Why I Don't Haul... And You Probably Shouldn't Either
A few months back, I made a video talking about the 5 things I won't do on my Youtube channel, with one of those things being shopping hauls. To be clear, my reasons for not hauling isn't because I can't -- I certainly don't have any problem shopping & I enjoy watching other people's haul videos; but here's what usually happens... really "good" haul videos are put together after a series of purchases made over whatever period of time so that they'll have something of any real substance to show because, let's face it... 2 items does not a haul make...
What is a "haul"?
“all the products purchased by someone during a particular episode of shopping”
By definition, when you really think about it, even the idea of hauling for the home can be dangerous! A bit dramatic but still true. Hauling almost instinctively triggers impulse buying which can result in buyers remorse. No one wants to bring home a crap-ton of stuff, only to feel like crap about it later. I don't know about you, but I don't like returning ANYTHING much less an online and/or large purchase.
Everyone has their own of executing (and showing off) a haul but there are a few things that all hauls will (or should) have in common. For me, these end up being reasons that hauls and I just aren't a right fit.
A really authentic haul involves it all happening at once and especially for my home, I don't shop that way... nor do I want to. Like I said, hauling easily results in impulse buying and I need time to live with things before buying more -- how am I using what's already here before I add on a bunch of other things? The last thing I need is to buy all at once, to only realize something doesn't match, isn't the right size, or just altogether unnecessary. That's time AND money wasted. And in case I wasn't clear before, I HATE RETURNING THINGS!
My Seasonal Pillow Cover "Haul"
When we first moved and were furnishing the entire apartment, I wouldn't say I necessarily hauled (although I am almost positive the UPS & FedEx delivery guys would beg to differ). We bought our must have marquee pieces, and every week or so, slowly built on that; but it bears repeating -- we were furnishing an ENTIRE apartment, and that's not something that's happening on a regular basis.
Any haul worth its salt has a decent amount of items, especially if it's going to be a home decor haul. Quality over quantity can't apply to hauls because the quality of the haul is intrinsically linked to the quantity of the items; there's no choosing one over the other. If you're going to do anything less than half a dozen items (and I think I'm being pretty generous with that minimum) you might as well review the items and really give us some meat & potatoes to go along with the haul.
On the rare occassion I am shopping in a haul style, it's usually a lot of the same because I've already planned out what I need and planned the budget for it. With us now more or less settled in, any "hauls" are fillers of what I know we need & works for what we have. Like the other day, I purchased 10 pillow covers from H&M, in addition to my daughter's spring/summer wardrobe; dare I say, I did a shopping haul! But full disclosure, that purchase was VERY well calculated and planned -- I had to choose the appropriate sizes, coordinate pairings, and most importantly, decide on a "theme". I wasn't changing out my palette, but for the season, I definitely wanted to lighten things up & give everything a refresh, so I couldn't just haphazardly buy pillows & risk it all not making any sense. This may qualify as a haul purchase, and although I absolutely LOVE every single cover, this certainly wouldn't be something I need to dedicate an entire post to.
PS... their velvet pillow covers are super snuggle worthy!
So what have we learned here?
- Hauling is not for me because I like my shopping to be planned & purposeful, and my OCD wouldn't allow me to make home purchases in large, haphazard quantities unless I need to try out multiple options.
- A haul should have a substantial amount of items, but not so much that you're over purchasing (unless it's deliberate). Example: maybe you purchase a ton of, I don't know, pillow covers, to try out in person and really see what works for you in terms of color, shape, and texture; then you keep what works & return what doesn't. That's purposeful & also very common (personally not my jam but I get it).
- I absolutely, positively detest having to return things and actually end up resenting the retailer for doing whatever they did that leads to me having to return (don't judge me).
