather than replacing, become a security blanket, a kind of insurance policy.

At the root of it, I’m sure, is the acknowledgment that once a person has allowed a replacement to replace, they will then have no back-up. No stand-in waiting in the wings. They’ll be without.

And the fear of that lack, of being on the last one, of not being able to locate something they love again should they want or need it again in the future, is what causes them to continue using the haggard version for which they own a replacement.

As we’ve talked about before, there is no point in saving the good stuff. The time is now to enjoy the best.

And by the time you wear out your replacement, there will be some new dish towels you love better anyhow. There will be new shoes on the market that you’re obsessed with.

So in with the replacement and out with the wretched already!

Godspeed.

3 Comments

  1. Shannon on March 15, 2017 at 3:14 pm

    Thanks Annie–this is a big one for me. I buy replacements, but often they don’t seem as good as the original. So I keep the original and have the replacement sitting there, less loved. I know I should take the time to shop more for the absolute perfect thing to replace, but sometimes I just don’t have that time. 🙂

    • Annie on March 15, 2017 at 3:40 pm

      This is a crazy common dilemma, I’m telling you! Perhaps the real issue is that it’s a mistake to try to find an identical replacement. That we should just get better at recognizing when something has had its time in the sun, and then move on to something new and different entirely. Hmm..

      • Shannon on March 15, 2017 at 8:32 pm

        Good idea. May give it a try!

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3 Comments

  1. Shannon on March 15, 2017 at 3:14 pm

    Thanks Annie–this is a big one for me. I buy replacements, but often they don’t seem as good as the original. So I keep the original and have the replacement sitting there, less loved. I know I should take the time to shop more for the absolute perfect thing to replace, but sometimes I just don’t have that time. 🙂

    • Annie on March 15, 2017 at 3:40 pm

      This is a crazy common dilemma, I’m telling you! Perhaps the real issue is that it’s a mistake to try to find an identical replacement. That we should just get better at recognizing when something has had its time in the sun, and then move on to something new and different entirely. Hmm..

      • Shannon on March 15, 2017 at 8:32 pm

        Good idea. May give it a try!

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