When I peruse a catalog I make a mental list of all the stuff I want to buy. But by then end of the catalog, I'm so over stimulated by all the bright colors and useful items I just end up tossing it.
There are tons of handy gadgets I could buy but would probably never use; especially kitchen gadgets. I love kitchen gadgets, but I've made a rule for myself that I have to actually know where I'm going to put an item before I buy it.
Who wouldn't want poach egg baskets for the perfect poached egg every time? Or cow clips to keep my chips from getting stale and my rice from spilling? Or a chicken or pig spoon holder? I mean the possibilities are endless and that was just one page!
So you can see why I get overstimulated. What ends up happening, though, is I go back through the catalog and nothing is as bright and pretty the second time around. I start to notice the price and the size, then it pretty much dulls the idea of the object. That's about the time I feel too overstimulated to make a decision and toss the catalog.
Then I move onto the next catalog. Perusing a second one goes much quicker, because I'm pretty sure by that time I'm not going to buy anything. By the third one, I don't go through it a second time. And by the fourth one I'm just tearing off the labels while tossing them, trying to dig out the kitchen table so we can dinner at it that night.
But I still like them. This time of year I get enough in a day I can afford to toss some without even looking at them. I know I'll have more the next day when I'll be reinvigorated to start the process all over. Plus, I can't keep them, I'd have a room full by the end of the season and then they'd be out of date before I could get to them all.
It's an activity I only take part in when someone else is in the house. It's dangerous activity looking through holiday catalogs. It's best to have someone available in case it all gets to be too much. Or if, heaven forbid, I actually suffer death by too many holiday catalogs.