What's your difference between need and want?

victory

Snowed in tonight, great opportunity to declutter, 3 bags, charity, skip or keep:D

I have stuff, for eg bought stuff for future Xmas, birthdays, weddings that type of thing from the boots sale so all very MSE, but did I need it now? Prob not. Do I want it, we'll yes at that price it helps me out a lot.:D

I have stuff I wanted but did I need it?I have a friend who uses her caravan van more than her house and she just needs a bit of cutlery a plate, cup ,some tins for food, few clothes, done.

The decluttering is going to take a while because of me and my shopping habits, none of it is expensive or designer etc but there's a lot of stuff.

I'm a sucker for 'this is in the sale, it's so cheap, it might come in handy one day':D


So what's your difference between need and want?

fluffnutter

Well, the pious part of my nature says you need food, water, shelter. Everything else is a want. But TBF, that would make for a pretty uninspiring life

Tiddlywinks

Need: absolutely must have it, can't sleep for thinking about it

Want: would love to have it but won't lose any sleep if I miss out

Although, if being serious, real *needs* are simply food, shelter and a safe environment... everything else (in survival mode) is a nice-to-have.

Chocolate though is non-negotiable, surely!

victory

Tiddlywinks wrote: »

Need: absolutely must have it, can't sleep for thinking about it

Want: would love to have it but won't lose any sleep if I miss out

Although, if being serious, real *needs* are simply food, shelter and a safe environment... everything else (in survival mode) is a nice-to-have.

Chocolate though is non-negotiable, surely!

Food, water, shelter, warmth, love:D I get that:D chocolate:rotfl: a glass of wine every now and then especially when it's half price at sainsburyx;)

balletshoes

Tiddlywinks wrote: »

Need: absolutely must have it, can't sleep for thinking about it

no, thats just really really really want it .

When we're talking about clothes, toiletries etc - I need enough clothes and footwear to get me through a normal week. I need basic toiletries - but make-up, nail polish etc etc that I buy because I have a voucher etc, thats not need, thats just because I want them.

I have ebayed quite a lot of stuff after a declutter - if I've tidied it into binbags, I'm not keeping it . And I no longer do the Boots 75% sale with any kind of determination, which is very MSE of me.

LannieDuck

I did a lovely declutter last year, and it felt great. My theory was that I got rid of anything that I didn't think I'd want/use in the next 5 years, and if I found I actually did want/need it afterall, I'd buy a new version of it. If I only bought back <10% of the stuff I'd got rid of, it would be a success.

I haven't bought back anything so far.

My tip is to just start with the easy stuff. If you spend ages trying to decide whether to sell something, you probably don't want to and will regret it. Do the rest of the stuff that's easy, and come back to it afterwards if you still want to declutter further.

victory

Thanks:D on my fridge there's 14 fridge magnets, I never needed them obviously life would go on just fine without them , so it must have been a want then:D plus the card shop was closing down and they were pennies:rotfl:

Things like that, stuff, waste of pennies.? Waste of space, my fault I bought them as for toiletries I have so many glitches ones it really is a silly amount but because of the glitch:rotfl::

balletshoes I was such a grabber at the 75 percent off sale, my OH kept telling me I did not need it, reduced or otherwise but I got it just in case, this time I bought toiletries that we would need anyway over the year at a reduced price so makes it a need and everyone is happy:D

OrkneyStar

Need- essential to life or daily functioning (e.g. basic food, water, basic clothes and shoes, fuel, education, time to play/have fun, love)
Want- makes life and daily functioning more pleasant (e.g. nicer food, nicer/fancier clothes and shoes, gadgets for education/play)

Regarding the gifts and things you might well need some day, no problem if you have the space to store and don't let things go to waste.

dundeediva

Need for me is something i couldn't live without. Want is something i would like to have, no matter how important it is. However one exception- i'm pregnant and when i need chocolate, I NEED chocolate lol! Theres no wanting involved

TheConways

I find the question re: wants and needs really interesting. 100 years ago, nobody really wore deodorant. Then advertising campaigns tried to create demand for deodorant, telling ladies that they might not be aware that they smell... No woman wants that! Now, fast forward 100 years, and almost everyone wears deodorant - it's gone from a "want" to a "need". You wouldn't think twice about picking some up in the supermarket if you were running low.

And because you want something that you may not need - this isn't a bad thing! This is how the economy works. Now you have companies employing people to make, market, and sell deodorant to cater for a variety of customer needs. It's how the economy grows.

If I think now about things I "need", it's quite a different list from what my grandmother had. My (now deceased) grandmother's mother used to throw her school books in the fire, telling her "you don't need those, you'll work with your hands" (this was back in the 1920s). It's a great shame - and no-one will ever tell me that books are not on the "need" list now!

victory

OrkneyStar wrote: »

Need- essential to life or daily functioning (e.g. basic food, water, basic clothes and shoes, fuel, education, time to play/have fun, love)
Want- makes life and daily functioning more pleasant (e.g. nicer food, nicer/fancier clothes and shoes, gadgets for education/play)

Regarding the gifts and things you might well need some day, no problem if you have the space to store and don't let things go to waste.

Nothing goes to waste, always used but just seems a lot of stuff:D