crap I just don't need

For some reason, on the walk in to work this morning, I felt compelled to participate in a little retail therapy. This urge could be due to the fact the World Market (for months promising "opening soon!") finally opened its doors this week, but I'm not really compellted to buy anything from there, I do plan to heed the siren call and peruse the aisles at lunch today.

As if by magic, my good man Merlin over at 43folders.com posted a blog about David Sedaris' latest New Yorker essay about the stuff we do and don't buy ourselves. Sedaris carries around a little notebook in which he captures all the things he'd like others to give him as a gift.

Then, in Merlin's post was this wonderful little gem:

For what it’s worth, I have a similar “buy me stuff” capture device, but more for the purpose of outgassing my brain’s frequently mindless consumer pollution. My file is called “crap I just don't need.txt,” and I have fended off many ridiculous purchases just by parking the desired item there. Just viewing the long list of previous entries is an embarrassing exercise in aversion therapy. Not to say this always ensure a non-purchase — consumer lust has a permanent apartment in my heart — but at least it provides a satisfying speed bump on the race to the checkout screen.

I think before I head over to World Market, I'm going to create a new file on my Treo to capture the cravings. If I'm not too embarassed, maybe I'll start posting them here.