I walked into Primark ready to buy autumn decorations, but left empty-handed

Content creator Lucy Kalice is one of Ideal Home's Open House contributors, sharing her thoughts on cleaning, home decor and making the most of small spaces. See the rest of her articles here.

I’m a hypocrite. Last year I wrote an article talking about how I was decorating for autumn and how I thought everyone should fill their homes with cute little autumn decor bits like cute knitted pumpkins and cosy autumnal cushions. Cute right?

Well, except it’s not…not always anyway. Let me explain.

I walked into Primark the other day and the first thing I saw was the autumnal home decor. Shelves and shelves of it all. And last year I would’ve been all over that like a rash. A new pumpkin trinket dish, an autumnal mug and at least 10 winter spice candles would’ve found their way into my basket within 5 minutes of me being in there. What can I say, I love going to the shops to browse (and buy) home furnishings and decorations, it’s one of my favourite hobbies!

However, this time I wasn’t filled with the feeling of excitement I usually get. Instead I was incredibly disinterested and a little bit bored. I actually think I heard my credit card sigh with relief!

It’s not that I didn’t like the decorations, in fact quite the opposite. They had some lovely candles and I ALMOST bought a pumpkin serving dish until I had the realisation that I was probably only going to use it once and then it would spend a year in storage. This is when I got thinking…

Did I need it? No. Did I want it? Yes. But where would I store it? Would it be just another thing that I buy and then forget about by the time Autumn comes around next year? Or worse, is it nice for now but then I decide I don’t even like it next year?

And the honest answer is probably yes.

We live in a world of overconsumption. Where we are constantly buying new things, trying to keep up with new trends and spending our money on indulging on things we don’t need.

Listen, I’m guilty of it too! A new pair of trainers when I have multiple pairs at home? Yes please! A new candle just because the seasons have changed, even though I have at least 20 that I haven’t burned yet? Immediately adds to basket!

But something switched in me that day in Primark. I realised that I don’t need to buy anymore stuff… because ‘stuff’ is ultimately what it is. Toot, junk, rubbish, clutter or otherwise known as landfill chic. The more I buy, the more storage space I need and the more likely it’s all going to end up in the landfill.

I already have autumn decorations at home which are in perfectly good condition and I haven’t even gotten those out yet, so why am I thinking about buying more? It’s so wasteful!

Now this isn’t to say never buy new things (I can guarantee I will still be buying things I do not need), however…I’ve decided to be more considered with the things I do buy, especially when I have perfectly good things at home. And I think this is something we should all be doing because we don’t need to buy new every time. It would be a lot less wasteful, our back accounts would be happier and we’d probably have more storage in our homes.

So what do you think, are you in?