need, or...

...it wouldn't be an inconvenience to have?

So often, I see articles or ads that claim we need certain products and these ads really get to me. (I'm talking explicitly stating we "need" these items. I get that through advertising companies are claiming we need whatever product or service. I'm being really specific here.)

The other day, I glimpsed an article that proclaimed items that we "need" in a new home. I also recently saw this, listing baby items parents of newborns "need." I'm not here criticizing the products or anyone's love for such products. I do, however, take issue with the term "need." I didn't have a paci purse, a fancy changing mat or reversible bibs when Pic was a wee one. I think all of these items are cute and I surely wouldn't object if someone gifted one of these items to me, but I certainly don't believe that a parent of a newborn actually needs any of these items. We kept Pic's pacis in little tupperware containers. Or, if they were in the bottom of the diaper bag, covered in lint, we'd rinse them off (or pop them into our mouths to clean them off!...Quick, revoke our Parent badges, I know, but she survived that). Our diaper bag came with a changing pad. Done. We rarely used bibs, but when we did, we used cheap ones. They weren't reversible and they definitely weren't as cute as the one in the link, but they were serviceable. A tea towel is also serviceable.

I feel caught in this weird place, where I want to be a person who only buys what she truly needs, but, I have to admit, I'll never be that person. I try to not buy too much, but somehow I still do. I often tell Cardo, "Yeah, I like it, but I don't really need it," which invariably makes him just a bit irked, but I'm so easily tempted. Cardo wants me to just buy something without way overthinking it, but I can't.

I like stuff, though. My home is (over)filled with stuff. Just today, I bought more stuff -- a magazine for myself and a book for Pic -- and while I enjoyed reading my magazine and Pic enjoyed reading her book, we certainly didn't need these items.

And, every time I see or hear the merits of some "needed" item extolled, I think of so many other people in this world who have incredibly less than I do and I can't help but scoff a bit. Even while I'm thinking, "I wonder if there'll be a Savers' sale on President's Day?"

What to do? We donate our stuff to Goodwill or Planned Parenthood when we're finished with it, but if we didn't buy it in the first place, we wouldn't have to clear it out.

Again, what to do?