Because my husband is a minimalist and hates stuff, I try not to buy anything. Actually, that’s not true. I need permission from my husband before I buy anything unless it’s a $3,000 bag. Then I would hide it from him.
There are some places where things are so cheap, it doesn’t matter if you buy anything because you can throw it out. One such place is the Japanese dollar store.
To be precise, everything at the Japanese dollar store is more than a dollar, like $1.50. And if you buy 30 of something, that’s more like $50 versus $30. But it’s still a good deal if you’re looking for kitsche nonsense like bento boxes, crayons and little boxes. There are things that cost more than $1.50, but these items are electronic items like rice cookers.
My sister LOVES the Japanese store – whenever she comes to visit, forget about nice restaurants and outlet shopping – she wants to go to the Japanese dollar store. She became obsessed with these small eyelash curlers and bought 20. She said they would be good for the car, her purses, her desk, the gym. Then she became obsessed with some apothecary jars, and for a fleeting moment thought about starting a whole online business selling herbs and healing potions, until she realized that she would need a lot more jars and that it would be a full-time job.
I have a love/hate relationship with the Japanese dollar store because I end up buying a bunch of stuff that doesn’t serve a purpose — and then I have to deal with my husband. The last time I went there, I told myself I wouldn’t return unless my sister came into again (she only comes once a year) because I bought a bunch of useless stuff such as a bunny lucky charm, a small wooden spoon and some scented Japanese erasers for my daughter. The erasers are whimsical, tiny, and fun to look at. My daughter thought so too because she started carrying them all over. She left them in their plastic packaging so they are noisy. Everywhere she goes, so do the erasers. In the middle of the night, when she’s half asleep, she calls out for them. If I’m sleeping in the same room with her, she wakes up and wakes me up crinkling the eraser packaging.
I know if I opened the package of erasers, they would lose their allure (and they would be a safety hazard because the baby would try and eat them). The erasers are driving me crazy – and I’m trying to think of a good replacement for them, like a teddy bear or a ball. Or I’m going to back to the Japanese dollar store and buy three more packages of them in case they get lost. Maybe I’ll buy some apothecary jars for my sister.
— Eunice Park
poche de maman 