Endless Possibilities
6 years ago by
It never dawned on me that I was unconsciously being overwhelmed by choice until I had to shop for a trash can for my kitchen. Yes, a plain trash can. I moved into a new place in May and I’m still using a bucket for a waste bin (a bucket on the other hand was a fairly easy purchase). But why Vanessa? You may ask. For starters, Amazon alone has 64,315 results for “trash cans”. Sixty-four thousand three hundred and fifteen.
I mean don’t get me wrong. I can understand how sometimes, more choice can mean more freedom and I’m all for it. Love freedom. Hate dictatorship. But I’m talking about the trivial things in life here. For instance, my friend and I decided to stay in on Saturday and watch a movie. Simple, solid plan. We wasted an hour aimlessly navigating all the different streaming platforms, ensued by the genre debate: “Movie or series? Drama? Comedy? Rom-com? No, documentaries are for Mondays. Wait, let’s go to the liquor store first to get a bottle of something.” And don’t even get me started on the liquor store. Too hot for red wine, too pretentious for rosé, too old for vodka. I don’t really like Gin anyway and I had Saké two nights ago. White wine it is then. Great, at least that’s settled! Woohoo. Wait, but which one?
You get my point so I’ll spare you the impossible twists and turns of the food ordering process. Needless to say, we chose a movie that all of us had already seen before (Lalaland). I fell asleep 20 minutes into it and I couldn’t tell you what we ordered if my life depended on it. (The wine however was fantastic!)
So I’m curious, do you guys also feel overwhelmed by all the endless possibilities? Am I the only one missing the bygone era of the three looping tapes on a walkman? Having one, maybe two types of milk you can drink with your coffee in the morning? Do you also have 23 other open tabs right now?
P.S: Barry Schwartz calls it the paradox of choice. I personally would’ve called it inevitable purgatory. Creative differences aside, you should read his book or watch his talk about it here. It’s really interesting!
P.P.S: I’m not the only one affected by this. Nat texted/slacked me over the course of 2 weeks to get my opinion on her future bedroom curtains. We saw everything: white, grey, blackouts, pompoms, yellow… She eventually went for beige.
P.P.P.S: Open to any trash bin recs!
I agree- so many choices with everything even ways to communicate. It can get overwhelming and tiring. Most of the time I go with my first instinct of what I’m in the mood for and I usually know what I like. If I hesitate, I’ll wait before choosing something and time will help with the decision. I’m all for simple!
I totally understand and agree!
I grew up in the Soviet Union so I know perfectly well what it means to have no choice. And empty shops! At some point literally empty!
Still the amount of choices we have now is overwhelming. Nobody needs so many choices for a trash bin… And it makes me sad to think where all those things that nobody wants will finally end up.
By the way, I often don’t buy things because I hate to choose. And I don’t like spending money… I stick to my old things. It seems easier. :)
Sometimes I think that if I lived alone I just had a mattress for sleeping and a box for things… :)
As for the trash bin- I wouldn’t spend too much money on it. You need to know the budget, the size, the material. With lid probably. Don’t take the cheapest one, though. I wouldn’t care for the color too much (unless it’s in a spot where it stands out)…
Good luck! ;)
https://sofaundermapletree.wordpress.com
I totally agree with you. The plethora of choices that we now have available to us is definitely overwhelming and what that means for me is that I will inevitably procrastinate to avoid making a decision or just decide that I don’t want to do anything/eat anything/be anywhere anyway even though I really did.
Good old decision fatigue… after a full day of tea or coffee? Work on this project or that project? Heels or flats? Dress or skirt? By the time I get home I’m pooped! They all take a tiny bit of mental energy so it’s super tiring! To sum up my answer- yes! Too many options (what a great problem to have though) :)
https://thedianaedition.com
I had the same anxiety about trash can shopping! I’d say you have two categories, kitchen cans and then bathroom/room cans. Then you simply have to find the right size and opening depending on where you want to position it in the room!
For kitchen cans I like Simple Human (www.simplehuman.com), they have a simple yet functional design, perfect for small spaces! For room cans I like the selection of Umbra (ww.umbra.com)! :)
I cannot help you with your trash can, but in case you’re looking for cures to the Infinite Tab Syndrome, I downloaded a super cute tamagotchi that lives in Chrome and only grows if you have less than 6 tabs open. For everything else, there’s meditation ;)
I find this sense of overwhelming when I do online shopping. Whereas when I am in actual store I feel like I am limited to what is available in front of me = solid choices vs. endless possibilities. For items such as a trash bin I would recommend going to the closest Walmart, Walgreens of wtv your preference and just select from the choices you have access to in the store.
Also just bought a trash can – stainless steel, a quiet closer (must for trash cans: comes with lid) and has a peddle. Simple, clean and easy!
Rossignol/Perigot “frisbee” costs an arm and a leg, but last one you’ll get.
https://www.perigot.fr/en/66-trash-can
Hello, il existe un type de poubelle à pédale. Noire et le couvercle s’ouvre comme une bouche en couleur métal. je l’ai vue chez des amis,”Harley Davidson” je crois si tu veux je peux me renseigner… elle est magnifique et hyper pratique.
Pas trop grande, parfaite. Je rêve d’en avoir une comme ça!
Carine