If you lost all of your belongings tomorrow, what would you actually miss?

About a year ago, I worked with a client designing closets for their brand-new home. Now, building a custom home should be one of the most exciting times of your life, right? Who wouldn’t feel grateful for the opportunity to create their dream home from scratch?

But this wasn’t your average new-build story. My clients weren’t building their dream home just because they wanted a fresh start—they needed one. Their previous home had burned to the ground, and they lost everything.

During the closet design process, we naturally started talking about the number of items they owned. I needed to know what they had in order to figure out the best configuration for their master closets. But their response stopped me in my tracks:

“We don’t have much. When you lose everything, you truly realize what matters in life.”

That comment stuck with me. It got me thinking about people’s shopping habits and why we buy the things we do. Do we truly want all the stuff we accumulate? Or are we buying it because everyone else is buying it, and we don’t want to feel left out? No one likes to be the odd one out, right?

Are we filling our homes with things we genuinely love and need—items that truly serve a purpose—or are we buying them because they’re trendy? Are we chasing the latest “must-have” because everyone else is, even if we already own something that does the exact same job?

I mean, seriously, how many trendy water bottles does one person need? First, it was Stanley Cups—everyone was in an absolute frenzy over them. Now it’s all about Owala, and I’m just over here sipping from my trusty Yeti like, “How gauche!” 😂 

But isn’t this the perfect example of how fast fashion, over consumerism, and constantly shifting trends keep us in this endless cycle of buying? One minute, something is the “it” thing, and the next, it’s collecting dust in a cabinet while we’re onto the next shiny object.

Here’s the thing: Every single item we own requires maintenance.

• You’ll spend time fixing it.

• You’ll waste energy looking for it.

• You might end up fighting with your kids over it.

• You could be paying 18% interest on your credit card for it.

And let’s not forget the mental exhaustion that comes with managing all this stuff.

Now, I know what you might be thinking: “I work hard—why is this woman judging how I spend my money?”

But I promise, I’m not judging. I’ve been guilty of it myself. I’m just curious. Am I the only one who feels this way? Is it human nature to want to fit in, or do we feel pressure to conform because everyone else is doing it, too?

At the end of the day, it’s worth asking ourselves: Do we really want all these things? Or are we just holding onto them because society tells us we should?

Something to think about. 💭